Warm buttermilk biscuits with peppery country sausage gravy is a breakfast favorite as a side dish or a meal.
Biscuits and Gravy is a quick and simple Southern staple to make with bulk breakfast sausage and homemade Buttermilk Biscuits or refrigerator biscuit dough. The flaky biscuits are the perfect vessel for the rich and savory gravy, which can be served as a side dish or as a breakfast or brunch entrée.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Kind Of Biscuits Should I Use?
Any style of biscuits can be used for biscuits and gravy, however, the most popular style is a traditional Buttermilk Biscuit. Making your own from scratch doesn’t take much time at all, but refrigerator biscuit dough can certainly be used.
Bake the biscuits from scratch or according to package directions, and while those are baking, make the gravy.
What Kind Of Gravy Goes With Biscuits?
The traditional gravy for biscuits and gravy is a country sausage style milk gravy. This is made with uncooked, bulk breakfast sausage (sausage not in the casing), a butter and flour roux for thickening the gravy, milk, and lots of black pepper. Half-and-half or even heavy cream can also be used, but whole milk is the standard.
You’ll find bulk breakfast sausage where the bacon and specialty brand sausages are typically sold in the grocery store, packaged as tubes or flats. You can also make your own breakfast sausage using this seasoning blend and this pork sausage recipe.
How To Make Biscuits And Gravy
As the biscuits are baking in the oven, prepare the sausage gravy. First, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and then add the bulk sausage, breaking up any large clumps into small crumbles as it cooks. This can take a little bit of time, but as the sausage cooks, the crumbles will become easier to create. I like to use the side of a wooden spoon to do this, but sometimes a tool like this can help, too. Continue to cook the sausage until well browned, which will contribute most of the flavor to the gravy.
Once the sausage crumbles are caramelized, sprinkle the flour as evenly as possible over the sausage. Immediately stir to incorporate the flour, and keep stirring for about a minute which will cook the “raw” taste out of the flour.
Pour all of the milk into the pan at once, along with the black pepper. Continue stirring until everything is well mixed. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat so the milk is just simmering. The gravy will begin to thicken at this point, and ready for tasting.
Bulk breakfast sausage will most likely always have salt, so you may not need the optional salt called for in the recipe. Give the gravy a taste, and if needed, add that last bit of salt.
How To Serve Biscuits And Gravy
The traditional way to serve biscuits and gravy is to cut a biscuit in half and place on a plate or into a shallow bowl, and then spoon the sausage gravy over the biscuits.
The gravy can also be topped with cheddar cheese, fresh sage or parsley, and more black pepper, too. Tell me how you serve them in the comments!
More Brunch Recipes
Need more delicious options for brunch? Try out these recipes too. Enjoy
Short Podcast Episode On Biscuits And Gravy
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this gravy, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
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Biscuits and Gravy Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4–8 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Warm buttermilk biscuits with peppery country sausage gravy is a breakfast favorite as a side dish or a meal.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 (16 oz.) package bulk, uncooked breakfast sausage
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 and ¼ cups whole milk
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- ½ tsp. salt (optional)
- 8 (fully baked) buttermilk biscuits
Instructions
- In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add sausage.
- Cook, stirring frequently until well browned, breaking large clumps into small crumbles.
- Sprinkle flour evenly over browned sausage, stir to coat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add milk and pepper, stir until well combined.
- Bring to boiling, reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, until sauce thickens. Add optional salt to taste.
- Serve warm with biscuits.
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Notes
- Gravy can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 7 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month. (Store biscuits separately.)
- Prepared bulk sausage may already contain salt, in which case, you won’t need to add the optional ¼ teaspoon. Taste the gravy before adding any of the optional salt called for in the recipe to prevent the gravy from becoming too salty.
This post originally appeared in April 2022 and was revised and republished in May 2023.
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