This is my classic, old-fashioned homemade sausage gravy recipe (also often known as “sawmill gravy”)! Just 4 ingredients and 15 minutes and you can have this classic breakfast staple on your table. Pairs perfectly with my 5-star foolproof homemade biscuits!
The Best Sausage Gravy Recipe
When the chilly weather starts to roll around, the first thing I do around here is break out my sausage gravy recipe.
That’s not entirely true, I have it more-than memorized by now, but the skillet comes out, the biscuits go in the oven, and we start getting serious about comfort food. Sweater weather means homemade sausage gravy and biscuits and buttermilk pancakes for breakfast and my best chili recipe and potato soup on weekly dinner rotation.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Super simple to make — beginners & experts will enjoy this recipe, and find equal success with it!
- Ready in under 15 minutes
- It’s a satisfying, filling, and hearty breakfast gravy
- Full of authentic flavor; you won’t find a sausage gravy this tasty on any shelf or even your favorite breakfast spot.
🧂 Ingredients You’ll Need 🧂
Simple ingredients, spectacular results. Here’s what you need for my homemade sausage gravy recipe:
- Sausage. Search for pork breakfast sausage, which is typically sold in a log as shown above. If you can find a sage variety, grab it, it will make your gravy even more flavorful.
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour for this recipe, it serves as the thickener that keeps the gravy from becoming too loose/watery. Some readers have reported success using a 1:1 gluten free flour in place of wheat flour, but I have not personally tried this myself yet.
- Milk. Whole milk is best for the proper consistency. Using a lower-fat milk will result in a thinner sausage gravy.
- Seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste, and, if you’d like, just a pinch of crushed red pepper. If the flavor of the gravy tastes anything less than amazing once it’s finished cooking, you most likely just need a few more shakes of salt!
This is just an overview of the ingredients we’re using today. For the full list of amounts and all recipe details, please scroll down to the printable recipe.
How to Make It
- Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium/high heat, crumbling with a spoon or spatula as you cook.
- Cook until the sausage is thoroughly browned and well broken up. No need to drain the meat!
- Sprinkle flour over the sausage and stir until the flour is absorbed, then cook a few seconds longer!
- While stirring, slowly drizzle in the milk and cook until it’s absorbed. Add crushed red pepper, if using. Let the mixture thicken (stir occasionally) and add salt and pepper to taste!
SAM’S TIP: Use your spoon, spatula or even a whisk to break up any flour clumps after adding to your sausage but before you add the milk. This will keep you from having any flour lumps in your breakfast gravy!
The technique is simple and I have no doubt you’ll find success with this sausage gravy recipe (hundreds already have!), but if you’re more of a visual learner, be sure to check out my how-to video tutorial in the recipe card!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this recipe is a great make-ahead breakfast option! Keep refrigerated in an airtight container and simply reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat the next morning. The gravy will have thickened quite a bit overnight, so add a splash of milk and stir well when you first add it to the skillet and cook until the gravy is heated through.
My sausage gravy recipe is thickened by the flour that the recipe calls for. When you first add the milk, it will likely seem very runny, but as you continue to cook the mixture, the gravy will thicken. If you like an even thicker gravy than seen here in photos, don’t add more flour, just continue to cook until your desired consistency is reached. As the milk cooks out, it will become thicker!
The primary difference is that country gravy is typically prepared without meat (quite unlike today’s recipe)! The base is usually built on a base of butter rather than sausage grease. While it’s certainly tasty when done right, it simply doesn’t smother biscuits quite as satisfyingly, if you ask me (though I’d say they both fall slightly short of chocolate gravy 😉!).
Warm, hearty, and just simply delicious, I hope this homemade sausage gravy recipe will be a new staple in your household cold-weather breakfast rotation. If you try it, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Enjoy!
Let’s cook together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube!
Homemade Sausage Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork breakfast sausage I recommend using sage flavored (455g)
- ¼ cup all-purpose (plain) flour (31g)
- 2 ½ cups whole milk (590ml)
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
- salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place sausage in a skillet over medium/high heat.
- Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up and crumble sausage as it cooks, cooking until completely browned and no pink remains. Do not drain your skillet.
- Sprinkle flour evenly over the sausage crumbles. Stir frequently until flour is absorbed (about 1 minute).
- Slowly drizzle the milk into your skillet, stirring as you pour. Add crushed red pepper, if using.
- Continue to cook, stirring frequently until mixture is thickened and desired consistency is reached.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and serve warm over homemade biscuits!
Notes
Storing/Making in Advance
Sausage gravy can be made the night before you plan to serve. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, add to a skillet over medium/low heat. Gravy will likely be thickened, so add a splash of milk to it and stir well until mixture is heated through.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
More Great Recipes to Try
I originally published my sausage gravy recipe in October of 2018. The recipe remains unchanged, but I’ve since updated the post to be more informative and helpful.
Antha
So simple and quick! Loved it, used the exact products in recipe and it was perfect consistency and tastes delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the review, Antha! We’re so happy the gravy was a success for you ❤️
Sarah
Absolutely delicious! Used hot sausage and substituted 1/2 milk for cream. Great recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Sarah! 😊
Cass
I’m from Texas and I’ve been living in eastern Europe for a few years now. I miss biscuits and gravy (S.O.S. 🙂 ) but I can only find ground pork out here, not breakfast sausage. Do you think that ground pork will work also? Any ideas on what I can add for more flavor in the pork?
Sam
Hi Cass! The ground pork could work here. The sausage doesn’t have particular spices listed on the packaging, but I would probably add a little bit of sage to it. 🙂
Cass
Hi Sam! Thank you for the recommendation. I couldn’t find any sage in the local shop, so I made it this morning without. Still turned out fabulous! I used a half kilogram of meat, but it seemed too much for me. Think I’ll double the sauce next time with a kilo of meat, because that sauce is amazing. I made it with your Easy Homemade Biscuits recipe, and they were superb, as well. Such a great comfort food! Thank you so much for the recipes and best wishes to you. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you enjoyed, Cass! 🥰
Nick from Waterloo IA
Five star recipe, it’s going in the dinner rotation! Crushed red pepper did the trick. I also threw a few pinches of sage in the meat as it was cooking.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it was a hit! Thanks for giving our recipe a try, Nick ❤️
Terry
I have never been a fan of sausage and if it’s spicy, which typically it is, it upsets my stomach. Today I’m making it with ground round. We also only keep skim milk in the house unless I need buttermilk for a particular recipe..hahaa I don’t think buttermilk will taste very good in this, so I used skim. It’s a little thin, but not that bad. My husband has a hankering for mashed potatoes and I bought 2 bags on sale, so it’s hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes. He’s off to work after lunch, so he doesn’t want anything else. Tasted of course, it’s delicious! Thanks, as usual, for an outstanding recipe…even if I had to change it some.. 😉
Brittany
If I need enough gravy for 24 biscuits, how much should I increase the recipe? Double? Triple? 4x?
Sam
Hi Brittany! It really depends how much you like on your biscuits. I would think tripling it would give you plenty, but I can’t say for sure.
Kim C
Love this!! So fast, easy and delicious! Perfect weeknight dinner. I’ve made this many times now. Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it so much, Kim! 🙂
Tina
Delicious and Perfect every time I make it. Thank you
Misty
I’ve always struggled getting the right flour to milk ratio. I’ve made this recipe twice and it’s turned out great & much better than what we can find in a restaurant!
Karyn hendricks
I made this tonight along with your biscuits. So good! And my husband said they were probably the best biscuits he’s ever had! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed both recipes, Karyn! Let us know what else you try 🥰
JaWahna
Can this be with Turkey sausage?
Sam
Sure thing. 🙂