Pan Drippings substitute

Best substitute

Brown some meat on purpose

Roughly 1 lb (450 g) chicken wings, pork trimmings or beef bones gives 3 to 4 tablespoons of drippings

Best for gravy

Close match

The only substitute that is genuinely the same thing rather than an imitation. Roast or hard-sear cheap fatty offcuts in the pan for twenty minutes until they are properly brown and stuck to the base, then lift them out and you have real drippings and real fond.

Other pan drippings substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Butter plus stock plus a browned roux
Different taste
2 tablespoons butter plus 2 tablespoons flour plus 1 ½ cups stock replaces 2 tablespoons drippings
The standard no-drippings gravy and a perfectly respectable one.
What changes
Butter stands in for the fat, cooking the flour to a nutty brown stands in for some of the roasted flavour, and the stock carries the meatiness. Add half a teaspoon of soy sauce and a splash of white wine for depth.
Best for
gravy, sauces, biscuits and gravy, poutine, vegetarian gravy with vegetable stock
Lighter in colour and less meaty than the real thing, and the difference is exactly what the browning was supposed to supply. Cook the roux past blond to a genuine hazelnut colour and smell, three or four minutes, which does more for the flavour than any single addition. Butter browns fast, so keep the heat medium and stir.
3Beef dripping, duck fat, bacon fat or lard
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume
Where the drippings were wanted as fat rather than flavour, in roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding batter tins, frying or a roux, any rendered animal fat does the job at the same measurement and is a straight swap.
What changes
Best for
roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, frying, roux for gravy, roasting vegetables
Each leaves a different signature. Beef dripping is traditional for Yorkshire puddings and gives the deepest savoury flavour. Duck fat gives the crispest, cleanest roast potatoes of anything on this list. Bacon fat is delicious but smoky and unmistakably bacon, which is wonderful with potatoes and odd in a delicate chicken gravy. Schmaltz suits poultry dishes best.
4Neutral oil for the fat, stock concentrate for the flavour
Different taste
Use the same amount oil by volume, plus 1 teaspoon bouillon paste or 1 crushed stock cube per cup of liquid
The plainest option and better than its reputation.
What changes
Sunflower, rapeseed or vegetable oil crisps roast potatoes and puffs Yorkshire puddings as well as dripping does, because the crisping comes from a screaming hot tin rather than from the type of fat. Put the meatiness back separately with concentrate.
Best for
Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, roasting vegetables, gravy when combined with stock concentrate
You lose the savoury background flavour entirely, so the potatoes taste of potato and salt rather than of beef. Whether that matters depends on the meal. Oil actually has a higher smoke point than most drippings, so the tin can go hotter, which helps the rise on Yorkshire puddings.
5A browned mushroom and onion base
Different taste
8 oz (225 g) mushrooms plus 1 large onion replaces the drippings from a medium roast
The fully vegetarian route and the best of them.
What changes
Brown sliced mushrooms hard in oil or butter until they squeak and go deep brown, add finely sliced onion and cook until genuinely caramelised, then deglaze with wine or stock and build the gravy on that.
Best for
vegetarian and vegan gravy, nut roast, mushroom sauces, mashed potato gravy
Earthier and sweeter than meat gravy rather than a copy of it, with a real savoury weight from the mushrooms. A teaspoon of soy sauce, a spoonful of tomato puree and a splash of Worcestershire sauce, or Marmite for a vegan version, close most of the remaining gap. Do not crowd the pan or the mushrooms steam instead of browning.
6The honest answer: you cannot fake fond
Different taste
The brown crust welded to the bottom of a roasting tin is the result of meat proteins and sugars browning against hot metal, and nothing in a bottle reproduces it.
What changes
Every good substitute on this list works by browning something else instead, whether that is flour, mushrooms, onions or a handful of chicken wings.
Best for
understanding why one thing works and another does not
The practical takeaway is that browning is the step to spend your effort on, and shortcuts belong elsewhere. If you only have five minutes, use bought stock and brown the roux properly. If you have twenty, brown a few wings. Reaching for gravy browning or extra soy sauce to compensate gets you colour and salt but not the roasted flavour you were after.

What is Pan Drippings?

Pan Drippings is Pan drippings are the rendered fat and the concentrated browned juices left behind in the tin or skillet after roasting or searing meat, and they are the traditional base for gravy and pan sauces as well as the fat for roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.

Cooking tips

Work out which of the three jobs you actually need before you choose. Roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings need only the fat, so any rendered fat or even plain oil works. Gravy and pan sauces need the browned flavour above all, which is why browning something is unavoidable. And drippings are salty from the seasoned meat, so any swap needs salt added back.
Deglaze whatever you have browned. Once the pan has a brown crust, pour in a splash of wine, stock or even water and scrape hard with a wooden spoon while it bubbles. That step lifts the flavour off the metal and into the liquid, and skipping it is the most common reason a homemade gravy tastes thin.
For Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes, the fat must be smoking hot before the batter or the potatoes go in. That matters far more than which fat you chose, and a cold tin is why puddings stay flat regardless of whether you used beef dripping or oil.
If you do have some drippings but not enough, stretch rather than substitute. Pour off what you have, let it settle so the fat rises above the dark juices, and use the fat for the roux and the dark juices in the liquid. Two tablespoons of real drippings plus butter to make up the difference tastes far better than butter alone.
Do not confuse gravy browning or soy sauce with roasted flavour. Both are useful for colour and salt, and a pale gravy that has been darkened still tastes pale unless something was properly browned first. Add them at the end, after the flavour is already built.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the drippings out?

Not if you are making gravy or a pan sauce, because the drippings were the base and there is nothing left without them. You need at minimum a fat, a thickener and a well-seasoned liquid, which is the butter, flour and stock route above. For roast potatoes or Yorkshire puddings you can leave the drippings out entirely and use oil, and the result is nearly as good because the crisping comes from heat rather than from the fat.

How do I make gravy without any pan drippings?

Melt two tablespoons of butter, whisk in two tablespoons of flour and keep cooking and stirring until it smells nutty and turns the colour of a hazelnut, three to four minutes. Whisk in a cup and a half of well-seasoned chicken, beef or vegetable stock a little at a time so it stays smooth, then add half a teaspoon of soy sauce, a splash of wine and pepper. Simmer five minutes and taste for salt. The browned roux is the part that makes it taste like gravy, so do not rush it.

Can I use bacon fat instead of pan drippings?

Yes, measure for measure, and it is excellent for roast potatoes, cornbread and greens. Be aware it is smoky and salty and tastes clearly of bacon, so it will pull a gravy or sauce in that direction, which is great with pork or chicken and distracting with beef or turkey. Cut it half and half with butter if you want the richness without the smoke dominating.

What can I use instead of drippings for Yorkshire puddings?

Beef dripping is traditional and gives the best flavour, but sunflower, rapeseed or vegetable oil work just as well for the rise and the crisp, and plenty of good cooks use oil by choice because it has a higher smoke point. What actually determines whether they rise is a very hot tin, hot fat, a rested batter and not opening the oven, none of which depends on which fat you used.

Is there a vegetarian substitute for pan drippings?

Yes, and the good one is a hard-browned mushroom and onion base. Brown mushrooms in oil until deep brown and squeaky, caramelise sliced onions with them, deglaze with wine or stock, then thicken with a browned roux. Add soy sauce, a spoonful of tomato puree and Marmite or Worcestershire sauce for depth. It is earthier and sweeter than meat gravy rather than a copy, and it is genuinely good in its own right.

Related substitutes

More meat & protein substitutes

Pan Drippings substitute

Other pan drippings substitutes

2Butter plus stock plus a browned roux

3Beef dripping, duck fat, bacon fat or lard

4Neutral oil for the fat, stock concentrate for the flavour

5A browned mushroom and onion base

6The honest answer: you cannot fake fond