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 (455 g) pork breakfast sausage I recommend using sage flavored
- ¼ cup (31 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
- 2 ½ cups (590 ml) whole milk
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
- salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place sausage in a skillet over medium/high heat.1 lb (455 g) pork breakfast sausage
- Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up and crumble sausage as it cooks, cooking until completely browned and no pink remains. I don't drain my skillet, you want to have at least a Tablespoon or up to 2 Tablespoons of grease, but if you have much more than this you may wish to drain your skillet.
- Sprinkle flour evenly over the sausage crumbles. Stir frequently until flour is absorbed (about 1 minute).¼ cup (31 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
- Slowly drizzle the milk into your skillet, stirring as you pour. Add crushed red pepper, if using.2 ½ cups (590 ml) whole milk, ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 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!salt and freshly cracked black pepper
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.
Joseph Fortenberry Jr
Easy recipe that even the smallest cooks in the kitchen can do. This is the same as my grandma used to make growing up.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Joseph! Thanks for the review ❤️
Tammy Collins
My son asked me for sausage and gravy for breakfast on July 4th. We are former Civil War reenactors and this would be a typical breakfast in our camp on this day! I didn’t have canned biscuits so I made them from scratch tonight and can’t wait to try this gravy recipe in the morning!
Ingrid
Great recipe! I made a few changes. Instead of 2-1/2 cups Whole Milk, I used 1-1-1/2 cups Whole Milk and 1/2 c Heavy Cream. Increased the Red Pepper Flakes.to 1/4 teaspoons. This reduces the cooking time and made for a creamy, thick gravy. There was enough flavor so I did not need Salt & Pepper.
My husband LOVED it.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it was a hit, Ingrid! 😋
Ivy
This was extremely helpful to me. Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re happy to hear it, Ivy! Thanks for the review ❤️
Patrick Thomas Douglas
So glad I found this recipe! It turned out perfect! Thank you!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Patrick! 🙂
Colleen
I’m so glad I found this recipe, along with your biscuit recipe! My husband doesn’t like Bob Evans so this totally satisfies those childhood memories of ordering this there! Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Colleen! 🙂
David
Absolutely spot on, very tasty indeed.
Stefanie
This recipe is AMAZING! It is so easy to make, and comes out perfect EVERY TIME! Cannot tell you how many times we’ve had biscuits and gravy since finding this recipe, it’s become a staple! Thank you for sharing!
Susan
I’ve made this recipe numerous times and it always turns out great. I was so happy to see that you added the measurements to the recipe instruction line! That way I didn’t have to go back and forth from from the recipe to instructions.
Dave
Simple prep for hearty fare. Used 3/4 cup of heavy cream for part of the milk, since our house only has 1% vs whole. Recipe is guy-proof. Delicious. Eyeing your sloppy joe recipe for next prep.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Dave! I hope you love the sloppy Joe just as much! ☺️
Dafio
Excellent recipe. You can add some seasoning like garlic powder or thyme too.
Ashlei
The gravy wasn’t country gravy like expected. It’s was a beef gravy..
Sam
Hi Ashlei! I’m truly not sure why you expected country gravy. This recipe isn’t touted as one, doesn’t look like country gravy from the photos, uses different ingredients from country gravy, and I actually discuss in the post how it is different from country gravy. It also doesn’t use beef at all though, so I’m not sure how you ended up with beef gravy.
Lisa
Beef gravy?? Yeah, that is odd. Presumably she means it “looked like like beef gravy? That can happen if you let it burn at the bottom of the pan when you’re cooking the sage pork sausage on step one. My only modification: while I used whole milk, I like mine with a little more gravy, so I just added more milk and a bit more flour and salt. TURNED OUT PERFECT!! Can’t believe it’s so easy to get restaurant grade Country gravy!
Shavonne
My family loved it and the gravy took no time to make!
Heidi
sounds amazing! I. ove all your recipes and will make this today.
David
I used this recipe today, Though i already had this very sausage in my fridge so i was like what the heck. I made this with no red or black pepper, seeing i just got done with 12 weeks of chemo and radiation, i wanted a moist type of food to eat cause i am sick of soup. so i made this with no salt no pepper and pored it over some strained ramen and its very tasty from what i can taste. thank you for this here recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, David! I wish you a speedy recovery! 🙂
Susan
Made this for Easter Brunch. I used a Turkey breakfast sausage and left out the red pepper flakes. It was perfect for us. Tasted just like you’d expect it to, and it came together very easily. It’s a keeper! Thanks!