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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.
Julie says
Hi Karly
Can I freeze this?
Karly says
Hmm, I’ve never tried freezing sausage gravy, but Google says it’ll freeze well in an airtight container for up 3 months. 🙂
Ed says
My parents were from the South and we had this every Sunday. 1st time I tried making it it was bad, no one would eat it. I remember someone saying to patch the driveway with it. Such a loving family. LOL
Karly says
Haha!! Family is always the nicest. 😉
Gina Young says
I always dice a medium onion and saute it with the sausage. Never measure the flour . Just coat the meat. And add milk and stir. The onion gives it a sweetness that goes well with the savory of the sausage. I totally agree with you on the ground pepper. It’s a must. I make this gravy in a large gallon container for camping with my family and my sister’s family. We use toasted English muffins because it seems easier to prepare in a campfire. We tear the muffins before we pour the gravy on them so the kids don’t have to cut them up with our plastic ware.
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Malissa says
This is a great recipe. Super easy to follow. I make it a lot but always come back to make sure how much milk as i often forget. The seasoning is perfection.
Karly says
Nothing better than biscuits and gravy! Glad you like the recipe – in the future, you can totally just dump in some milk and keep adding until it’s the right consistency. I never measure any of this and it always turns out. 🙂
Rich says
This was super easy and super delicious! It was a treat reading the directions which Had me hearing a southern accent co-pilot. I ended up teaching this to Chinese family visiting us. They liked it so much I just had to show them how easy it was to do.
Becky T says
Personally I have karmic issues with pie crust. I am good to go with most any gravy . I solved the omelet issue I’m my kitchen by making really incredibly good, loaded scrambled eggs.
Karly says
Karmic issues with pie crust…hahaha! Thanks for the laugh!
Sally says
Wondering if you can freeze this gravy? I am only cooking for 1 and would love to have some on hand when my children come home.
Bill says
We always called it ” sawmill ” gravy for covering our cathead biscuits
Karly says
Yes, I’ve heard it called that! 🙂
Tracy says
First time I had biscuits and gravy my friend made it and it was SO delicious! Next time I had them was at a diner in CO and they were terrible! Super dry biscuits, and way too much super salty gravy. Just made this gravy recipe myself and it turned out SO GOOD! This will be my go to breakfast recipe for sure!!!
Concha Coll says
In cuisine, an omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat (often ham), or some combination of the above. To obtain a fluffy texture, whole eggs or sometimes egg whites only are beaten with a small amount of milk or cream, or even water, the idea being to have “bubbles” of water vapor trapped within the rapidly cooked egg. Some home cooks add baking powder to produce a fluffier omelette; however, this ingredient is sometimes viewed unfavorably by traditionalists.
Keith Harvey says
Here in the UK we reserve the word ‘gravy’ for a meaty sauce served either with a traditional ‘Sunday roast’, or poured over a meat pie, fried or baked sausages, etc. It comes light or dark brown, thin or thick. Instant mixes are sold, but it’s much better made from the meat juices, roast onion, flour, salt, the water any accompanying greens were cooked in (to conserve flavour/vitamins), and possibly a Knorr or Oxo stock cube.
The idea of a whitish gravy made with milk/cream piques my interest! Is it basically a variation on a classic Béchamel white sauce, such as the French serve over flageolet beans and garlic-spiked roast lamb? I’ll be back with my thoughts as soon as I’ve tried your recipe out.
April Snider says
Thank you very much for the quick repsonse and the ideas:)
April Snider says
I just made some this morning and followed all the directions to a T, while it looked great, it still was very bland and didn’t taste at all what I was expecting it too. Help please!!
Karly says
Sorry to hear that! You definitely have to add a good bit of salt and pepper. It’s a cream gravy so it’s not going to have a ton of flavor and will definitely need salted. You can certainly add in some fresh or dried herbs if you’d like as well.
Maggie Martin says
Ooooh yeah, I always add a good helping of dried Basil about 5 minutes before the gravy is done, stir it in and yes, salt! Add a couple fried eggs and then Dig In!
Thanks Karly
Maggie
Jessica Davis says
The trick to making a good omelet is to add a little water to your eggs (not milk as you would in scrambled eggs)-about 1 Tab per egg. Use a good, non-stick pan and add a little butter to make it slide even better-and taste good too ;0) Heat pan on medium until it’s sizzlin hot. Pour egg mixture in pan. As egg sets push the edges toward the middle and tilt pan so that the raw egg slides under and toward the edge of pan. Continue doing this until almost set. Add your yummy stuffing to one side and gently flip up one side. Hoila!
Katie Stieg says
I am SO glad I found your blog- I was going to make this for dinner tonight (I’m a “breakfast for dinner” type of girl every once in awhile!), but opted for hash browns and eggs instead. I will definitely be using this recipe though, because I am seriously bad at making gravy! It looks great, too!