Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits and gravy is a southern classic breakfast that doesn’t get much better or any more comforting. Soft and fluffy homemade buttermilk biscuits fresh from the oven and topped with easy white sausage gravy. So easy to make the whole dish from scratch in less than 30 minutes. 

Biscuits and Gravy

Weekends working at the Cracker Barrel were always crazy busy. People love to go out for breakfast and they love their biscuits and gravy. Cooks were working non-stop to keep those gravy pan filled and fresh biscuits coming out of the oven. Somehow, we still ran out often and people waited no matter how long it took for a new batch. 

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. 

How To Make Buttermilk Biscuits

There are three important things to remember when making biscuits: use cold butter cut into small pieces, don’t over-mix the dough, and don’t knead the dough to much. 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

First, combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and give it a quick stir to combine. Chop cold butter into small pieces and throw them 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 out the dough 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.

How To Make Sausage Gravy

For sausage gravy, you will need breakfast sausage. Depending on what your store has available in stock, get either sausage links, sausage patties, or loose breakfast sausage meat. If using sausage links, make sure to take the meat out of its casing. 

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. 

Storing and Reheating Instructions

Store gravy in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. You can easily reheat sausage gravy in a sauce pan, over medium-low heat. Make sure to stir often while it’s reheating and serve it as soon as it’s heated through. 

Store leftover biscuits in a zip-lock bag, in the refrigerator. If you will eat biscuits within a couple of days, you can store them in a air-tight container on the counter. In the refrigerator, biscuits will last about a week. 

To reheat biscuits, you can simply pop it in a microwave for a few seconds. If you need to reheat a lot of biscuits, you can also use an oven. Preheat the oven to 350°, place biscuits on a baking sheet, leaving a little space in between, and brush them with melted butter. Reheat for about 5 minutes. 

Can I Make Biscuits and Gravy Ahead?

Yes! You can easily make sausage gravy the day before and make reheat it when you’re ready to serve. 

Biscuits can be made ahead of time and frozen before baking. Prepare biscuit dough and cut out you biscuits. Place cut out raw biscuits on a well-floured baking sheet, sprinkle with a little more flour just so biscuits don’t stick together. Freeze them for about 2 hours, until solid.

Transfer frozen biscuits into a large zip-top bag or portion it into several smaller bags. Place the bags back into the freezer and keep for up to 3 months. 

To bake frozen biscuits, preheat the oven to 425° and place biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake frozen biscuits for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Brush biscuits with some melted butter once they are out of the oven. 

Some More Breakfast Recipes

If you love these classic flavors but want to incorporate eggs, make sure to try my Sausage Quiche with Sausage Gravy. Another way to to go is to make Sausage Breakfast Casserole.

When you want to experiment with different flavors of biscuits, try my Honey Butter Biscuits and Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits.

If you made any of my recipes and shared them on Instagram, make sure to tag me @willcookforsmiles and #willcookforsmiles so I can see all the things you tried!

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Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on October 30, 2019. Updated October 10, 2020.