Stir up a batch of your favorite biscuits - and get ready for a classic Southern breakfast! This delicious recipe is ready in minutes.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Easy to make, rich and creamy with a slight spicy bite, this simple white gravy is a southern breakfast staple.
- Homemade sausage gravy is the perfect breakfast for a special occasion or casual weekend morning.
- (techniques they'll learn or some other informative fact from the post)
If you're talking about a southern specialty then this recipe is going to be close to the top of the list!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Instead of using pork sausage in this homemade sausage gravy recipe, you can use turkey sausage for a lower fat option. If the turkey sausage doesn't give off about two tablespoons of drippings, you may need to add a little oil or butter.
- Use cooked bacon and bacon drippings instead of ground sausage if you prefer.
- Sometimes I use cooked ground beef.
- Use heavy cream or half and half instead of milk for an extra creamy gravy.
- Add yellow onions to the ground sausage while you are browning it for additional flavor.
- If you like more pepper in your gravy, add more to suit your taste buds.
- To make a flavorful gravy, you can add garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder, crushed red pepper flakes, or even hot sauce.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Place sausage in a large skillet, then brown over medium heat until it's no longer pink. Make sure it's cooked all the way through.
- Stir flour into the sausage until it's all absorbed, then cook for another minute or to two.
- Slowly blend in milk, stirring constantly to prevent clumps from forming. A whisk works best for this.
- Cook until the flour mixture thickens, stir constantly to prevent the gravy from scorching.
🥫 How to store white sausage gravy
Leftover gravy can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.
A flour based gravy like this can be frozen for up to two months, be sure to store it in a freezer-safe container.
If it's a little watery when it's thawed just stir it in as it's heating up.
For freshly cooked taste I recommend reheating leftover gravy in a medium saucepan on medium heat.
You may need to add a small amount of milk to make the gravy creamy again.
Biscuits are also best, when reheated in the oven instead of the microwave.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Be sure to stir this constantly, because gravy can scorch quickly. Stirring constantly helps prevent that.
- If the gravy is too thick, add a little more milk or heavy cream until it reaches your desired consistency.
- If the gravy is too thin, cook over medium-high heat until it thickens.
- I recommend using whole milk or evaporated milk to make this, as it gives the best flavor and texture.
- If you don't have enough drippings, you can also melt butter to make a roux for gravy.
- If you find lumps in the gravy, whisk it well until they break up. If a whisk doesn't work you can also smash the lumps against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon.
- Serve southern white gravy over fresh biscuits for a delicious southern breakfast.
👩🍳 FAQs
It's a simple cream sauce recipe - just flour, fat, and milk with a little salt and pepper to taste.
There could be two reasons why your gravy hasn't thickened. First, is it boiling? It needs to be hot to thicken. Second, you may not have used enough flour. To fix this make a flour slurry with 2 Tablespoons flour with 3 Tablespoons of water and add to the gravy.
It is better to use flour. If you use cornstarch, be very careful not to let the gravy scorch or it will become very thick and difficult to correct. Cornstarch also makes a slightly cloudy gravy.
Sawmill gravy is always made with drippings from meat, but it could be with bacon or sausage drippings. Just like the name implies sausage gravy is always made with sausage. It's also called country gravy or cream gravy when there's no sausage in it.
You sure can! Evaporated milk (not condensed milk!) makes a rich, creamy gravy that's delicious!
📚 Related recipes
- Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins are a delicious comfort food breakfast that's great to make ahead.
- Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits is a copycat recipe that the entire family will enjoy.
- You can never go wrong with these Buttermilk Waffles. They are a southern staple that appears on breakfast tables often.
- Christmas Crockpot Monkey Bread
- Homemade Kolache Recipe
- Ham and Cheese Grits Casserole
- Southern Peach Bread
🍽️ Serve with...
To me there's just nothing that compares to a country breakfast with all the fixin's.
I'm not a huge fan of eggs but I love this Egg Bites Recipe. It is a simple recipe for mornings when you want to add some flavor and protein to your breakfast.
Of course sausage gravy goes with homemade buttermilk biscuits but it's also great over hashbrowns or crispy fried potatoes (home fries).
You could also try these Easy Drop Biscuits if you want to save a little time in the kitchen.
🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends
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I love my Lodge cast iron skillet. It heats evenly and is the pan that I use the most on a regular basis! It will last for ever if you treat it right.
I have a ton of whisks but this is the set that gets the most use for gravies and sauces.
📞 The last word
I could eat my weight in this stuff.
I like to use spicy sausage and then once it's covering the biscuit I sprinkle hot sauce over the top. Gosh, it's so good!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
White Sausage Gravy
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 16 ounces ground pork breakfast sausage
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 ½ cups milk
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste, garlic powder, chipotle powder, crushed red pepper onion powder are optional possibilities.
Instructions
- Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until it's done and there's no more pink. Be sure to break up the meat as you cook. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and cook, stirring until all the flour is absorbed - cook for at least a minute or two.
- Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.
- Cook until the mixture comes to a slow boil and starts to thicken, stirring all the while.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 more minutes, continuing to stir and make sure that the gravy doesn't scorch on the bottom.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and any additional seasonings you want to use.
Notes
- If the gravy is too thick, add a little more milk or heavy cream until it reaches your desired consistency.
- If the gravy is too thin, cook over medium-high heat until it thickens.
- I recommend using whole milk or evaporated milk to make this, as it gives the best flavor and texture.
- If you don't have enough drippings, you can also melt butter to make a roux for gravy.
- If you find lumps in the gravy, whisk it well until they break up. If a whisk doesn't work you can also smash the lumps against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon.
- Serve southern white gravy over fresh biscuits for a delicious southern breakfast.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published Feb 27, 2022. Last updated September 7, 2023, for updated information and editorial improvements.
Janet Baumes says
I make this ehit grabey for cube steak. Fry floured cube steak and leave the grease in pan. Remove cube steak and add a little flour stir till grease is absorbed. Add milk while stirring. Gravey will thicken as it cooks. I add gravey master to darken gravey. Delicious. Was raised in W Va