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Our Sausage Gravy Recipe is a Southern staple, served over biscuits for breakfast or ‘brinner,’ and always a huge hit with the family. I’ll share the step-by-step + video below for this easy biscuits and gravy recipe or you can push the jump to recipe button and get straight to cooking!
I was horrified to discover that biscuits and gravy are not a popular or readily available dish up north when we had family come to visit.
And I’m not exactly a Southerner, – comin’ at ya from Illinois! But we’re big on biscuits and sausage gravy and this sausage gravy recipe is just about the easiest thing to make. It’s perfect for breakfast, but I really like to make it for dinner!
My dad’s homemade biscuits (or these extra easy 7 Up Biscuits), this easy sausage gravy, a pile of scrambled eggs, and some hashbrowns might just be the perfect breakfast out there. Maybe throw in some of our Belgian waffles if you’re really looking for a carb coma. 🙂
If you find gravy making to be a little intimidating, you’ll want to try our sausage gravy (also known as sawmill gravy). It’s basically the easiest type of gravy you could ever make.
I can just about guarantee you won’t mess this recipe up and you won’t end up with a bunch of lumps in your gravy!
Ingredient Notes:
Sausage – We use a roll of breakfast sausage here. The spicy variety is also good, if you like a little kick to your mornings.
Milk & Flour – The main ingredients for pretty much any creamy white gravy recipe! You’ll mix these up with the sausage and sausage grease to make the savory gravy.
Salt & Pepper – As much or as little as you’d like to taste.
What Readers are Saying!
“I love this recipe, I have always struggled to make sub par gravy and now, I make awesome gravy thanks to you! Thank you. The only extra I add in is Penzeys Shallot Pepper and it gives it a like kick up.” -Dianna
Homemade Sausage Gravy Tips & Tricks:
Sausage – There are lots of different brands of ground breakfast sausage in various flavors with different spices. I’d recommend using a brand you’ve already tried and enjoyed so that there aren’t any surprises. We like Jimmy Dean in our house.
Grease – It’s going to feel wrong, but don’t drain the grease! It’s the fat you’ll need to make the gravy.
Milk – I’d recommend using whole milk rather than skim milk when preparing the sausage gravy. If you enjoy extra rich and creamy gravy you could sub half and half for the milk.
Thick or Thin – Make this recipe for sausage gravy just the way you like! If you want a thicker gravy you can let it cook a bit longer to thicken up, or add more flour (before adding the milk). If it’s too thick you can easily thin it out with more milk.
What We Love About This Recipe:
- Savory Flavor: The sausage grease really adds flavor to this gravy! It’s perfect served over biscuits or hashbrowns.
- Simple: Homemade sausage gravy is quick and easy to make on busy mornings or nights when you want cozy comfort food.
- Cheap: Gravy is made with budget friendly ingredients and it’s the perfect way to use up any grease or fat that would have just gone to waste.
How to Make Sausage Gravy:
Sausage: To start, you’ll want to add a pound of breakfast sausage to a large skillet. I always prefer cast-iron but whatever you have is fine. Brown your sausage, breaking it up as it cooks.
Flour: When the sausage is completely cooked through, you’ll sprinkle flour over the sausage. Do NOT drain the grease from the sausage. You need that fat to make the gravy.
Mix: Stir the sausage well until it starts to look a little dry from the flour. Things will look a bit weird, but just stick with me.
Milk: Pour half your milk right over the sausage and start stirring over medium heat. It’ll seem like too much milk at first, but just trust me. As the milk heats up, the gravy will thicken.
Finish: Once the gravy has thickened a bit, add in the rest of the milk. Add in a pinch or two of salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. We like ours really pepper-y! Keep stirring and cooking until the gravy is as thick as you’d like.
Now, you don’t HAVE to stir 100% of the time, but you definitely don’t want it to sit for too long without stirring. This goes quick, but it does take some attention.
If you let your sausage gravy get thicker than you’d like, just add in more milk until it hits the consistency you’d like.
If you want a thicker gravy, just keep stirring over medium heat. Eventually, it will get to a point that it will no longer thicken, but I can’t imagine anyone would want the gravy any thicker than it will get following this recipe. If you do, next time just add in a couple extra tablespoons of flour with your sausage.
Split a biscuit in half, spoon the homemade gravy over the top, and dig in!
Helpful Tip!
Sausage Gravy Serving Suggestions:
This is great served with air fryer hashbrowns, omelets, scrambled eggs, breakfast pizza, and toast! We’ve even used the leftovers over mashed potatoes. Gravy makes everything better.
Make Ahead:
To prepare this homemade sausage gravy ahead of time you’ll pretty much just follow all the same steps in the recipe but let it cool completely a bit before you store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
It can last for about 4 to 5 days in the fridge so you can enjoy it for breakfast all week long if you make enough. It will thicken up as it cools but you can just add a little milk when reheating to help thin it back out.
You can also freeze it in a freezer safe bag or container for up to a few months!
FAQs:
A sausage gravy recipe is made a lot like a white gravy would be only you’re using the grease from the sausage instead of butter. It’s a simple, savory way to enhance lots of dishes and to make use of the grease.
I’m using a typical breakfast sausage blend. This recipe also works well with spicy ground breakfast sausage, if you like a little kick.
You can keep this homemade gravy stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 4 to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or a skillet, adding a little milk as needed to thin it out.
Yes! If you want to store it long term it should freeze well for about 3 months if you store it in freezer safe bags or containers.
MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES!
- Cinnamon Roll French Toast Casserole
- Air Fryer Sausage Patties
- Amish Breakfast Casserole
- Pumpkin Donuts
- Keto Breakfast Casserole
Sausage Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork sausage
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 cups milk plus more, as needed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown the sausage over medium heat in a large skillet, breaking it into small chunks as it cooks.
- When the sausage is cooked through, pour the flour over the meat and stir it to coat all of the meat.
- Cook for a couple of minutes until the flour is soaked into the meat.
- Pour in half of the milk and stir until the gravy thickens.
- Pour in the remaining milk and stir until it comes to the consistency you like. If it gets to thick, add more milk as needed.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve over biscuits, hashbrowns, or eggs.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published October 2011. It was updated with new photos and a video August 2019. Original photo below.
Kristy @ Sweet Treats and More says
I love sausage gravy…especially over biscuits. But also over mashed potatoes, or a thick piece of toast. Yumm-0!
sylvia says
just finished making this and very yummie especially since it only has a handful of ingrediants! i have a couple go to sausage gravy recipes and this is the simplest and one of the best!
B.J. says
My husband loves biscuits & gravy, sausage & gravy so much I have nicknamed him “Biscuit”!!!!
Melanie says
I always fail at making gravy. I might just have to give this a try. My mom has some fancy mason jar shake shake thing she does. Mine always taste like paste.
I am thinking breakfast for dinner tmrw. Yummy!
Sandy says
I think you may need more salt and pepper. The more pepper the better aND if you’re using just bacon or sausage fat from fat you save in your refrigerator in a cup.(Use it for pinto beans and white beans.for flavor) Add your flour and season well brown the flour slow stirring and scraping skillet. After flour browns nice slowly pour your milk in and stir, scraping bottom and sides of pan until thickens to desired consistency.
Carla says
Hi Melanie,
Try cooking the gravy longer, taste it, and when it no longer tastes like flour or paste, you are good to go. I did use flour occasionally, prior to my husband becoming gluten intolerant, but I found that corn starch lost its paste/flour taste quicker than flour.
Patti says
Use cornstarch to eliminate the flour/chalky taste. I never use flour for that reason, I have been making sausage gravy for to many years to count.
Cookbook Queen says
Living in Arkansas, it’s basically a rule of life that I know how to make good gravy. They’d probably drag me through the streets and throw Busch Light cans at me if I couldn’t 😉
Also, you made me super self conscious when you said to serve over hashbrowns, biscuits, OR eggs….because I serve mine over hashbrowns, biscuits, AND eggs…
brandi says
ps: my husband is an omelet Master. Bring your gravy over, plus something with Nutella, and we’ll trade.
brandi says
I love gravy.
Have you ever made bacon gravy? holy moly, that is good. my in-laws are breakfast lovers, so learning all the breakfast basics was first on my list when i started cooking after we got married.
biscuits + gravy = one happy Brandi.
Sandy says
Bacon fat gravy or sausage gravy pretty much the same taste.. been making this myself since I was a young girl of 16..practiced until I hot it right. First batch could of been used to caulk….lol
Tiffany VR says
Pretty sure I’ll be making this tonight. Breakfast makes a perfect supper, right?
As for omelettes, if you can boil water you can make an omelette. (Mix eggs and desired omelette toppings in a cup. Pour contents into a small sandwich size Ziploc bag. Place bag in pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes per egg. Dump contents of baggie into bowl.) Super easy, next to no clean up, and delicious.
cherylK says
Sausage gravy is one of my favorites…I do love it on hot biscuits. Haven’t made this for ages but you’ve got me in the mood, again! I just know you’re going to have everyone putting this on their “must make” lists!
Jules says
I love sausage & gravy!!!! I lived in the south for a while and this was how I was taught to make also!! Leave in ALL the fat!! Love it over homemade baking powder biscuits. Made this for our camping group for breakfast…all i heard was mmmmmmm…more please?
Joanne says
Hmm I think my inabilities might have something to do with the fact that my mom always made it from a packet. Which is really just gross.
I need to pass this along to her and prove to her that she can actually make it from scratch!
Amy's Cooking Adventures says
This looks wonderful – I love that it uses milk instead of cream!
Tee says
Well, this looks delicious!! Breakfast for dinner might be in the cards this week!
Thanks!
Carla says
This is delicious, but since my husband is gluten intolerant I used cornstarch added to the milk. If it is too thick add a bit more milk. If too thin take a little bit of milk and add some more of the cornstarch. It thickened as it should and was great. He cannot eat biscuits made from wheat flour, so I made some using the gluten-free Bisquick. Hey, when there is a will there is a way.
Stephanie says
These look so good!! My beloved Great Grandma was the only person who ever made these for me, and I miss them so much! I might have to make some, they look incredibly easy. She didn’t measure anything either 🙂
mrsblocko says
Great minds think alike. I just made this gravy from scratch for the first time last night. It was wonderful and I can’t figure out why I hadn’t tried it out sooner.
DiannaS says
I love this recipe, I have always struggled to make sub par gravy and now, I make awesome gravy thanks to yiu! Thank you. The only extra I add in is Penzeys Shallot Pepper and it gives it a like kick up.