Sausage Gravy and Biscuits Skillet + Video
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Make Sausage Gravy and Biscuits with this easy one pan recipe. Based on classic comfort food, this hearty and delicious skillet meat is perfect for breakfast or dinner. And by making everything in the same pan, you won’t have a pile of dishes to clean after!
Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
One of my family’s favorites is having breakfast for dinner, and nothing fits that better than this easy biscuits and gravy recipe!
It’s a one pan meal with rich sawmill gravy and the fluffiest drop biscuits ever!!!
This recipe is so easy to make, and there’s no rolling out or cutting biscuit dough beforehand. It’s the perfect family meal that you can enjoy at any time of day.
It’s really similar to my skillet chicken pot pie recipe (also topped with simple drop biscuits) in case you’re craving a more traditional dinner.
Or, go a completely different direction and make this overnight breakfast casserole with sausage and biscuits — plus ham, peppers, and plenty of cheese.
Recipe Video
To see us make gravy with sausage and biscuits from start to finish, watch the video in this post!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Sausage – I like the flavor of sage breakfast sausage, but any kind will work just fine. Make sure it’s the kind in bulk, not links.
- Butter & Flour – When combined, these make a roux which thickens the gravy and adds extra flavor. You’ll need extra flour to make the biscuit dough too.
- Milk – Use whatever you have in your fridge, though I think whole milk tastes best in this sausage gravy and biscuits recipe.
Avoid using cream or half-and-half or it will come out too thick. - Cheese – Parmesan adds a hint of salty, nutty flavor to the dough, but feel free to use any type of cheese that you like!
- Baking Powder – Helps the biscuits fluff up just right.
If you don’t have any, combine 2 teaspoons cream of tartar with 1 teaspoon baking soda and use in place of the baking powder. - Sugar – Gives more structure to the dough. Don’t worry, the biscuits won’t taste sweet!
Tips and Tricks to Make Perfect Gravy with Sausage and Biscuits
- Add some extra flavor.
Chad isn’t the biggest fan of veggies in sauces, but you can include chopped or grated onion to make this easy biscuits and gravy even more flavorful!
Sauté the onion in the leftover sausage grease before adding the butter, until it’s softened and browned.
- Use a shortcut if you don’t want to make the roux.
If you prefer, you can add the butter right to the sausage (once it’s cooked through) and let it melt.
Then, sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir together. Continue with the sausage gravy and biscuits recipe from there.
- The gravy will thicken!
Make sure it’s a little looser to start because it will thicken quite a bit as the biscuits cook and soak up some of the liquid.
It also helps to add the milk gradually, starting with just a few tablespoons and then increasing the amount each time.
And if it starts looking too thick, simply add a splash of more milk to thin it out!
Kitchen Tools You Will Need
- Large Skillet – I love to use cast iron for this recipe, but any oven-safe skillet will do the job.
- Mixing Bowl – I like to have a variety of sizes on hand, and this set has them all.
- Cheese Grater – Fresh cheese makes this recipe even better! Skip the bagged shreds and buy a block to grate yourself.
- Whisk – These have held up for over 10 years and are still as good as the day I bought them.
- Baking Sheet – Makes it so much easier to get the skillet in and out of the oven without any spills!
Serving Suggestions
While absolutely delicious, this sausage gravy and biscuits dish is also a bit rich and heavy. Lighten things up with some fresh fruit or sweet fried apples.
I’ll usually make a big batch of scrambled eggs and either hashbrowns or breakfast potatoes.
For more of a savory dinner spin, add roasted veggies or some creamed spinach to your plate!
Easy Biscuits and Gravy FAQ
The likely culprit is too much flour or not enough liquid. Remember, skillet biscuits will soak up some moisture when cooked in the gravy.
Once the dough comes together, it should look a bit shaggy and be somewhat sticky.
It’s a Southern-style gravy rumored to have originated from the old logging camps and sawmills. Later, it was made famous by the Cracker Barrel restaurants.
You’ll also usually find biscuits with sausage gravy, which is made from a simple mixture of meat drippings, flour, and milk or cream.
Originally, cornmeal was used instead of flour, which gave the gravy a gritty texture. In fact, loggers used to accuse the cooks of putting sawdust in the sauce because of that!
You can find some form of gravy and biscuits as far back as the Revolutionary War. It was a simple meal that could be cooked over a stove or open fire.
Drop biscuits with sausage gravy specifically seem to be traced to the Southern Appalachia area in the late 1800s.
Storing and Reheating Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
It’s doubtful that the drop biscuits will be good as leftovers because they’ll be soggy from sitting in the gravy.
You can, however, store the biscuits and sausage gravy separately in a pinch.
It’s best to eat the biscuits in a day or two, but the gravy will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freezer for up to 2 months.
To reheat, warm the gravy gently in a skillet on the stove.
Heat the biscuits in the microwave before serving them on top, or make a new batch of drop biscuit dough and cook it over the reheated gravy.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Sausage Gravy and Biscuits Skillet + Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound sage breakfast sausage, bulk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- Optional garnish: fresh parsley, chopped
Drop Biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a large (10”) oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage until lightly browned. Use a slotted spoon remove sausage from skillet and place in a bowl.
- Meanwhile; prepare biscuit mixture. In a large bowl combine flour cheese, baking powder, sugar and salt. Mix with a fork until combined. Add milk and stir with a fork, until mixture comes together. Set aside.
- Add butter to hot skillet and whisk until melted. Sprinkle flour over butter and whisk together. Allow mixture to bubble for 2 minutes to cook out the flour-y taste, whisking occasionally.
- Add milk and whisk to combine, be sure to pick up the little sausage bits on the bottom of the skillet (they add a lot of flavor). Allow gravy to come to a bubble, about 3 minutes. Mixture will start to thicken as it cooks. Add sausage back to skillet/ Add black pepper and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
- Place skillet on a cookie sheet. Add biscuits to pan, use a ¼ cup scoop or a heaping tablespoon full. Drop biscuits all around pan.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until biscuits are lightly browned, you may have to turn your pan half way through cook time if you oven does not cook evenly.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with fresh parsley.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published November 2013, updated and republished March 2025
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Ok, hopefully i don't sound like a complete idiot here, but I just want to clarify, which step do you add the sausage back in? the last i see the sausage above is when we took it out and put it in a bowl, when do we add it back into the mixture? Thank you!!! I have been searching for a recipe for this, and this is perfect!!!
It says to add it back after gravy has started to bubble. =)
Oh my goodness. My husband would love this. We looove biscuits and sausage gravy but we only enjoy them occasionally. I must make this. Pinning!
yummyyyyyyy…….
I could eat sausage and gravy biscuits every day if my heart wouldn't kick my butt. Neat spin on a classic, here. Good job you two.
This looks fabulous. I wonder if I can just leave out the cheese since my daughter eats no cheese?
Would I have to make other adjustments?
Just omit the cheese, they will be perfect! Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
Have not heard the term "sawmill gravy" in many years. Love this stuff and eat it often.
Funny thing years ago I was talking about that gravy and messed up then name. I called it "chainsaw" gravy. We still call it chainsaw gravy to this day.
Sawmill gravy is what the serve at Cracker Barrel. I usually just cook my sausage, breaking it up as I go along. When it is almost done, I put in about 3 tablespoons of flour and stir until it browns. Then I add the milk – maybe 2-2and1/2 cups. I really don't measure anything …. I just keep going until it is right. LOL I will try this with the biscuits the next time I make it though. This sounds absolutely wonderful.
I make my gravy just a little different, but have never put the biscuits on top. May try that next time I make it.
Can I do this with out a skillet?
You need some type of oven safe pot or pan that is about 12" wide. What did you have in mind?
anonymous, it does say when to add sausage back in. might have to re read. but to make it easy , you really do not have to take sausage out of skillet. no need for the butter. just add your flour to the cooked sausage in pan and add milk. then follow the rest for the biscuits!!
Very true. Thanks for the tip.
think this recipe is messed up??? the drop biscuit recipe is WAY too runny, ended up adding 2 cups of Bisquick to get the right consistency for drop biscuits!
2 cups of flout and 1 cup of milk will create perfect drop biscuits. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
So it is basically like a chicken and dumpling recipe, using sausage gravy instead of chicken, veggies and chicken gravy…
This can be made lower calorie, pour off the grease (which will be a lot) off of the pan after sauting the sausage, leave the sausage in the pan, sprinkle the flour over it (don't add the extra butter), cook a bit to get rid of the floury flavor, add lower fat milk (you'll never notice the difference) and cook while stiring until thickened. Your waistline will thank you.
If you use a good quality sausange, there will be very little grease.
I agree on the biscuit recipe. Not working for me either. Added bisquik as well.
I made this today. It was great. I was nervous about cheese in the biscuits, but they were great. My biscuits were great and I have never a good biscuit. The only thing I would change for the next time it to add more milk to the gravy. Just a preference, but I like my gravy more soupy. Thanks for this great recipe.
Yay! So happy you loved it! Keep us up to date on whats cooking in your kitchen.
My husband and I had this for the first time yesterday. We both thought it was so good. Will definitely be making it again. Soon. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
This sounds FABULOUS Donna!! Pinning!!
as a single i use a chub of sausage cut in 1/4 slices, browned and set aside while
making gravy. i also use canned bisquits. split the bisquits, layer a sausage patty,
pour gravy and enjoy. simple and easy. joe
Has anyone made it with GF flour? King Arthur GF is my favorite. I'm just not sure if they flour-to-milk ration would be different. Thanks! 🙂
I have used GF flour and it was great. No reason to add more milk,
Do you have to use kosher salt?
You can use 3/4 teaspoon table salt to replace each 1 teaspoon kosher salt called for in a recipe. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
This was so tasty! Thank you so much for the inspiration to make this in our kitchen. We're vegan so I had to make a few changes but otherwise it was very easy to put together. We make a lot of sausage and gravy but never with the 'cheesy biscuits' – nice touch. 🙂 I veganized this and will be placing a link on my site for others to know about your nice recipe and to spread a little blog love.
I buy a sausage pepper gravy mix and add the sausage to it after the gravy is done. I don't see any reason why biscuits from a can couldn't be used in this recipe. Just put them on the gravy and sausage mixture and put the skillet in the oven. I don't always have time to make everything from scratch.
Made this for myself and the fiancé tonight, it was perfect! Recipe was simple and delicious. Thank you!
So after cooking and removing the sausage do you pour off the grease or use it in the gravy
This really does sound delicious!!
As Randy ask above…..do you pour off the grease or use it?
Thanks!! Pinning it!!
I made this and it was awesome. Only thing I had to do was add more milk to the biscuits
I use Bob Evens hot sausage. It's nice and spicy! We have to have a lot flavor. I add cisco oil to my sausage when cooking it. Sausage don't create much grease.