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Never made or been successful with gravy before? With a few simple ingredients and my tried-and-true tips, you’ll have a hearty sausage gravy that turns out perfectly every time and pairs beautifully with fluffy biscuits. This Southern sausage gravy recipe is a foolproof way to bring comforting, Southern flavors to your breakfast table in just 20 minutes.
Homemade Sausage Gravy
When I first got married over 30 years ago, mastering sausage gravy was a must, especially with a husband who loved a hearty breakfast. Over the years, I’ve made this gravy countless times, tweaking and perfecting it into a no-fail recipe that’s as reliable as it is delicious.
Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just starting out, I’ve got you covered! So many of you have shared how you once struggled with making gravy, but now, you’re whipping up a perfect batch every time, thanks to these simple steps. It’s a recipe consistently delivers, turning even the most hesitant cooks into confident gravy-makers.
This sure is a go-to comfort food breakfast in our home, pleasing everyone from my kids to weekend guests. And whether you’re looking to make a cozy family breakfast, treating visitors to something special, or whipping up a quick and easy dish for Christmas morning, this sausage gravy is sure to hit the spot!
Why you’ll love this Sausage and Gravy Recipe!
- 3 Main Ingredients: Ground sausage, flour, and milk are the main ingredients. Add a few staple pantry items and you are all set.
- Quick and Easy: This recipe comes together in 20 minutes. Now that is fast! It’s so good that you’d think it took all day to cook. And it isn’t complicated at all. It’s basically frying and stirring. Simple right!
- Delicious for any occasion: From a standard family breakfast to a brunch with friends. Serving this up will always impress!
Easy Sausage Gravy Ingredients
- Ground pork sausage – Typically labeled bulk or breakfast sausage. You can also find this in a spicy or hot variety which gives your gravy a little kick! Then you have Spicy Sausage Gravy = YUM!
- Butter – This adds a little extra richness and doesn’t butter make everything better!
- All-purpose flour – This is what binds and how to thicken the gravy.
- Whole milk – To get that extra rich and creamy texture and flavor, I really suggest using whole milk. You can use whatever milk you prefer, but I have found the best results with whole milk.
- Garlic powder – This enhances the flavor and you just need a little to give it that something extra you are looking to add in. It’s not overpowering, just subtly scrumptious!
- Salt and pepper – Of course you need a little S&P to round out the flavors. Specks of ground pepper all throughout the gravy are a give away for a great tasting gravy. Make sure to give it a taste before adding salt. Some ground pork may be a little saltier than others!
How to make Sausage Gravy
✱ Be sure to see the recipe card below for exact ingredients and instructions!
- Brown the Sausage. Set a large skillet (I love cast iron) over medium heat and brown the sausage. With a wooden spatula “crumble” or break up with sausage into smaller pieces, while stirring. Cook until brown and fully done. I like a little crunch, so cook until some of the edges are well browned. It adds a ton of flavor!
- Roux for gravy: You need butter and flour to make the roux. This is the base and what thickens the gravy. Place butter in skillet and stir until melted. Sprinkle in flour, garlic, and pepper on top of the sausage and slowly stir until well coated. Continue stirring and let the flour cook.
- Add milk. While stirring, slow pour in the milk . Continue to stir and simmer until gravy thickens. Taste to see if salt is needed.
- Serve over warm fresh biscuits.
Best Sausage Gravy Recipe Tips
- Seasonings: Be sure your sausage is seasoned. If not you may need to add salt, pepper and maybe a little sage. Taste as you make and adjust as needed.
- Don’t drain the sausage drippings – The fat is where all the flavor is and you need it to make good sausage gravy.
- Keep flavors simple – This dish is packed full of flavor and isn’t meant to be complicated. It’s plain ol’ comfort food and just plain delicious. So you don’t need to add in tons of extras.
How to thicken Sausage Gravy
If your gravy isn’t thick enough simply stir 2 tablespoons of flour with 3 tablespoons on cold water and stir until combined. Then slowly stir mixture into gravy and stir until desired consistency.
Sausage Gravy Recipe FAQs
You have to be sure to cook your flour a few minutes before adding in the milk. Usually about 2 to 3 minutes is enough. You don’t want to let it get too brown, just long enough to cook out that flour taste.
Yes. Ground turkey or chicken can be used in place of the pork. You may need a little extra butter for less fat may be rendered while cooking.
Sometimes you just need to let it cook a little longer to thicken, but other times you added a little too much liquid or didn’t start with enough flour to begin with.
If your gravy turns out too thick, simply add in more milk in small amounts at a time, until gravy is the consistency you like.
Yes – you can make the gravy ahead of time. Cool and store in an airtight container and refrigerate it up to 4 day in advance.
To reheat, place in a saute pan and warm over medium heat. Add in a little extra milk to thin if needed.
Biscuits, in my opinion, on the other hand are better fresh! You can prepare the biscuit dough in advance and cut them out the day before. You can also freeze cut biscuit dough ahead of time and then cook them the day of.
Yes. You can freeze. It does change the consistency a little. It really is so quick to prepare that I like to make it fresh.
If you do need to freeze it, let the gravy cool completely and the store in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
To thaw: Place in the refrigerator to thaw and reheat in a saucepan. You may need to add a little milk to thin it out a bit.
What to serve with sausage gravy?
The Best Sausage Gravy is most often served on fluffy biscuits! Buttermilk biscuits and gravy are always a win!
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It’s also so good on toast, english muffins, over skillet potatoes, omelets, eggs, hash browns, and over creamy grits. This list could go on and on gravy is good on just about anything y’all!
It is heavenly on french fries! Oh yes! You heard me right french fries. You have to try it!
More Breakfast Recipes You Will Love
- Creamed Chipped Beef Gravy
- Easy Creamed Hamburger Gravy
- Overnight Breakfast Casserole
- Blood Orange Sweet Rolls by my friend at Norine’s Nest.
Is there anything more southern than biscuits and gravy? Well, except maybe fried pork chops – which by the way goes deliciously with breakfast too!
A soulful southern breakfast isn’t complete without biscuits and a skillet of southern sausage gravy! So y’all make up a batch and enjoy!
More from Soulfully Made
Now let’s dig on into the best southern sausage gravy recipe ever!
Homemade Sausage Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk pork sausage
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 to 3 ½ cups milk
- ¼ tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- ½ tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Set a large skillet (I love cast iron) over medium heat. Add in the sausage and with a wooden spatula break up sausage into smaller pieces while stirring. Cook until brown and fully done (about 8 to 10 minutes).
- Place butter in skillet and stir until melted.
- Sprinkle flour, garlic, and pepper on top of the sausage and slowly stir until well coated and grease is full absorbed. Continue stirring and let the flour cook fully for about 2 minutes.
- While stirring, slowly pour in 3 cups of the milk. Continue to stir and simmer until gravy thickens (3 to 5 minutes). Add salt, if needed. If gravy is too thick, add the last 1/2 cup of milk.
- Serve over warm fresh biscuits.
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Notes
✱ Nikki’s Tips
- Seasonings: Be sure your sausage is seasoned. If not you may need to add salt, pepper and maybe a little sage. Taste as you make and adjust as needed.
- Don’t drain the sausage drippings – The fat is where all the flavor is and you need it to make good sausage gravy.
- Keep flavors simple – This dish is packed full of flavor and isn’t meant to be complicated. It’s plain ol’ comfort food and just plain delicious. So you don’t need to add in tons of extras.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional Disclaimer
Soulfully Made is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
©️Soulfully Made
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Made this recipe while camping with a group. It was delicious and EASY to do! Will definitely make this my go to recipe. Side note..this also works using an electric fry pan for glampers!
Thank you, Jamie! Love to hear you made this camping.
Spot on! Only used 3 cups of milk – was delish!!!
Thank you, Heather! So glad you enjoyed it!
This was exactly what I was looking for. Good Ole soul food. It turned out soberly. I did do a few of my own add ins. Thank you.
I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.
I have made this recipe before and my whole family loves it!!! It is so much better then that canned gunk the convenient store use for their gravy. Thank you so much!!
Thank you, Tiffany!
This is the second time we have had this recipe and it did not disappoint once again!!! So good and easy. Followed the recipe to the tee!
Thank you so much, Vicki!!
I like plan milk gravy dont want sausage in it so can i just leave sausage out?
You will need to use some fat like butter as they roux is made with the fat from the sausage.
Love this recipe. I add some cheese to the gravy and have discovered that it is delicious on hash browns! Fry some eggs, put them on the taters and top with gravy. Yummy.
Thank you, Jules! That sounds like the perfect breakfast to me!
very good. doubled the recipe! Thanks!
Thank you, Alisha!
I realized half way through making this recipe that I was out of all-purpose flour, so I used bread flour in a pinch. It worked perfectly & tastes delicious.
I tried this recipe today. Easy recipe to follow and Delicious.
Thank you, Danni! So glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for posting this! It’s great for ratios. I had to double the recipe to feed 12. I used 4 cups half and half and 2 cups milk because that was what I had on hand. Also I accidentally poured pepper into the cooking pan! ? I was able to scoop most of it out and left the perfect amount for seasoning.
It turned out good. Simple, and yummy!
That is awesome Erica! I love using up what I have on hand! Thank you for sharing your results with us!
Easy, affordable and quick.
A little too salty for me so I will find ways to cut salt next time
A lot of time it depends on the sausage brand. I suggest making and leaving off the salt until you finish and taste first. Glad you enjoyed the recipe and will make it again.
This recipe came together very easy. I was very happy with the flavor. I added more pepper, I like a lot of pepper In my sausage gravy. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for posting.
You are welcome, Jerry! Thank you for stopping in to let us know you enjoyed it. We love pepper too! You can a dash of red pepper to heat it up or use a hot sausage too!
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
You are so welcome! Very glad you enjoyed it!
Made this last night for dinner. This was my first time making sausage gravy from scratch. It was so easy and so tasty. I will never make package gravy again.
I am so glad you loved it, Dana! It really is so easy to make. I appreciate you stopping by to share with us!
I’ve never made biscuit and gravy before. This recipe was simple but full of flavor. Thanks for making my first time a success.
Thank you so much, Cindy! I am glad you gave it a try and enjoyed it!
I’ve never made sausage gravy and biscuits but decided to try it for overnight guests we had. It was phenomenal. Easy and so delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much, Hollie! I am so honored you served this to guests and that you all enjoyed it!
First time making sausage gravy and it was amazing. Doubled the recipe and there was nothing left. Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you, Hollie! You made my day! I always make extra because my family gobbles it up too!
Just made it, sooooooo good.
Thank you, Betty! So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this and omg it is so good.
thank you.
Thank you, Marie!