Best Sausage Gravy Recipe (Quick & Easy!) - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

A classic Southern-style American dish and a diner staple, homemade sausage gravy is creamy, salty, and the ultimate in breakfast comfort foods.Serve sausage gravy with your favorite biscuits for a filling and satisfying breakfast, perfect for a special occasion or just a lazy weekend.

If I see biscuits and gravy on a restaurant menu, you better bet that I’ll be ordering that! Up until recently I thought it was a fancy and difficult dish to make and I really appreciated being able to get it in breakfast restaurants, but now I’ve learned the secret of how simple it is to make! I can make homemade sausage gravy at home in just about 20 minutes with some basic ingredients from my kitchen.

If you love comfort food as much as I do, you should try my Broccoli Mac and Cheese and Chicken Cacciatore next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Simple Ingredients. Pick up some sausage on your next shopping trip. You probably already have the rest of the ingredients at home.
2. Quick and Easy. For some reason, this gravy tastes like it was cooked all day long, but really it only takes about 20 minutes.
3. Delicious for all Occasions. You can serve sausage gravy with buttermilk biscuits for a family breakfast or adjust it to serve a larger crowd for brunch. Everyone loves this recipe!

Ingredients in Sausage Gravy

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Pork Sausage – You want to use a breakfast style pork sausage for this recipe. This can usually be found in the meat coolers of your grocery store. Some stores sell bulk breakfast sausage, or buy a packaged sausage like Bob Evans or Jimmy Dean. If you want a spicy sausage gravy, choose a spicy breakfast sausage. Avoid any maple flavored sausage for this particular recipe. I don’t think the flavor works well.
• Butter – We will use the fat from the sausage as well as a bit of butter to create our gravy base.
• Flour – All purpose flour blends with the oils to create a light roux to thicken the gravy.
• Milk – for a creamy sausage gravy, use milk to thin it out. Any type of milk will work, 2% or whole would be my preference.
• Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper. These simple seasonings work well with just about anything. In this recipe, much of the flavor is coming from the sausage, so no fancy spices are needed.

How to Make Sausage Gravy

This recipe is really very simple. Follow these steps to make the perfect sausage gravy for biscuits.

1. Brown the Sausage: In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, brown the sausage, breaking it up as you cook it until it’s no longer pink and evenly brown. Don’t drain the fat from the pan, we’ll be using it.
2. Make the Gravy: Add butter to the pan and allow it to melt, then sprinkle flour over the cooked sausage. Stir, cooking the flour for 2 minutes. Then slowly add the milk, stirring constantly as you pour to avoid clumps.
3. Thicken Gravy: Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the sausage gravy is thickened.
4. Season: Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Taste before adding salt, some sausages are saltier than others and may not need additional salt added.
5. Serve: Serve sausage gravy immediately after cooking, over biscuits.

Tips for Perfect Homemade Sausage Gravy

Seasonings – Start with already seasoned pork sausage. Plain ground pork won’t give enough flavor to the gravy. Other than this, you don’t need much to create a deliciously flavorful gravy.

Serve Warm – Keep your gravy warm until ready to serve it. Cold sausage gravy is not quite as appetizing. If you want to make the gravy ahead of time, simply reheat it on the stove on low heat when it’s time to serve.

Keep it simple – Allow the sausage gravy to be the star of the show. Serve it with starches like toast, biscuits, or potatoes so you can really enjoy the flavor of the gravy.

Use a Cast Iron Pan – I love using cast iron because it browns the meat nicely and creates an even heating surface. That said, you can make this in a regular pan if you don’t have cast iron, I just think it’s easier (and more authentic) in cast iron.

Make it Gluten Free – Skip the flour and thicken the sausage gravy with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Add a splash of your morning coffee – You may have not heard of this one before, but it’s great as it adds a great depth of flavor to your sausage gravy and a less pallid color. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to taste the coffee!

What to Serve with Sausage Gravy?

Aside from the obvious sausage and biscuits pairing, this gravy is equally delicious with a variety of other foods. Enjoy it on anything you’d put gravy on, such as hash browns, fried eggs, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, or even air fryer roasted potatoes.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sausage Gravy

I can’t wait until you are a pro at making homemade sausage gravy, and I bet your family can’t wait either! Make sure to pin this recipe so everyone can see it.