Our easy homemade Biscuits and Gravy Recipe is true to the classic Southern breakfast of creamy sausage gravy over flaky, buttery biscuits. It’s simple to make and so satisfying.
This hearty dish is a staple meal in the South that has become part of Southern cuisine, similar to Banana Pudding, Shrimp Boil, and Mississippi Pot Roast. While everyone says their Grandma made it best, there’s one thing we can all agree on: it makes for one delicious start to your day.
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Homemade Biscuits and Gravy Recipe
We don’t go out to eat for breakfast often, but when we do, I love to order biscuits and gravy – it’s the ultimate breakfast comfort food, but now I make them even better at home!
This Biscuits and Gravy recipe, sometimes called Sawmill Gravy, uses flour, butter, milk, and sausage, staple ingredients found inexpensively at your local grocery. Here are more reasons why we love it:
- Simple to make so it’s perfect for beginner and seasoned chefs alike
- Crowd-pleasing recipe is loved by adults and kids
- Has a short list of ingredients
- Easy to make ahead for a quick meal
- Filling enough for breakfast or dinner
- Easy to adjust the recipe to fit your tastes
Classic Country Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Homemade biscuits are easy to make and are amazing when freshly baked— warm and flaky just out of the oven. Using our Homemade Biscuits recipe, you can make the dough the night before, and bake the biscuits while you make the sausage gravy for a quick 15-minute meal.
To make the dough, you’ll need a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour or pulse together in a food processor. Once the ingredients are together, be careful not to over-mix.
Pro Tip
For the best Biscuits: make sure your butter and half and half are very cold. You can make half and half by combining equal parts of milk and heavy cream. I recognize that measurement is an odd duck, but it works. I’ve dialed it in so if you measure your ingredients correctly, they will be perfect every time!
Ingredients
Our classic Biscuits and Gravy recipe stays true to basic tried-and-true dishes using these simple, inexpensive ingredients:
- Homemade Biscuit Recipe – these are easier than you think and hands-down the best way to make this recipe, but the canned biscuits or mixes like Bisquick can work in a pinch
- Butter – unsalted helps you control the salt to your liking. Butter keeps the sausage from sticking and adds richness to the gravy
- Sausage – Sausage brands can vary a ton from sweet to spicy, so start with your favorite breakfast sausage and it’s ok to experiment with different varieties. They usually come in a rolled package, like Bob Evans’ brand.
- Flour – all-purpose flour thickens the sauce
- Milk – low fat or whole milk will give the best texture
- Sea salt and pepper – just these two seasonings flavor the gravy perfectly. Taste and season to your liking
- Red Pepper Flakes – optional for those who like a touch of heat.
Did you know…
The difference between Country gravy and Sausage gravy is the source of fat used to make the gravy. Country gravy uses butter to make the roux, similar to how we make our Chicken Pot Pie, while sausage gravy uses the fat rendered from cooking the meat to make the gravy.
Substitutions
Centuries of cooks have added their own tweaks to the classic recipe that dates back to the late 1800’s. Here are some of the variations that may inspire your adventurous side:
- Sausage – Hot, mild, or maple sausages are favorites. We’ve heard of cooks using ground beef, bacon, and even chorizo!
- Spices – Sage is a favorite spice to add. Also Thyme, rosemary, cayenne, or creole seasoning. Add to the cooked sausage before adding the flour and milk
- Vegetables – jalapeños add heat; mushrooms and caramelized onions can add earthy depth to the gravy right before serving.
How to Make Biscuits and Gravy
See how easy it is to put this homemade biscuits and sausage gravy recipe on the table for your next breakfast gathering.
- Make the biscuits. Make the biscuit dough and bake according to our easy homemade Biscuits Recipe. While the biscuits bake, start the gravy.
- Melt butter in the cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and cook sausage. When just cooked through, reduce heat to medium, and sprinkle flour over the cooked meat. Then stir constantly for 3 minutes or until the flour smell is gone.
- Slowly add milk while stirring occasionally. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using).
- Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for about 5 minutes or until the sauce has become thick and creamy, and then season again if needed.
- Serve the gravy over a split biscuit–yum!
Pro Tip:
To make the best gravy, be sure the flour smell has disappeared before adding the milk to remove the pasty taste. The flour should be lightly browned. Also, do not drain the sausage fat after cooking, because the fat helps to make the gravy roux.
How to Serve Biscuits and Gravy
To serve our homemade biscuits and gravy, split the cooled biscuit in half and spoon the sausage gravy over the top. It’s traditionally served for breakfast alongside other breakfast foods, but it is also delicious for dinner. Here are a few of our favorite sides:
- Fruit Salad with Citrus and Honey Syrup
- Scrambled Eggs or Poached Eggs
- Sautéed Apples
- Hash Browns
- Baked Bacon
- Waffles
- Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
- Marinated Tomatoes
Make-Ahead
Make the gravy and biscuit dough the night before. Then in the morning, it’s simple to reheat the gravy while the biscuits cook.
- To Refrigerate: Wrap the biscuit dough in plastic wrap to keep overnight. Let the gravy cool completely and then refrigerate in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
- Freezing: After completely cooled, freeze the gravy for 3-5 months.
- To Reheat: Let the gravy thaw in the fridge overnight. Then slowly reheat on the stove on low stirring occasionally. Add a splash of milk to thin.
Pro Tip
Serve the gravy warm, because it will get thicker as it cools. For feeding a crowd, leave it covered on the stove in the warm or low setting, but if it gets too thick, simply add a bit of milk to thin.
This Southern Biscuits and Gravy recipe is a hearty, comfort food that’s quick and easy to make. You’ll love the flaky homemade biscuits smothered in the rich gravy, so don’t wait to try this breakfast dish!
More Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
If you love this Sausage Gravy and Biscuits Recipe, then you won’t want to miss these other special occasion breakfast recipes:
- Easy Frittata Recipe
- Classic French Toast
- Perfect Omelette
- Easy Shakshuka Recipe
- Eggs Benedict
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Breakfast Tacos
Biscuits and Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
For the Biscuits:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder, (aluminum-free)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt, (we use fine sea salt)
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, (8 Tbsp)
- 1 cup cold half and half, less 2 Tbsp*
- 1/2 Tbsp melted butter, to brush the baked biscuits
For the Sausage Gravy
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 lb breakfast sausage, casings removed
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk, low fat or whole milk
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Make your biscuit dough and bake according to our Biscuits Recipe. While the biscuits are baking, make the sausage gravy so they are ready at the same time.
- Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a large heavy skillet or cast iron pan over medium-high heat and add sausage. Sauté, breaking it up with a spatula until just cooked through (5 min). Reduce heat to medium, sprinkle flour over the top and stir constantly for 3 minutes.
- Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, if using.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened up nicely into a rich and creamy sauce (about 5 minutes). To thin the sauce, add a little more milk. Season to taste at the end if needed.
- Break or cut biscuits in half and spoon sausage gravy over biscuits then serve.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Great Recipe! First time making biscuits and gravy and my husband LOVED it!
Amazing!! First time I’ve made anything like this (I confess I used store-bought buttermilk biscuits cuz I already had them) but the gravy was a humongous hit! Absolutely delicious and very easy. I’ll def be getting requests for this for future breakfasts and brunches.
I made mine with Sage Jimmy Dean sausage. I also made the Dream Biscuit recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. Very delicious.
Woo hoo. Made your sausage gravy and biscuits this New Year’s Day 2025. Yum. Also made your Pecan Pie Bars for Christmas. Big hit.
Happy New Year! So glad they were a hit.
First time making biscuits and gravy and let me just tell you, they were delicious! Thank you Natasha!
You’re so welcome, Sonia! Thank you for your review.
This is the perfect recipe!
We made these quite a few times now. Pretty easy to make. Definitely one of our favorites from Natasha. Just don’t screw up like I did the first time and over mix the biscuits. Other times they were great when I followed instructions lol. Even great with just butter or jelly. The gravy you could eat by itself. Me and my wife ate till we couldn’t move. Great recipe. Natasha has a lot of great recipes.
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback. I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes.