Sausage Gravy is an old-fashioned Southern breakfast staple that pairs crumbled browned sausage with a rich, creamy country gravy base. Perfect for adding comfort food goodness to biscuits, grits, and more!
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Sausage Gravy Recipe
- Just What Your Biscuits Need. You can butter your biscuits, you can slather them in jam, but it’s not a real Southern breakfast unless you’re spooning meaty sausage gravy on top!
- Biscuits and Gravy and Everything Else. Drop Biscuits or Breakfast Biscuits might be the classic pairing with old-fashioned sausage gravy, but let’s not sleep on other options like grits, English muffins, and even Mashed Potatoes. It’s all good!
- Quick and Easy Breakfast Option. When you’re planning a special occasion brunch or breakfast, you need all the simple options you can get (like Turkey Sausage). Well, it doesn’t get much easier than sausage gravy! It feels like something special, but it’s done and ready to serve in just 20 minutes.
- Comfort Food at Its Best. Like Ham Gravy, this easy sausage gravy is rich and creamy, and like Turkey Gravy and Mushroom Gravy, it’s full of savory flavor and umami. Between the creaminess and the taste, it hits all the right comfort food notes.
5 Star Review
“This recipe has spoiled me for any other sausage gravy. I can’t order it in a restaurant anymore, it’s not as flavorful as this recipe. One of the best. Thank you!”
— Lucy —
How to Make the Best Sausage Gravy
The Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter. There’s a lot of salt in the sausage, so don’t add extra with the butter.
- Bulk Breakfast Sausage. You can use turkey or pork for this Southern sausage gravy recipe.
- Ground Black Pepper. If you like a peppery gravy, go ahead and add extra.
- Dry Rubbed Sage. Thyme or rosemary can be used instead, but they both have a more pronounced flavor than the sage.
- All-Purpose Flour. For the roux.
- Milk. I use 1%, but you can use whole milk for a thicker consistency.
- Breakfast Biscuits. For serving.
The Directions
- Brown the Sausage. Do this with a little bit of butter, because YUM.
- Add the Flour. Cook it until it’s golden so you don’t have any raw flour taste.
- Finish. Slowly stream in the milk. Simmer and stir until the sausage gravy thickens, then season to taste and ENJOY!
What to Serve with Sausage Gravy
- Biscuits. Store-bought or homemade, biscuits are the classic pairing with old-fashioned sausage gravy!
- Potatoes. Why limit yourself to turkey gravy?! Try Southern sausage gravy on Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Oven Roasted Potatoes, or Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes.
- Breakfast Favorites. Jazz up your Egg Muffins or Crockpot Breakfast Casserole by adding gravy.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Add Oil or Butter if Needed. If you use turkey sausage, the pan might dry out after a while. You’ll need some fat in the skillet to make the roux, so add more butter or oil if you need to.
- Make Sure You Fully Cook the Flour. Cook the flour until it turns a light golden brown before adding in the milk; this will take about 2 minutes. If you start adding the milk sooner, the gravy will have a raw flour taste to it. No one wants that!
- Add the Milk Slowly. When adding the milk to the roux, make sure to do it sloooowly and gradually. I’ll usually stream in some to start, then once the mixture is smooth and creamy, start streaming in the rest. This will help prevent lumps and create a smooth gravy.
- Break Up the Sausage Super Fine. This is a trick I learned in the South. Use a potato masher so your gravy is in fine bits. That gives you goodness in every bite!
Sausage Gravy
Prep: 3 minutes
Cook: 17 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
This easy old-fashioned Southern sausage gravy pairs browned sausage with a creamy country gravy base, perfect for smothering biscuits!
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage turkey or pork
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper plus additional to taste
- ¼ teaspoon dry rubbed sage plus additional to taste
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups milk I used 1%; use whole milk for more richness
- Breakfast Biscuits for serving
Instructions
- In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, melt the butter over medium high. Add the sausage and brown, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat into small pieces. Continue to cook, stirring every minute or so, until it is cooked through and no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. With a potato masher, break the sausage up into super fine crumbles. Stir in the black pepper, sage, and salt. If at any point the meat starts to stick (this won’t happen with pork but might with turkey), add a little bit of oil or additional butter.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir to coat the sausage with the flour. Continue cook, stirring constantly, for 2 full minutes. No raw bits of flour should remain.
- Slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Increase the heat to bring to a gentle simmer. Let bubble and reduce, constantly running a wooden spoon along the bottom to prevent sticking, until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired (I kept a sage on this fairly subtle, but feel free to add more if you like a stronger herby flavor). Serve hot over the biscuits.
Video
Notes
- TO STORE: Refrigerate leftover sausage gravy in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT: Warm leftover gravy in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring frequently; don’t let it come to a boil. You can also reheat sausage gravy in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze leftovers in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat according to the instructions above.
Nutrition
Serving: 1(of 6)Calories: 325kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 15gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 69mgPotassium: 353mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 367IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 133mgIron: 1mg
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Great looking sausage gravy that you have there. I’m so happy that I tried your recipe. I love how easy it was to prepare and cook. I added a small pinch of crushed red pepper flakes just to give it a bit of extra kick in it and it was so YUM!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Isabelle!
I have been avoiding making sausage gravy because I thought it was going to be tricky but this recipe was easy and I was way happy with how it turned out.
It’s been 13 years since I’ve had biscuits and gravy and this was phenomenal! Made this Christmas morning and it was a hit. I took a shortcut and made it with gluten free Cappello’s gluten free Buttermilk Biscuits because they taste like the real thing but gf. I also used the Cup 4 Cup Gluten-Free Flour which had cornstarch in it and it helped thicken up the gravy nicely. The two pickiest eaters in my house LOVED this recipe. You always make the most delicious recipes :) Thank you for sharing it.
Maggie, this is such wonderful feedback, thank you for sharing and Merry Christmas!
This recipe has spoiled me for any other sausage gravy. I can’t order it in a restaurant anymore, it’s not as flavorful as this recipe. One of the best. Thank you!
Lucy, I’m so glad to hear it, thank you!
This recipe was amazing. If I wanted to make it a little less thick how would you go about doing that?
Great taste, great directions and easy to follow. Will be making it again and again
Glad you enjoyed it Eric! You could either do less flour or more milk.
Was very good and simple to prepare, made it for family from out of town and they absolute loved it.
Awesome to hear, thanks John!