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A southern classic. There’s nothing like the warmth and comfort of homemade sausage gravy. Rich, savory, and filled with sausage crumbles, it’s the perfect pairing for fluffy biscuits or breakfast potatoes.

creamy sausage gravy poured over a plate of buttermilk biscuits

It’s cozy, nostalgic, and perfect for chilly days or weekend mornings. It only takes a few simple ingredients and a little time to whip up this irresistably creamy sausage gravy. Once you try it, you’ll wonder why you ever settled for a bland breakfast.

Simple Ingredients

Pork Breakfast Sausage – the star of the show. This is where all of the delicious flavor comes from. The sausage is broken down into small crumbles and browned for extra flavor. We use the drippings in the base of the gravy to keep all of that yumminess locked in.

Flour – just a little bit. Helps to thicken the gravy.

Whole Milk – creates a luxuriously creamy texture.

Salt & Pepper – added to your liking for extra flavor. You can also choose to add additional spices if you’d like.

A Note on Sausage

The sausage you choose to make this recipe will directly impact the final flavor of the sausage gravy. Use a sausage brand that you enjoy eating on its own — the flavor of the sausage is the backbone of this gravy. I love using the sausage from the Jones Dairy Farm brand; I’ve tried several brands and this seems to be the crowd favorite.

The fat content between brands can also vary. After the sausage is cooked and browned, but before adding the flour, check to see roughly how much fat has rendered out. If you have roughly 3-4 tablespoons of fat, you’re good to go and you can continue with the recipe as written. If you have more than that, remove some until you are left with roughly 3-4 tablespoons of fat. You can then continue with the recipe as written.

You don’t need to measure the fat; you can just eyeball it. It doesn’t need to be too precise, we just want to make sure you don’t end up with a greasy gravy that has pools of fat separated from the gravy.

Tip for Tiny Sausage Crumbles

This gravy is best when you have tiny sausage crumbles instead of large sausage chunks. You can use a spatula to break down the sausage into small pieces, but what I have found works best is a fork. Start with large crumbles of sausage and allow them to cook slightly. Then take the flat side of a fork -the smooth back of the prongs- and press the sausage crumbles down into the pan so the sausage squishes up through the prongs of the fork. Slightly wiggle the fork to break up the sausage as you slide the fork out. Continue doing this until all of the sausage is broken down into tiny crumbles and allow it to continue to cook until nicely browned.

pan filled with creamy homemade breakfast sausage gravy

How to Serve Sausage Gravy

Sausage gravy is best known for pairing wonderfully with homemade biscuits. I love using it with my buttermilk biscuit recipe. It is, however, also excellent on breakfast potatoes, hash browns, cornbread, eggs, mashed potatoes, in a breakfast casserole, and more.

Let me know your favorite way to use it in the comment section at the bottom of this page.

creamy breakfast sausage gravy poured over a homemade buttermilk biscuit

Equipment

You don’t need any special equipment to make this gravy. It’s a one-pan recipe; some of my favorite pans to use are linked below:

pan filled with silky homemade sausage gravy

Creamy Homemade Sausage Gravy

Brookside Kitchen

A southern classic. There's nothing like the warmth and comfort of homemade sausage gravy. Rich, savory, and filled with sausage crumbles, it's the perfect pairing for fluffy biscuits or breakfast potatoes.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Total Time 25

Course Sauces & Spreads

Yield 2.5 cups

Ingredients

1 lb pork breakfast sausage
¼ cup (30 g) flour
2 cups (480 mL) whole milk
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Crumble sausage meat into a pan and cook over medium heat until browned all over and cooked through. Break into tiny pieces as it cooks.
Once sausage is fully cooked and browned, add flour and stir to combine with sausage drippings*. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Gradually stir in milk until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness is reached.

Notes

*Different brands of sausage vary in fat content, which can impact the texture of the final gravy. Before adding the flour, tilt the pan to get an idea of roughly how much fat has rendered out. If there is about 3-4 tablespoons of fat, you’re good to go and can continue with the recipe as written. If you have more than that, remove some until you are left with roughly 3-4 tablespoons of fat. You can then continue as written.

Keyword creamy, hearty breakfast, homemade sausage gravy, savory, southern-style

If you try out this recipe, I’d love to know what you think! Please leave a comment with a rating here and share a photo of your creation on Instagram using the hashtag #BrooksideKitchen and tag @BrooksideKitchen