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Homemade biscuits and gravy on a checkered plate with bacon, fresh fruit, and a buttered biscuit with strawberry jam
Stephanie Longstreth

Homemade Biscuits and Gravy

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Homemade biscuits and gravy made the old-fashioned way — Mama's flaky biscuit recipe paired with Pioneer Woman's country sausage gravy. The Saturday morning warm hug your whole family will request again and again.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American, Southern
Calories: 492
Ingredients Method Nutrition Video Notes

Ingredients
  

For Mama's Perfect Biscuits:
For Pioneer Woman's Country Sausage Gravy:
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Method
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For the Biscuits:
  1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
  2. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar, and sugar in a large bowl.
  3. Cut in Crisco with a knife or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  4. Add milk all at once and stir just until the dough follows the fork around the bowl in one big clump.
  5. Knead gently on a floured surface for about 30 seconds.
  6. Roll out the dough to 1 inch thick.
  7. Cut with a biscuit cutter (cut straight down — do not twist).
  8. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 450°F for 10-12 minutes, until tops are golden.
For the Gravy:
  1. Tear sausage into small bits and add them in a single layer to a large skillet. Brown over medium-high heat until no longer pink. DO NOT drain — the fat is your roux.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the sausage. Stir and cook for about 1 minute, letting the flour absorb the fat and stick to the sausage.
  3. Pour in 3 cups of milk, stirring constantly until smooth.
  4. Cook the gravy, stirring frequently, until it thickens (10-12 minutes). If it thickens too quickly, add another 1/2 cup of milk to loosen it back up.
  5. Sprinkle in the seasoned salt and black pepper. Be generous with the pepper — sausage gravy should taste peppery.
  6. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add another sprinkle of salt and pepper at the end if needed.
  7. Spoon generously over warm split biscuits and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 492kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 16gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 907mgPotassium: 385mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 227IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 268mgIron: 3mg

Video

Notes

The sausage fat is your roux — never drain it. That's where the gravy gets its body and flavor.
If your gravy gets too thick, add another splash of milk to loosen it. If it's too thin, keep simmering — gravy thickens as it sits.
Cream of tartar is what gives these biscuits an extra boost of lift along with the baking powder. If you don't have it, you can leave it out — the biscuits will still be good, just slightly less tall.
Crisco is non-negotiable for the biscuits — generic shortening will not give you the same flaky-tall texture. This is the hill I will die on. Roll the biscuit dough one inch thick. Thinner means denser, sadder biscuits. Cut straight down with the biscuit cutter — do not twist — to keep the dough layers separate so they rise tall. If homemade biscuits feel like one too many things, frozen or canned biscuits work great with this gravy. The gravy is the star.
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