Southern Sausage Gravy Recipe
This post first appeared on Yellow Bliss Road where I am a contributor.
When it comes to weekend brunch, nothing beats a homemade Southern Sausage Gravy Recipe! This creamy, peppery gravy is comfort food at its finest!
My husband’s favorite breakfast is biscuits & gravy. Anytime I make it his eyes light up and I get that warm fuzzy “food is love” feeling. It’s the best!
This sausage gravy is so easy to make. Just 4 simple ingredients some seasonings and you’re in business. Serve the best sausage gravy recipe around over some homemade buttermilk biscuits and you’ll be everyone’s favorite person!
LOVE THIS RECIPE? PIN IT FOR LATER!
Follow Bread Booze Bacon on Pinterest
I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve made this sausage gravy for my family. Over the years I’ve tried different things. Taking the sausage out of the pan to make the gravy with the fond and roux. Leaving the sausage to mixture the flour and some extra butter. Adding some extra spices to give a little more umami (depth of flavor) to the gravy.
This is my favorite iteration of this recipe. Mike is pretty choosy about his biscuits and gravy, and he clears the plate every time I make my gravy this way. Wife tested, husband approved
Homemade Sausage Gravy Ingredients
- Breakfast Sausage – Whichever kind you like. We prefer Jimmy Dean mild sausage, but sage or hot works just fine too.
- Unsalted Butter
- All-Purpose Flour
- 2% Milk
- Black Pepper – I like to go heavy on the pepper for my gravy, but you could start by using 1/2 teaspoon and then add more to taste.
- Salt, Garlic Powder & Paprika – This combo is a homemade seasoned salt (skip the bottle from the store). It’s a flavor boost and adds a great depth of flavor. If you want, you can leave out the garlic powder and paprika. I’ve made this recipe both ways and it’s delicious either way, so you do you.
How to Make Sausage Gravy
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot add the sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break down the sausage as it cooks. You want small pieces. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink and is starting to sear (get browned and caramelized).
- Add unsalted butter to the pan. Let the butter melt while stirring it in with the sausage and sausage grease. We’re making a roux and need more fat in the pan. Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir it all together. Boom, roux. Cook the flour for 1 minute to take away the raw flour taste.
- Pour in 1 cup of milk and stir it with the sausage. This will pull the flour/fat mixture into the milk and prevent lumps in your gravy. Pour in the rest of the milk and stir.
- Bring your gravy to a simmer (just bubbling). Stir frequently to prevent the milk from scalding. Continue to cook until the gravy thickens to your desired consistency.
*If the gravy gets too thick, you can add some more milk until it thins out to your liking. - Remove skillet from the heat and stir in garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle fresh sage over the gravy if desired.
- Serve warm over biscuits that have been split in half.
What goes with biscuits and gravy?
- Ummm, everything! I make this sausage gravy and biscuits as a stand-alone breakfast at my house. That being said, some breakfast potatoes and fresh fruit are great side options.
How long will sausage gravy last in the refrigerator?
- Usually about 3 to 5 days at our house… if it lasts that long. I like to reheat the gravy by itself and then spoon over biscuits or toast. Just pop the storage container in the microwave and nuke for 1 minute, stir and nuke for 30 seconds. Repeat stirring and 30-second heating intervals until warmed through.
How do you make Alton Brown sausage gravy?
- Basically, it’s the same recipe you see here without the butter, garlic powder, and paprika. And instead of adding the flour to the skillet with the sausage, Alton takes the sausage out of the pan to make a roux with the sausage grease and flour. He whisks in the milk and adds the sausage back after the gravy has thickened.
How do you thicken sausage gravy?
- The flour and grease combination in the skillet creates a roux which is the thickening agent for this gravy.
If your gravy is too thin, you can mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water and stir it into the gravy. Cook until the gravy thickens up.
If your gravy is too thick (I like mine on the thick side), add a tablespoon or two of milk and stir into the gravy. Repeat until your desired consistency is reached.
So much sausage, so little time! (That’s what she said…)
- Caramelized Onion & Italian Sausage Pizza
- Sausage Pinwheels
- Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing
- Smoked Sausage and Potatoes Foil Packet Meal
- Hissy Fit Dip
Crazy good breakfasts we love!
- French Onion Sour Cream Biscuits
- Overnight Blintz Bake
- Cinnamon Sugar Muffins
- Cheesy Sausage Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole
- Dad’s Coffee Cake
- More breakfast recipes…
Southern Sausage Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
- Fresh sage finely chopped, for garnish
- Buttermilk biscuits for serving
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until no longer pink and nicely browned.
- Add butter to skillet and stir until melted. Sprinkle flour over sausage and stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in 1 cup of milk. Stir to incorporate the flour and prevent lumps. Pour in the rest of the milk and stir.
- Bring to a simmer and cook until gravy thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the milk from scalding.
- Remove gravy from heat. Stir in pepper, salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Sprinkle with sage before serving, if desired. Serve warm over biscuits.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
This recipe is so good! It is perfectly simple ingredient wise, and it was a hit in my household! I will definitely make this again.
Delicious, only used salt and pepper. Gravy thickens up nicely. The biscuits were store bought and baked at home. Very filling meal. Yes will make again!
Perfect recipe for Christmas Eve morning!!!
I only had skim milk so I did half skim and half half-and-half
I love this recipe. Been making for years. I also add onion powder. I heat up my milk in a mason jar in microwave add my flour to warm milk put lid on n shake. Pour into sausage with the melted butter mix and stir. Comes out perfect everytime.
This is very similar to the recipe I use. I’ll try out the paprika for sure. Maybe because I use the Jimmy Dean hot sausage I haven’t tried any additional seasonings. I sauté some diced onion and bell pepper in a bit of butter before browning the sausage for extra flavor. Also since I don’t measure and tend to be a bit heavy handed with the flour, I thin with chicken broth so it doesn’t get too heavy.
My recipe is similar, been cooking it for more years than I care to count but…I always chop up and brown an onion with the sausage and always use half milk and half buttermilk. The way I learned how to cook in living in the south. Servered it at my restaurant in the north like that for years! Different strokes for different folks!
Sounds delicious Michelle. I’ll have to give it a try. 🙂
Best gravy I have made, seasoning were perfect for my taste.
I’m so glad to hear this Brandy! 🙂
My dad used to make breakfast for us on Sunday mornings. He would make a big chicken fryer of sausage and gravy. When the gravy was made, he would pour in a bowl of eggs and scramble them in the hot gravy. And serve over biscuits. He called it Dutch Gravy. Ummm good.
I haven’t tried it yet, but appreciate your humor, “that’s what she said” 😂
I was going to make this to bring to work tomorrow. I want it to stay warm, do you think I could make it and then put in crockpot and take to work so it stays warm
Yes, but make sure to stir it before serving. The gravy will start to form a skin on top as it sits.
Love the recipe ! I made with half the pepper this first time and it was great. Do you suggest making it any thinner than normal if it’s going to be kept warm in a crock for awhile?
Hi Jennifer. Yes, I would thin it a little bit, or you could add some milk and stir as needed to loosen it back up.
It tasted great but it was too thick and even adding a lot more milk didn’t thin it out enough… next time I will
Use less flour.
I do like my gravy thick. You can start with 2 tablespoons of flour and add more flour slurry as needed to thicken the gravy more once it’s cooked. (Slurry = 1 tbsp flour + 1 tbsp milk and then stir it into the gravy)
Would it be ok to make this the day before and just warm up in the morning?
Hi Angie. You can make the gravy ahead and warm it up the next day. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat until the gravy is warmed through. You may need to add a little more milk to help thin it out to your desired consistency.
This has been my go to biscuits and gravy recipe for years! Thank you for sharing it with us! I was curious if you have or thought it could be made and frozen ahead of time. I have a family reunion coming up and for ease of traveling I was thinking of making it ahead of time and freezing it to bring along.
Hi Lexie! You can freeze this gravy. Let it cool to room temp, you don’t want it to be warm at all. Then place it in a freezer-safe food storage bag of container and pop it in the freezer. To reheat, defrost the gravy in the fridge overnight (depending on how much is in the container it may take a little longer). Then add the gravy to a saucepan or skillet and reheat over medium-low heat. If it’s on the thick side, you can stir in some milk to thin it out. Hope this helps. 🙂
I have always had a love hate relationship with gravy. I love to eat it, love to make it, but hate that i never was able to get it just quite right. Your recipe is a hit in my house!
Easy and delicious
Delish. Will make it again.
Can I double the recipe?
Absolutely. You may need a bigger skillet or one with deep sides to accommodate the amount.