Biscuits and Gravy
Love for biscuits and gravy in the south runs deep and true! It’s not just popular in the south though, people everywhere fall in love with this breakfast classic once they try it. And you don’t have to go to a restaurant and wait on your food to be delivered. You can easily make biscuits and gravy at home, completely from scratch, in less time.
Homemade biscuits are very easy to make in about 20 minutes and they require, actually demand, minimal effort! It’s important not to overwork the dough for fluffier, softer biscuits. Sausage gravy is just as effortless and can be cooked while biscuits are in the oven.
Soft and fluffy biscuits slathered in creamy sausage gravy make great weekend breakfast. You can even double the recipe for a big holiday family gathering.
Ingredient Tips and Substitutions
Low Fat Buttermilk – low-fat works best and I’ve tested several options on a market. Make sure to keep the buttermilk cold until adding to the biscuits! Expert tip: while there are several substitutions available, I found that none of them work as well as buttermilk. But you can, in a pinch, substitute a mixture if regular milk and vinegar (1 cup whole milk 1 tbsp vinegar), but the results won’t be quite the same.
Flour – all purpose flour works in any occasion but if you can, see if you White Lily flour is available to you (it contains more protein). Note: if using White Lily flour, you will need to add an extra 4 tbsp. since it’s lighter.
Cold Butter – I prefer using unsalted butter, however you can use salted if you prefer. Make sure the butter is cold, don’t take it out of the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the biscuits.
Breakfast Sausage – It’s easiest to get ground sausage that’s loose but if it’s not available, use patties or links. (Take the casing off the links before use.) You can choose pork or turkey breakfast sausage, whatever you prefer.
How to Make Homemade Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use the largest baking sheet that will fit in the oven so you don’t have to make several batches.
You can use a standing electric mixer to make the biscuits or do it by hand, but don’t use a hand mixer because even the slower setting is too fast.
Stir together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add the chopped cold butter. I have a great trick to save time and effort of cutting the cold butter: use a large size of the box grater to grate the cold butter right into the flour mixture. Stir on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and turn off the mixer.
Pour the cold buttermilk into the center of the mixture and mix on low until just combined and the dough is still somewhat sticky. The key to fluffy biscuits is not overmixing!
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with a little more flour and knead it about 5-6 times, folding the dough on top of itself, and pat it into a half inch thick circle. Again, be careful not to overmix.
To get even biscuits, you can use a cookie cutter (one that’s 2-2 1/2 inches in diameter) to cut out the biscuits. (If you truly don’t care, you can pick off even amounts of dough, quickly shape and place them on the baking sheet.) Rework the dough scraps into a ball and try to knead it as little as possible. Shape it into a circle and cut out more biscuits.
Spread the biscuits onto a baking sheet and leave about an inch between them to get them golden in color of crispy on all the sides. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Once baked, top with melted butter.
Making the Gravy
Expert tip: If you’re using breakfast sausage links, be sure to remove the casings before crumbling.
Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat and add the breakfast sausage. Break up the sausage as much as possible while it’s cooking and let it cook until it’s no longer pink.
Sprinkle flour all over the sausage and stir well, this will help ensure that the gravy is smooth without any flour clumps.
Start pouring in milk slowly and you stir at the same time. Pour and stir slowly to ensure everything is mixed together evenly and there is no flour clumps forming.
Continue to stir slowly as the mixture thicken. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a couple more minutes. Once nicely thickened, take off heat and wait for biscuits!
Storing and Reheating
Ideally, you would store the biscuits and the gravy separately. Store biscuits in an airtight bag at room temperature for a couple of days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Store sausage gravy in an airtight food storage container, in the refrigerator, for 3-5 days.
To reheat, you can pop individual biscuits into a microwave for just a few seconds. As far as the sausage gravy, it’s best to reheat it in the saucepot over medium-low heat. Don’t let it boil. You may need to add a splash of milk when reheating this gravy.
Make It Gluten Free
For the Biscuits: To make gluten free biscuits, use your favorite 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour blend, you can use it as an equal substitute for the regular all-purpose flour in this recipe. Remember that texture will be quite different with gluten free flour.
NOTE: Avoid substituting almond flour or coconut flour, as those require different liquid ratios than what our recipe calls for.
For the Sausage Gravy: Simply use gluten free all purpose flour to prepare the sausage gravy. The breakfast sausage should already be gluten free but make sure to double check the nutrition label to make sure.
Recipe FAQs
Make sure to use breakfast sausage! Not to be confused with Italian sausage, brats, or any other type. The sausage will be labeled “breakfast sausage” or “country sausage.” Some popular labels that are easy to find include Jimmy Dean and Johnsonville, but there are usually store brands available.
Yes! Let the biscuits (by themselves with no gravy) cool to room temperature. Then, transfer them to an airtight freezer safe container or a zip-top bag. Date, label, and freeze for up to 1 month.
This is a hearty and filling breakfast or brunch on it’s own, but you can always add more options! Eggs make a good addition and so as hashbrowns and home fries. You can double up on meat and serve a side of crispy bacon with it. You can serve the sausage gravy on top of quiches, breakfast casseroles, and frittatas.
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Biscuits and Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
Biscuits:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 5 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 1 cup cold low-fat buttermilk
Sausage Gravy:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 12 oz raw breakfast sausage
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- salt
Instructions
Biscuits:
- Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and give it a quick stir to combine.
- Chop cold butter into small pieces and add it into the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Pour cold buttermilk into the center of the mixture and mix, still on low, until just combined and dough is sticky.
- Take the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with a little more flour on top. Knead dough 5-6 times, folding it on top of itself, and pat into a ½ inch-think circle.
- Use a cookie cutter (about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter) to cut out the biscuits.
- Rework dough scraps into a ball (kneading it as little as possible) and shape it into a circle again. Cut out more biscuits.
- Place biscuits on the baking sheet leaving about an inch in between and bake until golden brown on top, for about 10-13 minutes.
- As soon as biscuits are out of the oven, brush them with melted butter.
Sausage Gravy:
- You can prepare sausage gravy while biscuits are baking.
- Note: If using sausage links, make sure to take the casing off.
- Melt butter in a large cooking pan over medium heat and add breakfast sausage. Break up the sausage as much as possible while it’s cooking and let it cook until it’s no longer pink.
- Sprinkle flour all over the sausage and stir well.
- Keep stirring gently and slowly pour in milk.
- Continue to stir slowly as the mixture thickens. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a couple more minutes.
Video
Notes
- Cold ingredients: remember to keep the buttermilk and the butter cold when making biscuits! Don’t take them out of the refrigerator until ready to make the biscuits dough.
- Sausage for gravy: Make sure to use breakfast sausage! Not to be confused with Italian sausage, brats, or any other type. The sausage will be labeled “breakfast sausage” or “country sausage.” Some popular labels that are easy to find include Jimmy Dean and Johnsonville, but there are usually store brands available.
- Gluten Free Notes: For the biscuits, use your favorite 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour blend, you can use it as an equal substitute for the all-purpose flour in this recipe. (Avoid substituting almond flour or coconut flour, as those require different liquid ratios than what our recipe calls for.) In the sausage gravy: use gluten free all purpose flour instead of regular one as well.
Nutrition
More Comforting Breakfast Recipes
Be sure to get your biscuit fix with more recipes like Buttermilk Biscuits and Honey Butter Biscuits.
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on October 30, 2019.
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Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I added fresh sage needed more flavor
That sounds good!
Can you use 2% milk instead?
Thanks for including our turkey sausage hash brown casserole with your very delicious looking biscuits and gravy. A true Southern charm!!
Thanks, Tara! I love a good hasbrown Casserole! Yum!