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Our sausage gravy recipe is a classic that’s been handed down through generations of our family. With just five simple ingredients and 20 minutes, you’ll have our favorite Southern breakfast on your table. It’s full of flavor with a rich cream sauce, perfectly flavored sausage, and seasonings. Pour it over fresh, hot biscuits and you’ll have everyone asking for this recipe.
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This Homemade Sausage Gravy is an absolute southern comfort
This sausage gravy is one of my husband’s all-time favorite breakfasts to make. We serve it for special occasions (it’s great for a crowd) or just an everyday Sunday breakfast. Sausage gravy can be intimidating, but we’ve perfected this recipe for so long and rewritten it so that you can follow our step-by-step instructions to recreate it perfectly at home.
Within a matter of minutes, you’ll have piping hot sausage gravy that you can serve over hot open-faced biscuits.
What is Sausage and Gravy?
Sausage Gravy, better known as biscuits and gravy, is a staple southern classic breakfast dish. It is made up of an incredibly easy to make homemade sausage gravy with simple ingredients that you normally have on hand that is then poured over nice hot biscuits. It screams good old southern home cooking.
Typically this will be a dish that you eat when it is chilly outside, but honestly people eat this sausage gravy with biscuits all year long.
Homemade Sausage Gravy Recipe Ingredients
Sausage – For this sausage gravy I use a mild sausage to give it flavor, but not overpower the dish by using a spicy sausage.
Flour – In this recipe the flour is the thickening agent. When adding it to the sausage gravy recipe be sure that you do it slowly while stirring. If you just pour it in all at once you will have lumps in your gravy.
Milk – You are going to want to use whole milk with this recipe. This gives the gravy a thick creamy texture that you will love poured over your biscuits.
Seasoned Salt – Seasoned salt gives a nice variety of seasonings mixed with the salt. I use seasoned salt so often and it is a great staple to have on hand all the time.
Pepper – Pepper adds a little bit of pop and added flavor to the sausage gravy.
Biscuits – Grab some canned biscuits in the refrigerated section. I prefer Grands biscuits, but any will do.
How to make Homemade Sausage Gravy
Cook biscuits according to the packaging.
Brown sausage in a medium-large skillet over medium heat while the biscuits cook. Break up the sausage into small pieces. Once browned reduce heat to low.
Add flour gradually to browned sausage while stirring to combine.
Sir in milk.
Cook over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens. This will take around 10 minutes.
Add seasoned salt and pepper.
Serve sausage gravy on top of warm, open-faced biscuits.
How to make this recipe for Sausage Gravy in advance
One of the best things about sausage gravy is that you can make it ahead of time. I will typically do this for a special occasion like Christmas morning or even on Thanksgiving when I don’t want a big mess to clean up afterward.
To do this, you will make the gravy as directed and then allow the sausage gravy to cool completely.
Once cooled, place it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days ahead of time. Typically I like to make it the night before. If you do make ahead of time you will not want to store it again after reheating.
To reheat the gravy, place it in a saucepan over medium heat to warm back up. Stir occasionally while reheating. If you find that the gravy is too thick go ahead and add some milk to it.
Be sure to not omit the seasoned salt and the pepper. The seasonings gives this dish the flavor you are craving from biscuits and gravy.
Typically when browning sausage you would drain the fat, but when making sausage gravy you want to be sure to keep all the fat in the pan. This gives the recipes so much flavor!
Serve this dish over nice big open-faced biscuits, if you find yourself without biscuits potatoes will work well too!
If you like a thicker gravy, reduce the sauce down longer on the stove. If you prefer a thinner gravy, don’t cook it for as long.
What to serve with the Best Sausage Gravy Recipe
Sausage gravy is best when served with hot biscuits, but if you don’t have any biscuits on hand you can serve it over:
Fried potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Open-faced English Muffins
Grits
How to store Sausage and Gravy
To store your sausage gravy you will want to wait until it is completely cooled.
How long is Sausage Gravy good for in the fridge?
Once it is cooled you can store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
I would cook the biscuits the morning of because you want them to be hot and fresh.
CAN YOU FREEZE SAUSAGE GRAVY?
I don’t recommend freezing the sausage gravy. It is best if you make it and eat it.
With it being such a simple dish it is easy to whip up each time you are craving some good southern cooking.
LOOKING FOR OTHER AWESOME BREAKFAST RECIPES? TRY THESE!
Air Fryer Donuts
Sticky Buns with Biscuits
Hot chocolate donut holes
Sausage and Gravy Recipe FAQs
Can this recipe for sausage gravy be made without pork?
Pork sausage tends to be a little more on the fatty side, so people who are trying to eat healthier wonder if you can make sausage gravy without pork. You can substitute the pork sausage for turkey sausage, but by doing this you are drastically changing the texture and the flavor of sausage gravy and biscuits. I would say make biscuits and sausage gravy on your cheat day to really enjoy this dish how it is meant to be enjoyed.
Cook biscuits according to package instructions. While biscuits are in the oven, start the gravy.
Place sausage in medium-large skillet and brown sausage over medium-high heat, breaking sausage into small pieces. Cook until just brown. Reduce heat to low.
Gradually add flour to cooked sausage and stir until flour is combined with sausage.
Add milk and stir.
Continue to cook over low-medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. This will take up to 10 or more minutes.
Add in seasoned salt and pepper.
Serve sausage gravy on top of warm, open-faced biscuits.
What makes sausage gravy taste better? Sometimes sausage gravy can taste under-seasoned. This recipe is packed with flavor thanks to the use of chicken broth rather than just milk, as well as thyme, black pepper, salt, garlic, and cayenne in the final gravy. Spend time carefully deepening the color of the roux.
Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 cup of cool liquid (water or stock). ...
Whisk the slurry until it is smooth and lump-free, then add about 1 tablespoon at a time to your hot pan drippings and liquid mixture, using a whisk to thoroughly combine.
The main difference is that country gravy does not have sausage. Country gravy uses butter to make its roux, while sausage gravy uses the rendered fat from the meat, cooked with flour, to thicken the gravy. Check out Ree Drummond's recipe for country gravy which she serves alongside chicken fried steak.
If the gravy lacks oomph, adjust seasoning as necessary with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. If you used canned stock instead of homemade, the gravy might not be as flavorful.
Sausage: You'll need a package of pork sausage. Flour: All-purpose flour acts as a thickening agent. Milk: Milk adds richness and works with the flour to create the perfect texture. Seasonings: The gravy is simply seasoned with salt and pepper.
For an additional kick, add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes along with the seasonings. Onions/Garlic can be sautéed with the sausage as well. If the gravy becomes too thick, add a splash of milk.
If your gravy is on the skimpy side, you can thicken it quickly with flour or cornstarch. But don't add your thickener directly to the gravy, which will create lumps. Instead, try stirring in three or four tablespoons of flour or cornstarch into a small amount of cold water until you have a smooth paste.
If your gravy looks curdled or has an oily top layer, it's likely the emulsion of flour and fat that thickens the mixture has split or broken. Fix it by adding a splash of warm water or two and whisking vigorously to restore the balance of liquid and fat.
Onion powder and other seasoned salts (like celery salt or even truffle salt if you want to get fancy) will also give your canned gravy the flavor boost it needs. Another great way to elevate your canned sausage gravy is to pump up the spiciness.
Milk and cream add richness and flavor; they can round out or mellow any sharper flavors that develop along the way. Finishing a sauce or gravy with butter will thicken the gravy and add a velvety texture—a surefire way to up your gravy game.
Your gravy might taste doughy or chalky if you didn't cook the flour enough when making your roux. You'll want to cook the flour for at least five minutes, until it smells nutty and begins to turn light brown. But if you don't notice until it's too late and you've already added your broth, bring the gravy to a simmer.
Lumber was one of the main industries of the region, which supports the origin story that sausage gravy was also called sawmill gravy. It was the ideal cheap and calorie-dense fuel for sawmill workers lifting heavy logs all day long, and the perfect tool for making the era's biscuits more palatable.
A creamy skillet gravy made with drippings, this staple—known by many now as just "sausage gravy" or "country gravy"—can be said to bolster up the entire Southern breakfast menu, and nobody makes it better than the old-fashioned, country-style breakfast joint in your hometown or your own grandma.
I only season my homemade gravy with salt and pepper, and it's delicious! If you want to add more spices, avoid anything with large pieces (such as dried rosemary) to keep gravy smooth. Thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, paprika, and oregano all taste great.
If your gravy is too pale, a splash of soy sauce will darken it and add plenty of flavour. Scrape up the flavour-filled crusty bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. It really intensifies the gravy.
One easy way to thicken gravy is to simply reduce the liquid. Add any pan drippings you have to a small or medium-sized saucepan. Then, add in 1 cup of liquid, and simmer on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces by at least a third and the flavors are more concentrated.
Yes, biscuits and gravy is a popular breakfast dish in the Southern United States. It typically consists of fluffy, buttery biscuits topped with a creamy gravy made from sausage drippings, flour, milk, and seasonings. The dish is often served alongside other breakfast staples like eggs, bacon, and hash browns.
The term "sawmill gravy" comes from early logging camp food and old-time sawmills. It was originally made with cornmeal, bacon drippings, milk, and seasonings. This resulted in a somewhat gritty gravy; in fact, rumor has it that the loggers would accuse the cooks of putting sawdust in the recipe!
I only season my homemade gravy with salt and pepper, and it's delicious! If you want to add more spices, avoid anything with large pieces (such as dried rosemary) to keep gravy smooth. Thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, paprika, and oregano all taste great.
Seasonings, spices and herbs are added to give the sausages extra flavour. Small pieces of cooked apple, caramelised onions or other ingredients that pair well with pork can also be added to create interesting varieties.
If you're already using your oven, make room to roast a few cloves of garlic, too. Fresh or raw garlic is too pungent to add directly to store-bought gravy, but garlic softens to a silky paste when roasted, making it rich, sweet, and almost creamy.
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