Biscuits and gravy is a meal that my mom used to make on special weekend mornings. When I think of this delicious breakfast, I have feelings of warmth, familiarity, and the feeling of being full and happy. Below, I’ve given my own twist on this classic breakfast, as well as some background about the recipe.
The twist
As typically done, this is made with wheat-based biscuits and dairy-based gravy. I prefer to limit the amount of wheat I bake with and have eliminated dairy from my diet altogether. With that being said, though, these biscuits and gravy are just as familiar and satisfying as the ones my mom used to make, as well as better for my system and closer to my current dietary habits. The information below mostly covers just the sausage gravy. For more about the biscuits, go here.
Ingredients
Below are the ingredients I’ve used in the recipe for sausage gravy.
Turkey sausage
Pork sausage is a popular choice, but I try to avoid pork whenever I can. Turkey bacon is a perfectly good substitute, in my opinion, and that’s what I choose every time.
Almond milk
The obvious choice here is using regular cow’s milk, but I’ve also seen dairy-free recipes using canned coconut milk. In my opinion, I think the coconut flavor would be too present, which would throw off the familiarity that I cherish so much about this recipe. Therefore, I use unsweetened almond milk, since it is a mostly neutral flavor. Otherwise, unsweetened oat or soy milk would be options I wouldn’t be scared to try, since I think they would be just as good.
Flour
I like to use spelt flour, but some recipes use gluten-free flour or arrowroot starch. I am comfortable using spelt since it is such a small amount, so I haven’t tried any other types of flour. However, some sort of flour is definitely necessary, as it is needed to properly thicken the gravy.
Spices
Even though none of the individual spices are necessarily distinct, all of them blend together to create that classic flavor that I know and love. Of those, thyme, basil, and garlic powder are the main ones. I also add a little bit of broth powder, if I have it on hand, just to round out the flavor a little bit more. After that, the salt brings it all together to really elevate those combined flavors.
How biscuits and gravy are made
This recipe is pretty simple. Below is the basic outline of how the biscuits and gravy are made.
1. Cook the sausage.
If the juices become too much, drain them off so the sausage can cook well and brown better. As the sausage cooks, crumble it into pieces using a spatula or whatever tool you are cooking with. Once browned and fully cooked through, remove the sausage from the pan and continue cooking the base of the gravy.
2. Make the gravy.
First, start by dissolving the flour in some of the milk. This step can be skipped, but there is then a risk that there will be lumps of uncooked flour that will be unable to be dissolved later on. Add that dissolved flour and milk mixture, along with the spices.
Once everything is added, bring it to a boil. I typically keep the burner wherever it was when I was cooking the sausage, typically around 6 or 7 heat on my stove. Once it’s boiling, I lower the heat to around 4 or 5, and let the gravy simmer until thickened. At least once every minute, I like to give it a good stir, just to make sure it’s not burning and to check the progress it has made. I find the gravy is fully cooked once I can run the spatula through the middle and the liquid mostly stays where it is, not so runny that it pools right back to the space that the spatula just was.
3. Add the gravy and sausage together.
Once the gravy has thickened well, add back the sausage. Heat through and serve.
Biscuits and gravy
A dairy-free version of a saucy, meat-forward topping for biscuits.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey sausage
- 1 1/2 c. almond milk
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 1/2 tsp. broth powder
- 1/4 tsp. basil, thyme, garlic powder
- Salt, to taste
- 6 biscuits
Instructions
- Heat skillet to medium-high (6-7) heat. Add sausage to pan, breaking it up as it cooks. Cook until fully cooked, draining pan, as needed. Remove meat from pan, draining the liquid off. Set aside
- Mix ~3 Tbsp. of milk with the flour. Mix until flour is fully dissolved and is free of lumps. Set aside.
- Add remaining milk to pan, along with spices and milk and flour mixture. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium (4).
- Allow to simmer until thickened, ~10-15 minutes, stirring often.
- Once thick, add sausage back to pan. Adjust flavors, as needed. Split biscuits in half and spoon gravy over the top.
Notes
To reheat, place gravy on top of open biscuits and reheat together, or heat gravy in a saucepan with a slash of milk and heat biscuits separately.
