Country Sausage Gravy recipe made from scratch is delicious!
The best biscuits and gravy are made from homemade flaky buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy.
Sausage gravy makes every breakfast better. My husband and I love biscuits and gravy. You all know I’m a total food snob. Him? Not quite as much (but I’m grooming him daily). The one thing he is a total food snob about is sausage gravy. When we go out to breakfast, he’ll order a sample of the country gravy before committing to actually ordering biscuits and gravy. I’m sure you all have experienced country sausage gravy that sucks. Its either too thick or too thin or too starchy or the sausage is nasty. The best part? Homemade sausage gravy is easy to make!
The best biscuits and gravy require two things – sausage gravy and homemade buttermilk biscuits. Now, in the video of me making the recipe, you might notice that I used canned biscuits. For that, I apologize and I shall never live that one down. Canned biscuits should be reserved for Monkey Bread, and only Monkey Bread. Homemade sausage gravy deserves the flaky goodness of a homemade biscuit. There. Please forgive me.
How to make sausage gravy from scratch:
- You can buy seasoned breakfast sausage in bulk without any casing from most meat departments, however I prefer to start with plain ground pork and make my own sage breakfast sausage. Its the best damn sausage you’ll ever have.
- Make sure to use a good pan that will brown the meat nicely. I always cook my sausage gravy in my favorite Staub dutch oven
- Then you gotta add some more butter because you can’t have a good gravy without the right amount of fat! Do not substitute with margarine.
- Once you add the flour, be sure to let it cook for several minutes before adding the milk. You want it to mix with the fat and give off an amazing aroma
- I highly recommend using whole milk for a richer flavor
How to make biscuits and gravy:
- Always start with a Southern style gravy.
- Obviously, I think my country sausage gravy is the best, but I’ve seen tons of variations of white gravy made with bacon or a combination of sausage and bacon.
- You’ll want the country gravy recipe you choose to be made with flour, fat (butter and/or drippings from the meat), milk, and the right amount of seasonings.
- Then you really need some amazing flaky buttermilk biscuits to go with your gravy. Pairing a delicious sausage gravy with a less-than-perfect biscuit is very unsettling to me. It just doesn’t make sense. Go ahead. Drown that biscuit.
- Freshly ground pepper is a must.
Now, go enjoy the best damn biscuits with country sausage gravy you’ll ever have. Consider yourself warned though – they may be so good that you’ll no longer order them when dining out because all others will fail in comparison.
What to serve with Biscuits and Gravy:
- I love some kind of egg recipe to accompany my biscuits and gravy. I don’t like runny yolks running into that country sausage gravy, so I always serve them with some kind of scramble or omelet.
- If you’re not afraid of the carbs (hey, you’re eating biscuits and gravy, after all), a side of easy breakfast potatoes makes a nice addition, especially if you get an extra ladle full of gravy to smother those potatoes.
- It’s a good idea to add some color and produce to your plate as well. I make a fruit salad with a secret ingredient that pleases everyone. Or you balance out your biscuits and gravy with some wilted sauteed spinach.
Watch below to see the recipe video of me making this country sausage gravy!
For the video, I cooked the sausage gravy on an induction cooktop. You totally want biscuits and gravy now, don’t you!
Country Sausage Gravy Recipe for Biscuits and Gravy
RECIPE VIDEO
Ingredients
- 1 pound sage pork breakfast sausage I highly recommend you make your own
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the sausage until brown and crumbly. If excess oil, drain while keeping a solid tablespoon of the sausage oil in the pan. Add the butter and stir well until melted.
- Sprinkle sausage with flour, stir, and allow to cook for several minutes.
- Add the milk and stir. Continue stirring occasionally over medium heat until gravy thickens, 5-10 minutes.
Nutrition
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This looks so good! Any idea if this could be frozen and used at a later date if made in bulk?
Hi Carley, I think that if you were sure to get all the air out to avoid freezer burn, you could most certainly do that! -Krissy
Oh my gosh !!! I’ve been making my gravy like this for many years now but, I NEVER knew you could freeze it !!!! That is GREAT NEWS to me !!!!!!!! Now that the kids have grown and gone, I still ge bet hungry for biscuits and gravy but, it just makes too much for one person, and I stopped fixing it because I don’t like to waste food. What a wonderful surprise this was to find out you can freeze it !!! Thank you, thank you, thank you !!!
There won’t be any left, you’ll even be licking the frying pan before you wash it.
Okay, I have been making sausage gravy and biscuits for a long time and couldn’t figure out how to get the slight chalky taste out of it and the thickness was never right (I’ve tried probably 100+ recipes). Just made yours for dinner and it was perfect. Thank you.
From One Tom In Florida To another Tom I use 6 Swagggerty Sausage Patties and 3/4 of a stick of butter with red hot cracked pepper and regular black pepper to saute the sausage then mix in a 2 cup measuring cup 2 cups of milk with 3 table spoons of corn starch pour that in your pan 1 cup at a time and allow to come up to a quick boll and stir constantly and you will see in thicken
This is a Very easy way to make and flavor of gravy
GOD EAT TO YOU
Yes you can freeze it. I do it with no problems.
We do this all the time we freeze in the size containers that works for us then after it is froze solid we put it in bags and vacuum seal them then we put it in the micro wave and it ready to eat. We do this with soup also.
A froze country style gravy before and it turned out just the same as you just made it
This is exactly how I make sausage gravy and it turns out perfect every time!
I make it the same way, except I use 1.5 cups milk an 1.5 cups cream. Delish!!
You’re my kinda gal! Great suggestion! Krissy
Is heavy cream ok?
I’ve never made it with heavy cream, but I think it would be super tasty! I just worry that it would be too thick.
This is how I make sausage and biscuits with milk gravy, just like my Tennessee Momma taught me. Thank you for the memories.
You are most welcome, Paulette! -Krissy
Do you have a recipe for your pork sausage?
http://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/sage-breakfast-sausage/
Some people say scorch the flour.i think that’s crazy .as a tip if you have issues getting your gravy to set up or flour sticking to sausage and gravy tasting to floury.slowly mix your flour into the milk and mix well then add all at once and stir .this will make your gravy set up quicker as well
An excellent way to thicken any milk and flour gravy is to put a cup of milk and a 1/4 cup or so of flour in a mason jar or any jar with a good lid and shake for 30 seconds or so till flour is mixed thoroughly with the milk. Then just add some to the simmering gravy, stir and let thicken. Add more if not thick enough.
Some people just prefer a darker tan/brown gravy. The longer you cook/brown the flour the more you get this. It is personal preference.
Pretty close to what I make. I now use Coffee Creamer instead of fresh milk. Noone could taste any difference. Yours looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing I do that. Mix in a glass with a fork. As I was taught that way. NY gravy has always been my specialty.
I use almond milk in everything and I’m going to try it in my sausage gravy.
Can you make this the night before?
I never have, but I’m sure you can if you reheat it slowly. -Krissy
Can you sub milk for water or something else
Not sure. This is how I’ve always made it. -Krissy
Probably chicken stock would be a good substitute or any stock of your choosing.
I’ve always had a milk based gravy with my biscuits… I think stock would be quite different. Krissy
Then , it wouldn’t be a white sauce .
I use powdered milk and water
Can this be made with whole wheat flour.
I’ve never tried, but I don’t see why not. -Krissy
I actually take my sausage out, add some butter or even some olive oil to help a tiny bit with some healthiness (?), and add my flour to the oil. I will cook the roux until it is a dark brick color, before I add the milk and then the sausage back to the skillet. The gravy is darker, but the depth of flavor is delicious? This has been the passed down way of making gravy several generations in my family, except no measuring (instead just eyeballing ingredients until it “looks right”), and almost always in a cast iron skillet! ?
Thank you! Your comment contained the information I needed! My mom’s gravy was dark, with well-developed flavor. And delicious! I’ve not found any restaurant gravy that compares. I’ve finally decided that if the gravy is pale, it will be pasty. Can’t wait to try making this for my family on Thanksgiving morning!
I agree with Sarah. I take my sausage out…brown the flour and oil. Then add milk mix and add meat back in…nice browner color!
The brick roux will add tons of flavor but will not have any thickening power so i guess you’d have to use less milk.
I am a snob about sausage gravy too. I can’t wait to make it!
one of my hubby’s favorites. Pinned!
I make mine almost the exact same way. We’re sausage gravy snobs as well. The only difference is that I put a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Very simple change but it makes a world of a difference!
I make mine almost the exact same way. We’re sausage gravy snobs as well. The only difference is that I put a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Very simple change but it makes a world of a difference! Also, a good substitution for the sausage is Jimmy Dean Sage breakfast sausage. ONLY THAT FLAVOR. Nothing else will do lol
I just made these this morning with my son and it was so easy to make. Everyone enjoyed it!
Mmmm…thank you kindly for this recipe!!! Now I can make it the best way?
It took about 25min to thicken, but it is so yummy!
I made this a few months ago- made the sausage from scratch- it was delicious! And I don’t usually like sausage
This was disgusting. Tasted like butter. Completely wasted food ?
Tried to give it one star but it automatically selected five and won’t let you change it. Blech.
I suppose I can’t please everyone. Sorry it didn’t work out for you. -Krissy
For a little different version I add a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup to the gravy and put two over easy eggs on top of the biscuits and gravy.
Mind blown. That sounds freakin’ awesome. -Krissy
My Mom made this type of gravy on Sunday’s but mostly with bacon. We call it grease gravy, I made it recently and ate it all!
YUM!!!
Excellent recipe. It is different than normal gravy but really delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Great Recipe….made this last week and came out great.I have started making 1 meal of breakfast for dinner… my mom usually never eats seconds but on this dish I saw her plate 2x with biscuits and gravy…mom approved ok..
I made it with Italian sausage and added onions and mushrooms.
Mercy!
Not Raw Meat…step 1. says “In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the sausage until brown and crumbly.”
Great Recipe….
I add just a little brewed coffee and the worchestire sauce to improve the color.
Your sausage gravy looks scrumptious. I can’t wait to try it for myself. If you use the oven you have the link to, that’s a French oven. A dutch oven has legs and a rim around the edge of the lid to keep coals from falling of when you move it
I never knew that!
This lady thinks her breakfast is better than most but its not bad but not any better than most Deny’s or any waffle house you can find. From the real country maybe a 4 out of 10.
If you are making your own sausage, do you cook it into patties or just brown the meat?
I typically make my own from ground pork using this recipe: http://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/sage-breakfast-sausage/ But you can totally buy it already seasoned from the deli dept or a package.
I just had a pregnancy craving for biscuits and gravy and found this recipe. I also used your sage sausage recipe and OMG this hit the spot! The whole family loved it! It’s so perfect, I’ll be saving it for my future biscuit and gravy cravings.
The video showed brown sugar, but the recipe dont. Whats up with that?? We love biscuits and gravy.
the brown sugar goes into the sausage.
How much brown sugar do you use
Hi Regina, when I make pork breakfast sausage, I use this recipe: https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/sage-breakfast-sausage/ You can also usually find it behind the meat counter at grocery stores.
Delicious! This is the easiest gravy recipe I have made to date. I live in Tennessee and am particular about gravy to top biscuits with for breakfast. This recipe is a keeper.
I eventually asked my mom for her recipe, she adds a few drops of franks red hot, and it’s delicious!!! Also a ton of pepper!
I have been making biscuits and gravy this way for years, with one difference, I use wheat flour instead of all-purpose. The wheat flour gives it an extra dimension of flavor, IMHO. Everyone loves my breakfast, so row thumbs up for me!
Thank you! I am a Southern girl living in the UK and I have been craving biscuits and gravy like mad!! Hubby is English so had no clue until I made it today. Your recipe was so simple and delicious!! I added a bit of sage to season my sausage meat but that was it. Hubby has already requested this dish again so I think we have a new convert!! 😀
My daddy who’s from the South taught me the way to get the gravy that kick you like is not to use black pepper but white pepper.
As an Australian, I always thought the idea of biscuits and gravy was weird.
I have been intrigued, though, so just made your biscuits, gravy and the sausage patties.
Oh. My. Goodness. What a delectable meal!
Thank you so much for these recipes! Am already organizing a family brunch so I can share them with everyone!
Awesome!!! Super easy and fast! Will use this for all my future sausage biscuit and gravy meals!
So creamy and tasty!
I literally just made this recipe. I usually remove the sausage, eyeball everything and then add the sausage back in. I wanted a simpler way to do it so I tried yours. (By simple I mean not stressing about whether I should add more of this or that. Adding a little at a time and waiting to see if it’s going to be too thick and adding more milk… it takes me forever ?)
I made yours exactly as written. I was delicious. The only thing I would change is maybe use a bit more flour to begin with, as it wouldn’t thicken up quite as much as I usually like it. It wasn’t a big deal though and it tasted delicious. Debating on eating a second serving….
You show the ingredients in the video for the Sausage and Bisquits but not the measured amounts for the
• Salt
• Brown Sugar
• Sage
• Black Pepper
• Red Pepper
Exactly, I kept thinking I had missed it ď
My husband made today and it was fantastic! His latest kick is perfecting biscuits and gravy, and this is the closest yet. Yay! Want to give 4 stars but it keeps defaulting to 5 so I keep reloading lol. FOUR STARS
I made this for my family and they loved it. Everything turned out great. I followed your instructions to the tee. Thank you for sharing this with us.
This was absolutely delicious. I’ve made it several times. Only addition I made was adding a lot of blk pepper for taste. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome!!! Super easy and fast! Will use this for all my future sausage biscuit and gravy meals!
I am going to try your sausage recipe. I hate homemade sausage but this is a clone recipe from “Top Secrets” and I have tried several of their recipes and have been pleased. I was raised by a Kentucky woman that made kick ass gravy. Almost always Bacon grease based and then added crumbled sausage in after the gravy had browned ( almost burned ) and thickened to achieve the dark color and rich flavor. After that, it’s just getting the Salt and pepper amounts right for your taste buds.
I tweaked it by adding salt, pepper, and dried ground mushrooms with the flour. In the place of milk I used buttermilk. came out great!
Sorry, where is the video?
The video is embedded in the post.
Hi Krissy! Totally love your blog! Right up my alley! I used this recipe as my guideline for making this for the hubby and me. I used 1c of beef stock and 2c heavy cream for my liquid, added 2tsp hot sauce (Cholula is our fave) and 1tsp Worcestershire sauce., plus LOTS of black pepper. We love fried eggs, so I topped the biscuits & gravy w/2 over medium. It was totally kickass! Thanks for the inspiration!
Sounds amazing. Thank you!
I drain off most of the meat fat first, then add a little butter. Then I add a couple of tablespoons of oat flour to my flour mix before mixing it in. Being type 2 diabetic, I have to watch the fats and carbs. Oat flour puts some fiber into the gravy for a slightly healthier result with no difference in flavor.
One if the best gravy recipes I’ve tried! Family absolutely loved it. This one will be a staple in our house.
I’ve never been able to make a good sausage gravy until this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve made this several times and it always comes out perfectly!
I just finished making this meal. All I can tell you is that I have a three year old son that gave it two thumbs up and asked for seconds. Thank you so much it was a wonderful recipe and I’ll be sure to use it again 🙂
I growed up in Tennessee on this gravy and it doesn’t get no better rock on love your recipes.
I would like to have your rescipe for your biscuits
Here you go: https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/flaky-buttermilk-biscuits/
Try using evaporated milk for a richer flavor.
Hi, been making this, my familys 5 generations.. we do not use butter, cuz butter is in the biscuits.. ok, we use whole milk, o 1/2 cup room temp water, but not necessay.. abosultely Sage!! If you cant make your own, i prefer bob evans or giant eagle when on sale..
I use iron skillet..,once sausage is done, pull to sides and let grease come to middle, start incorporating the flour slowly into middle while dragging pork into, cook till nice a semi brown, then slowly stir adding milk base, salt n pepper to taste..ITS SO SIMPLE,
And yes, you can freeze..
Okay, why have I not ever thought about adding butter? This was awesome! I just needed to add a little salt, pepper and my favorite paprika. Turned out perfectly. Thanks for that little touch.
Sounds yummy, I use 1 can of evaporated milk mixed with 1 can of water, sometimes adding in whole milk to thin out if too thick, cook the patties then make a roux seasoning it with salt and pepper and flour, once it starts bubbling like a pancake and has a nice tan color I slowly mix in my evaporated milk mix, stiring rapidly too eliminate any lumps then crumple sausage back in and almost always adding in a ton more pepper, I can’t wait to try your recipe by adding in butter.
Sausage gravy is my favorite breakfast for dinner!
My Dad would absolutely love this – it looks like the perfect thickness and so flavorful! I will definitely have to try this the next time I’m cooking for him!
My hubby is the BIGGEST sausage gravy fan. I’m gonna surprise him with this for breakfast!
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful gravy recipe. It is just like my mom used to make it.
I adore biscuits and gravy! We make it all the time, and this one looks fantastic!! YUM!
This country sausage gravy looks like a perfect comfort food for Sunday brunch. I’m sure my kids and husband would love it.
Biscuits and gravy is my favorite!!! Love it for breakfast lunch or dinner!!!
Gravy is my favorite thing to have for breakfast. I cant wait to try your recipe!
This is my favorite breakfast!!!
I love that you have included the nutrition information! Love this recipe so much. I’m only wondering what size a serving would be for this recipe. I would really appreciate it since I have started a Keto Diet and would love to eat this during my diet once in a while. Thank you!
So simple, yet soooooo good…I love to tinker with recipes but this is one of the very, very few, I make as written (using sage sausage)….thanks, this is awesome!
My family loved this recipe. As a women born in the south my parents have made this dish often, but I always found their recipe to be a bit too hot or spicy so to say. I followed this recipe to a T and my hubby and our children loved it (even my super picky 4 year old) I give this 5 stars. We will be having this more often 😊
It seems silly that a good white gravy recipe is so hard to find. Trust me, I’ve looked forever. This one is DELICIOUS! I made it with homemade venison sausage, over a buttermilk biscuit with a little hot sauce and it was super good!! Thanks for a great easy recipe!
Absolutely love biscuits and gravy and have them whenever I can. My gravy game however has never been that great. Well that all changed today when I came across your recipe!! It turned out perfect!! This is now and forever my go to recipe!
I really struggled with gravies until I found this recipe! Now it’s my go to and I never change a thing… although tonight, we’re hqving breakfast for dinner and I think I’m gonna add some bacon to it as well.
This is what has been know throughout the midwest as cream gravy since the start of time. It is best with cream.Just add a little garlic and onion powder. Also remove the sausage and cook the butter and flower for about 5 or 6 minutes add the cream that is why it is called cream gravy thin add sausage back in..
I believe I made a “grave-y” mistake (pun intended! LOL) because I used sausage with bacon to make the breakfast sausage. I’ve only ever had biscuits and gravy about twice in my entire life, both at restaurants… The first time was absolutely scrumptious, and the second was only so-so.
I love bacon more than sausage, so I assumed I would like this even more since I’d read and heard to cook the sausage with bacon fat to lend more flavor to sausage gravy anyways. I also ran out of milk at 1.5 cups, and used some heavy cream mixed with water to make up the difference.
Alas, it had a punch of flavor, but it was strange and weird, rather than delicious. What a bummer. No one else in my family will eat it, so I’ll probably never attempt it again… 🙁
I’m still rating this as 4 stars, because it’s most likely a fine recipe without my changes/substitutions.