This is the best damn gravy I've ever had! It's vegan/vegetarian/gluten free too!

To make the Absolute Best Vegetarian/Vegan Gravy you will need:

3 tablespoons olive oil

~2.5 lbs onions, chopped (about 4 medium, or 3 large)

3/4 cup cashew butter

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon sage

Step 1: Caramelize Onions

I'm going to let you in on a secret: everyone lies about how long it takes to actually caramelize onions. I've seen recipes that say 20 minutes (a blatant lie!), ones that say 1 hour (still liars). It took me 2 hours and 15 minutes to caramelize these onions! You want to go low and slow.

I heated up a pot with the 3 tablespoons oil, then added the onions. For the first 10 - 15 minutes, I had the heat on high and stirred the onions often, they release some juice and the high heat helps evaporate it. Once they get drier, I turned down the heat to medium/low, and stirred about every 5 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to keep the onions from burning. After about 1.5 hours I kept the flame on low. They were done in 2.25 hours.

Step 2: Combine Everything

Once the onions are carmelized, add in:

3/4 cup cashew butter

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon sage

Keep the heat on low and stir until everything is heated through and the cashew butter is incorporated.

Step 3: Will It Blend?

Finally, the gravy is carefully blended in the blender. When blending hot liquids, I remove the center piece from the lid of the blender and place a folded washcloth over it, that allows steam to escape a little.

The gravy is done! I like to freeze it in small jars. This made about 3 cups total.