Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy are an iconic Southern comfort food. Whip up a batch for brunch this weekend!
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One of the things that I love the most about holidays is the food. Sure, holidays are an excuse to eat an extra slice of cake or perhaps nibble on an appetizer that you normally would forego. However, it’s the types of foods that we associate with the holidays that I love. I know every family has their traditions, and I’m curious to hear what foods you associate with different holidays. For me, the Christmas season isn’t the same without homemade cinnamon rolls and breakfast sausage.
Growing up, my mother would always make sausage biscuits on Christmas morning. I can remember waking up to the smell of sausage cooking on the stovetop. Wait. Let’s correct that. I can remember waking up the second time to the smell of sausage. The first wake-up (at least when I was a kid) came long before the sun rose. I mean I had to see if Santa came, and I was too excited to sleep! But then we’d go back to sleep and have mid-morning brunch.
To this day, I still make cinnamon rolls and sausage biscuits on Christmas morning. And I guess that’s how traditions get passed down as I’m sure Robbie will grow up associating these foods with the holidays.
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
My mom would always make two types of sausage – sausage patties and sausage gravy. I loved (and still do) a juicy breakfast sausage patty on a biscuit. Go the extra step and add in some scrambled eggs? I’ll take two please! But there was also a skillet of sausage gravy. I never touched the sausage gravy.
For some reason, I decided at a young age that I didn’t like sausage gravy. I have no idea why. It’s probably the same logic that led me to avoid cheesecake until I was in college – who wants a cake made with cheese!? However, at some point, I realized that sausage gravy is amazing. It’s the same ground sausage that I use to make the patties, so there’s no logical explanation for why I avoided it. Perhaps it’s the look of it? I mean let’s be honest. Sausage gravy doesn’t look that appetizing – but damn does it taste good!
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy is one of those iconic Southern meals. Whether we were at home or visiting my grandparents in upstate South Carolina, I have vivid memories of Biscuits and Sausage Gravy making regular appearances. I’m just sad I missed all of those years of eating it! Don’t worry – I’ve been making up for lost time in recent years. This recipe is a comfort food classic!
I’ve included my recipe for homemade buttermilk biscuits. This recipe is spot-on. Those biscuits are amazing! However, I’m not gonna lie – there are plenty of times that I’ve used Pillsbury Grands biscuits with this sausage gravy. Those work just fine, and this gravy cooks in about the same time that it takes the biscuits to bake. Coincidence? I think not. If you’re looking to step up your game a bit (or you’re making these Biscuits and Sausage Gravy for overnight guests), then make the homemade batch of biscuits.
If you’re concerned about timing, these homemade biscuits can be shaped and frozen ahead of time. Then you can just brush on the egg wash and bake ’em up as needed. I hope you enjoy this Biscuits and Sausage Gravy recipe as much as we do!
Did you make these Biscuits and Sausage Gravy at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Ingredients
For the Biscuits
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
For the Gravy
- 16 oz. bulk breakfast sausage see note
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2½-3 cups whole milk
Instructions
For the Biscuits
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set pan aside.
- Using a large bowl, add flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda; stir until well combined.
- Cut butter into ½” cubes and add to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter (or two table knives) cut in butter until it’s the size of small peas.
- Add buttermilk; stir until well combined. (Note: The dough should be somewhat shaggy at this point.)
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll dough into an 8”x8” square. Cut dough into 4 equal pieces; stack each piece on top of themselves. Roll into a square again. Repeat process 2 more times.
- Roll dough into an 8”x8” square (~1” thick). Using a 2½” round cookie cutter dipped in flour, press down without twisting cutter. Place biscuits 2” apart on prepared baking sheet. Reroll scraps as needed until all dough has been used.
- Place pan in freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Whisk egg with 1 Tbsp of water; brush egg wash on top of biscuits.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown in color.
- Let biscuits cool for 5 minutes before splitting.
For the Gravy
- Using a large skillet, add sausage and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally to break up the sausage, for 10 minutes, or until sausage is browned and fully cooked.
- Add butter and continue cooking until melted.
- Sprinkle flour on top. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes, or until the flour has been absorbed.
- Add 2½ cups of milk and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook at a low simmer, stirring often, until gravy thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. (Note: If mixture is too thick, add up to ½ cup of additional milk until gravy reaches desired thickness.)
- Serve over split or crumbled biscuits.
Notes
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Will be making this soon can i use vegan sausage milk butter and flax eggs as am a vegan i never had biscuits and sausage gravy before perfect for my after office meals will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Hey Ramya! I haven’t made this with vegan sausage/milk/butter and flax eggs, so I can’t say how it would turn out. My only concern would be whether the milk would thicken in the same way, but I suspect it would be fine thanks to the flour in the recipe. If you do make it, let me know!
Yup will let you know with vegan milk butter sausage flax eggs for this will be making this on sat or sun Thanks Ramya
Great! I really hope it works, Ramya – this is a classic Southern American recipe, and it’s quite delicious if you ask me. 🙂
You know, I’ve never had biscuits and gravy before but I do have some sausage in the fridge, so I will have to whip this up! My kids would love it, I’m sure!
This is a classic Southern recipe, Michelle! My grandmother used to make sausage gravy all the time, but I wouldn’t touch it back then. Now it’s a favorite!
This really is a classic, David. And foods are so much better when they’re tied to great memories. I love that you’ve carried on your family’s tradition and are passing it along to Robbie.
I couldn’t agree more, Marissa – memories and food are so closely intertwined. We love recreating meals we’ve had during travels, and of course remaking childhood favorites is always a fun kitchen activity, too. Thanks so much, my friend!
Add just a bit of hot sauce to the gravy — not enough to make it spicy hot, just enough to counter the sweetish/floury flavor. I like to use Cholula.
Ah, excellent recommendation, David – thank you! I like to use spicy breakfast sausage, so the heat comes from there…but an extra bit of hot sauce is never a bad thing!
David, I grew up eating biscuits and sausage (or bacon) gravy. But, in my childhood home, it was always crapy generic canned biscuits. Even with the crapy canned biscuits, I loved the dish. Once I reached adulthood, I discover how easy it is to make biscuits with Bisquick baking mix, so no canned biscuits for my kids. We had biscuits and gravy almost every Sunday. It’s a tradition they’ve continued with their kids, but not so often. You don’t see this dish here, so I always love to introduce it to our overnight guests (pre-COVID). Some like it and some will not go near it.
Thanks for reminding me and other of the Southern traditional comfort food…
I’m with ya, Ron – even canned biscuits work as long as you’ve got a good gravy! And it’s so darned easy to make, too. I recognize that sausage gravy is uniquely American, and I would add that it’s uniquely Southern American – I don’t see it all that often in our area. That’s ok, though – I like to cook, and it’s easy to make at home! 🙂
My kids are huge fans of biscuits and gravy. The more sausage, the better! I’ve never tried adding a sausage patty along with the gravy! That will be amazing. I can’t wait to give your recipe a try.
I’m with ya, Kathy – the more sausage, the better! I highly recommend this recipe, too. It’s delicious, and it makes for some excellent gravy for a weekend brunch! 🙂
hi david
i always wondered what sausage gravy was … and now i know:) So it’s a basic bechamel with sausage! wow i am amazed, but it sounds good. looks tasty too.
I’ve never thought about it like that, but sausage gravy really is similar to béchamel. Let’s just call it breakfast béchamel! 🙂 P.S. This recipe is delicious!
Wait. You waited until colleage until you tried cheesecake? Wow! Well I’m glad you didn’t wait any longer than that David as you would have so missed out! Anyway, back to this biscuits and sausage gravy recipe. I’ll need to give it a go. It’s not really a thing here in the UK, but you know me, I’m always up for trying out anything new and especially as delicious looking. Yum!
I know – isn’t that crazy about cheesecake!? The name cheesecake confused me, and I never bothered to figure out what it actually was. Good thing I figured it out at some point, though, right??
I know sausage gravy (especially with good homemade biscuits) aren’t a thing over there. Heck, they aren’t really a thing here where we live either. They’re uniquely Southern American, but they are absolutely amazing. This makes for a great (and very hearty) brunch! Thanks, Neil!
This looks like real comfort food, David. Definitely the kind of thing that hits the spot when you want something to warm the cockles. What gets me is that you didn’t like sausage gravy as a kid… How is that even possible, lol?
I agree, Frank – not liking sausage gravy as a kid is just inexplicable. And it wasn’t the taste at all. I just wouldn’t even try it. Oh well, I’m making up for lost time! 🙂
Thats what I need for breakfast, that gravy made me drool
Ah, thanks, Raymund! It’s not easy to make gravy look appetizing…but damn is it good stuff! 🙂
It is going to be my dinner time in an hour and I am salivating over this dish. So gooood
That’s the problem with reading recipe blogs – you have to pick a time when you aren’t hungry! Haha!
To get that good southern flavor try Jimmy Dean Sage sausage!
Great suggestion, Shelby! I do love the Jimmy Dean spicy sausage, but I’ll have to try the sage version next time. Yum!!