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.
Demetria
I am not a good cook, I don’t cook very often. I’ve made this recipe 2 times and each time it has turned out wonderful. I have used Jimmy Dean sage sausage each time. You don’t need to add very much salt if at all in my opinion. this gravy is very rich with flavor. I’m looking forward to trying another recipe. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Shannon Dennis
Stuck inside on this rare snow day. Followed this recipe exactly and it couldn’t have turned out better! Thank you for the clear and simple instructions. I’ve messed up sausage gravy a few times but not today! I used Jimmy Dean regular sausage because that’s what I had on hand and also used 1% milk because that’s what we use. Wonderful! Thank you!
Cookster
Followed the instructions and also used some breakfast sausage with sage as recommended. Used lactose free whole milk. Delicious! No notes! I’m ready to make a second batch.
Bret Green
Shoot, I can actually make this with ingredients on hand. That is great, since right now I am snow-bound in sub-zero temperatures. I have biscuits (in one of those cardboard tubes), and eggs. Thank you so much for posting this. Can’t wait to chow down some biskeys and gravy : )
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
What a great snow day meal, Bret! Enjoy!
Bret Green
Thank you so much Emily : ) <3
Susan
I fixed this for breakfast this morning. I haven’t fixed sausage and gravy for over 5 years, so I very rusty on preparing it. Your recipe was very easy to follow. It was delicious! I’m keeping this recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad it was a hit for you, Susan! Thanks for the review 🩷
Debbie
very good, and so easy to make
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you enjoyed it, Debbie! 🩷
JP
This recipe is fantastic. I made breakfast pizza with the gravy. WOW!!!! I’m saving this one! Thank you so much for sharing.
Melissa S
Made this today with your homemade biscuit recipe and it was easy and delicious!! My husband said it was sooo delivious!! It was very filling!! Recipe was was super simple and easy to follow!!
Elizabeth Leonow
Super easy and super delicious. Had always used Pioneer peppered gravy before – never again. Thanks so much.
Nichole
I absolutely loved this recipe, the Jimmy Dean maple sausage I used wasn’t very greasy at all, and the quick and easy ingredients worked out perfect. Thank you for this recipe, I’ll be using it from now on..
Ed
Can I freeze this and store it for later?
Sam
Hi Ed! It could potentially separate a little bit. I would recommend thawing it in the refrigerator overnight and heating it up very slowly. 🙂
Kathryn Barbato
it was really good and easy.
Elizabeth
I tried this recipe because it didn’t call for a lot of ingredients. I regret that now. The recipe calls to keep the grease in the pan and I was iffy about it while cooking. I wish I trusted my cut and drained the grease then. I tried to drain it later but you could still feel the grease while you were eating. The flavor was fine but the grease was overwhelming and is will not reheat well for leftovers. I will not be doing the recipe again
Sam
Hi Elizabeth! It sounds like you may have had a particularly greasy sausage. You should only have about 1.5 tablespoons of grease before proceeding. 🙁
Ladee Rhodes
Very easy to make and enjoyed by all. The flavor comes from the meat so make sure you season it well.
Kathryn
This was tasty, but WAY too thick. Double the milk