A recipe on how to make easy creamy-style biscuits and sausage gravy for a quick and easy breakfast or breakfast for dinner.
Pin It
Let me begin by telling you that there is nothing remotely light about this recipe. This is stick-to-your-ribs food. It’s the type of meal you eat when the last possible day in February starts with an ice and snow storm. It is destined for lazy Saturdays when you actually feel like cooking just a bit or evening meals when you’re short on time but ravenous at the thought of food. A meal that you eat after a cold, brisk walk around the lake.
I’ve started enjoying the lake more. It’s just down the road, with a walking path that is frequented by other walkers, runners, and the occasional miscreant. Surrounded by park land, a community golf course, and the neighborhood zoo, it’s a tiny slice of heaven right in my backyard.
I find the cold wind rather freeing, and it’s been great for clearing my head and getting away when the walls seem to be pushing in on me inside the house. I’ll mourn the loss of the cold just a bit as spring comes and then summer sets in, bringing extra people to navigate around, and making it feel a bit less secluded. Exercise I suppose is a bonus, but then, I’m apt to undo any sort of benefit by serving biscuits and sausage gravy up for dinner.
The beauty of cream biscuits is their short prep and cooking time. Start to finish, biscuits can be on the table in less than 20 minutes. While they bake, you can whip up whatever else you’re going to eat with them. In this case, sausage gravy and a side of eggs rounded out the meal, accompanied by a sad-looking pomegranate that had made itself quite comfortable at the bottom of the produce drawer. Inside, however, the arils were bursting with bright red juice, and their tart-sweet bits were just what was needed to cut the richness of the gravy.
Love or hate the winter wonderland outside my door, I’m glad to be huddled inside with the oven on, waiting for soft, fluffy biscuits to put on the plates of my family.
Notes:
*You can substitute butter for bacon grease if you don’t have any available, I suppose.
*Cream biscuits (barely) adapted from Smitten Kitchen via James Beard’s American Cookery
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder (preferably aluminum-free)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons melted butter
For the gravy:
1 pound raw breakfast sausage
2 tablespoons bacon grease
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup flour
1 cup heavy cream
3 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Make the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 425º F and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in 1 1/4 cups of the heavy cream until incorporated. Slowly stir in the remaining cream until the dough reaches a soft and easily handled consistency.
Turn the dough out onto a flat, lightly floured surface. Knead lightly into a ball, and then press the dough into a circle just about 1″ thick. Using a round biscuit cutter, cut into circles. Press remaining scraps into a flat circle again and repeat until all the dough is used.
Dip the dough rounds into the melted butter, and then place them on the prepared baking sheet, butter side up, 2″ apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes until tops are golden brown. While the biscuits are baking, prepare the gravy.
Make the gravy: Brown the sausage in a large saucepan over medium heat. Set aside. In the same pan over medium heat, melt the butter and bacon grease. Slowly whisk in the flour until is incorporated into a smooth paste. Add the cream while constantly whisking to thoroughly mix. Stir in the milk and pepper.
Continue to heat and stir until gravy thickens and reaches desired consistency. Add the sausage back into the gravy. Salt if needed, but many sausage varieties will be salty enough. If the sauce becomes too thick, stir in additional milk. If a spicier gravy is preferred add cayenne pepper.
Remove the biscuits from the oven. Serve gravy over warm biscuits.
Makes 10 biscuits with gravy.
This sounds amazing, Shaina! Perfect comfort food for a wintery day.
Mmm, I love biscuits and gravy — this looks to die for!!!
Thats comfort food!
You did this southern girl proud, Shaina. Man, I could just devour that plate RIGHT now.
Those biscuits are calling my name!
One of my favorite meals. It really gets this bad reputation as being unhealthy but I consider it healthy. Everything in moderation. Plus it is comfort food. It is healthy in that good for the soul way. Love it.
I completely agree, RJ. We’re big fans of moderation here. It’s the key to a healthy and balanced life.
Love the biscuits-can’t wait to try these! Whenever I make this recipe it reminds me of my father-in-law. He has a similar family recipe but instead of cream uses vanilla ice cream. Really adds something!
I love sausage gravy! These look so wonderful
How awesome to have a lake like that so close to your house! That must be idyllic. This is definitely hearty food and it sounds awesome!
Would you believe I’ve never had sausage gravy? We always had regular chicken gravy growing up – I’m a Northerner through and through. I want you to send me some of yours….
In Arkansas, we call this kind of meal “heaven”.
Looks amazing, Shaina!! And I wish I could come along on one of your walks…I miss you!!
I’m not a gravy person but I do love a good cream biscuit! I have mine with butter and jam.
ok, I am impressed with those biscuits! I had no idea they were that easy …the hubs is going to be one happy guy this weekend when I whip those up!
This is my husband’s favorite breakfast (that I only make for him about 2x/yr!). I’ve been meaning to work on a more homemade version – will definitely be giving this a try. Yours looks lovely and very delicious.
I have to laugh. Ole is lucky if he gets this once a year, and it is one of his favorites. When someone requested I share it on Facebook the last time we made it he was all over it.
Not being from the south, I’ve never had a Biscuits and Gravy Breakfast, but I certainly do like using dinner biscuits to sop up gravy from dinner so I am sure I would enjoy it 🙂
This amazing recipe truly defines comfort food ~ love it Shaina!
I saw these biscuits on FoodGawkers and was instantly salivating. I’m featuring your photo and linking to your recipe for my Food Porn Friday post this week. Thanks for making me want Brinner tonight.
Omg, Shaina, I’m going to make this as Matt’s special breakfast meal. I kinda owe him one and this is perfect. Bribery by way of meals by Shaina. 🙂
What a mouthwatering batch of biscuits! These look too good to be true. Thanks for sharing. You have a very nice blog and I’m glad to have found you!
so pretty as always! Love this
Biscuits and gravy, the ultimate comfort food! Yum!
Biscuits and gravy are a staple around our house. Nothing better to fill up hungry teenage boys!
This is the kind of comfort food I can wrap my head around. I’ve always had a soft spot for biscuits and gravy and everything in moderation is good. Love this!
Its such a great kind of breakfast I really want to try it thanks for sharing this to us..
Amazing! How about you come over on Saturday and make us a lazy breakfast…because I am thinking that there is no way I can make biscuits and gravy look as gorgeous as you do 🙂
I have a HUGE love affair with biscuits and gravy! These look amazing Shaina!
Ok you’re killing me luv. I’m trying so hard not to eat bread and biscuits with gravy is my ultimate down fall. Well if I have to fall off the wagon this recipe will be worth it ;D YUM!
Those are some nice looking biscuits and gravy!
Your days sound very much like mine. My back yard is my haven, but living in Oregon we are surrounded by beautiful nature. I too make biscuits with sausage gravy and eggs, for dinner, but I use less fat. Next time I will try your recipe because it sounds just scrumptious!
I was watching AMNW this morning and I loved your segment, which is how I found my way to your fab blog.
love to see a recipe that calls for bacon grease! I make my own version of sausage gravy that is quite similar to yours, but I can’t wait to test your biscuits. happy cooking!
I’m a southern born and bred country chic who absolutely grew up on and relishes homemade biscuits and sausage gravy. This is a great quick fix biscuit and I’d like to add a side note, if i may, for the gravy. Just a little trick I learned but it gives the gravy a nice body of flavor. I always add about 1/4 cup of chicken stock as well as the cream. I hope you’ll try it when you get the chance. (We call it creamed barrel gravy, or barrel gravy, when chicken stock is added).