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This homemade biscuits and gravy recipe has stood the test of time! Flaky buttermilk biscuits smothered in a creamy Southern-style sausage gravy that’s silky, flavorful, and easy to make from scratch. After years of making this for my family, tweaking, testing, and perfecting every step… this is the one I come back to every single time.
Southern biscuits and gravy has always been at the very top of my comfort food list.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats warm homemade biscuits absolutely drenched in a hearty country gravy on a slow Sunday morning. It’s one of those “stick to your ribs” meals that you make when you want something downright delicious.
The BEST Biscuits and Gravy Recipe
This Southern sausage gravy recipe builds on my tried-and-true flaky buttermilk biscuits and white pepper gravy recipe, giving you an unbeatable sausage gravy with the perfect consistency every time.
This version combines everything I’ve learned from making biscuits and gravy over the years into one reliable, from-scratch method you can trust. It’s the kind of recipe you come back to again and again because it just works. The kind of breakfast that makes people pause after the first bite.
Table of contents
Why THIS Recipe Hits Different
- I use a mix of cake flour and all-purpose flour for biscuits that are ultra-soft, tender, and bakery-level fluffy!
- Fresh herbs and seasonings take the gravy from basic to deep, savory, and full of flavor!
- A blend of milk and chicken broth creates a gravy that’s velvety rich and silky smooth.
- Butter, buttermilk, and cream make the biscuits super buttery with those tall flaky layers in every bite!
Sausage Gravy & Biscuits Ingredients
For the Buttermilk Biscuits
- All-purpose flour is the base for both the biscuits and the gravy, giving structure and helping thicken everything beautifully.
- Cake flour is key for tender biscuits due to its finer texture. You can use straight all-purpose flour only, but the biscuits won’t be quite as soft.
- Salted butter adds rich flavor and enhances the overall taste of the biscuits while helping create a flaky texture.
- Buttermilk adds tanginess and helps keeps the biscuits soft. If needed, you can make homemade buttermilk by using milk and a splash of vinegar or lemon juice!
- Heavy cream adds richness to the biscuit dough.
For the Sausage Gravy
- Breakfast sausage is the star of the gravy, adding savory, hearty flavor!
- Garlic and fresh herbs (thyme rosemary) bring a depth of flavor that you absolutely need!
- Whole Milk and chicken broth adds richness and flavor without making the gravy too heavy.
Variations & Substitutions
- Swap the breakfast sausage for turkey sausage, chicken sausage or spicy sausage for a little heat!
- Use store-bought biscuits if you’re short on time. This recipe will still be delicious!
- Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce to the gravy for a little heat.
How to Make Southern Buttermilk Biscuits & Gravy From Scratch
Step 1: Make the buttermilk biscuits: Preheat oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Cut cold butter into small pieces (cubed or grated) and work it into the flour using your hands or a pastry cutter until pea-sized crumbs form.
Step 2: Create a well and pour in cold buttermilk and heavy cream. Mix just until a shaggy, crumbly dough forms, don’t add extra liquid.
step 4: Laminate & cut biscuits: Stack and fold the dough 3 times for flaky layers, then cut flatten and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place on a lined baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Bake to golden perfection: Brush with egg wash (egg + cream) and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Brush with melted butter right out of the oven.
Step 5: Make homemade sausage gravy & serve: Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, then add herbs, butter, and flour and stir with a wooden spoon to form a roux.
Step 6: Slowly whisk in milk and chicken broth, simmer until thickened, season well, and spoon over warm biscuits. Save leftover gravy and make smothered pork chops next!
Pro Tips
- Keep everything cold when making biscuits! Cold butter and cold buttermilk are what create those flaky, layered biscuits. If the butter melts too soon, you’ll lose that flaky texture. This is also why you must freeze the biscuits before baking them!
- The dough should look a little shaggy and imperfect, that’s exactly what you want. Avoid overmixing to reach a perfect dough. That will lead to tough biscuits instead of soft, tender ones!
- Folding and stacking the dough a few times creates those beautiful, flaky layers. It might seem like an extra step, but it makes a huge difference in the final result.
- Once you add the liquid to your roux, keep whisking to prevent lumps and ensure a smooth, creamy texture. Low and slow heat is your best friend here!
- Season as you go. Between the sausage, broth, and butter, flavors build quickly. Taste the sausage gravy and adjust the salt and black pepper at the end so everything is perfectly balanced.
Storage Suggestions
If you have leftovers, store the homemade biscuits and gravy separately in an airtight container the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat the gravy gently on the stovetop with a splash of milk to loosen it back up, and warm the biscuits in the oven so they stay nice and flaky!
Recipe FAQs
The key to flaky biscuits is cold butter and minimal mixing. Cold butter creates steam pockets as it bakes, which gives you those beautiful layers. Overmixing the dough will make the biscuits tough instead of soft and tender.
Reheat the gravy on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of milk to loosen it. Warm the biscuits in the oven at 300°F so they stay soft and flaky. Avoid microwaving the biscuits if you can, they’ll get tough.
Yes! You can substitute the flour with cornstarch. Mix 1–2 tablespoons of cornstarch with cold milk to create a slurry, then stir it into the gravy and simmer until thickened. The texture will be slightly different but still creamy and delicious.
Flat biscuits are usually caused by warm butter or overworked dough. Make sure your butter and buttermilk are cold, and avoid twisting the biscuit cutter when cutting the dough—this seals the edges and prevents them from rising properly.
Yes! If you don’t have buttermilk, mix 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for 5–10 minutes. It works as a great substitute and still gives you tender biscuits.
The key is whisking constantly when adding liquid to your roux. Pour in the milk slowly while whisking to prevent lumps, and keep the heat on medium-low so the gravy thickens evenly.
More Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
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Southern Chicken and Waffles
Breakfast
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Breakfast
Buttermilk French Toast
Desserts
Best Cinnamon Rolls Recipe EVER
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Homemade Biscuits and Sausage Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
Buttermilk Biscuits (you can also use store bought biscuits)
- 2 1/2 cups (313 g) All Purpose Flour, (If using White Lily Flour, no need to use cake flour, just use 3 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup (125 g) Cake Flour
- 1 tbsp (15 g) Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tbsps (25 g) Sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 cup (227 g) Salted Butter, (cold)
- ¾ cup (180 g) Buttermilk, (cold)
- 1/3 cup (80 g) Heavy Cream, (cold)
- 1 Egg, (for egg wash)
- 1 tbsp (15 g) Heavy Cream, (for egg wash)
White Pepper Gravy
- 1 lb Ground Breakfast Sausage
- 1 clove Garlic, (diced)
- 1 tsp Cajun Seasoning
- 4 sprigs Thyme, (stems removed, about 1 tbsp of the thyme leaves)
- 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary, (chopped)
- 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
- 4 tbsp (56 g) Butter
- 4 tbsp (31 g) All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups (480 g) Milk
- 1 cup (240 g) Chicken Broth, (you can also use 1 cup of water and 1 tsp of chicken bouillon paste)
- 1 tbsp Black Pepper
- Kosher Salt, (to taste)
Instructions
Make the Biscuits:
- (If using store bought biscuits, skip to step to the "make the gravy" section) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl – all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and kosher salt. 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour 1 cup Cake Flour 1 tbsp Baking Powder ½ tsp Baking Soda 2 tbsps Sugar 1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- Cut the butter into small cubes OR Grate the butter with a box grater and add it to the flour mixture. Pinch and turn the butter into the flour together until pea sized morsels form. (when you can squeeze everything together and it holds shape in your hand, you're ready to proceed) You can also use a pastry cutter or food processor to do this. 1 cup Salted Butter
- Create a well in the center of the mixture, then pour in cold buttermilk and heavy cream. Mix together until a shaggy crumbly dough with coarse crumbs forms. The dough may seem very crumbly, do not add more buttermilk/cream! ¾ cup Buttermilk 1/3 cup Heavy Cream
- Remove biscuit dough from the bowl and turn the dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Gently work and pat the dough until the dough is no longer crumbly. Use your hands to press the pieces together and then use a rolling pin to flatten dough until it’s 1 inch thick.
- Shape dough into a square and cut the dough into 4 pieces and place on top of each other. Repeat this 3 times. (this creates those flaky layers!) Press a 2 3/4 inch round biscuit cutter into the dough in one motion. Press down, then pull up – do not twist and turn, this disturbs the flaky layers. Fold any excess dough back together and repeat until all of the biscuit dough is used, about 8-10 biscuits.
- Place biscuits onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Add to the freezer and freeze for 20 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together an egg and 1 tbsp of heavy cream. This will be for the egg wash. 1 Egg 1 tbsp Heavy Cream
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with the egg wash, liberally, and bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes on the middle rack, until golden brown. Fresh out of the oven, brush the warm biscuits with melted butter and serve.
Make the Gravy:
- Add ground breakfast sausage to a pan over medium low heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until no longer pink. 1 lb Ground Breakfast Sausage
- Add garlic, Cajun seasoning, thyme, sage, rosemary, and nutmeg and continue to cook until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 1 clove Garlic 1 tsp Cajun Seasoning 4 sprigs Thyme 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary 1 tbsp Black Pepper Kosher Salt 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
- Melt butter in the pan and then add flour. Stir together constantly until a paste begins to form, about 3 minutes so that you can cook off the flour taste. Slowly pour in milk and chicken broth and continue to whisk together. 4 tbsp Butter 4 tbsp All Purpose Flour 2 cups Milk 1 cup Chicken Broth
- Simmer on low for 5-10 minutes, until desired consistency is reached. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. (If your gravy has become too thick, add an additional splash of milk)
- Pour gravy over the biscuits.
Video
Notes
- Keep everything cold when making biscuits! Cold butter and cold buttermilk are what create those flaky, layered biscuits. If the butter melts too soon, you’ll lose that flaky texture. This is also why you must freeze the biscuits before baking them!
- The dough should look a little shaggy and imperfect, that’s exactly what you want. Avoid overmixing to reach a perfect dough. That will lead to tough biscuits instead of soft, tender ones!
- Folding and stacking the dough a few times creates those beautiful, flaky layers. It might seem like an extra step, but it makes a huge difference in the final result.
- Once you add the liquid to your roux, keep whisking to prevent lumps and ensure a smooth, creamy texture. Low and slow heat is your best friend here!
- Season as you go. Between the sausage, broth, and butter, flavors build quickly. Taste the sausage gravy and adjust the salt and pepper at the end so everything is perfectly balanced.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
