Biscuits and Sausage Gravy: A True Southern Breakfast Classic
Few breakfasts capture Southern comfort quite like biscuits and sausage gravy. Warm, flaky biscuits drenched in rich, peppery sausage gravy are pure weekend-morning happiness. This recipe comes straight from Cookin’ Louisiana: Flavors From the Parishes of the Pelican State by New Orleans chef and PBS host Kevin Belton, and it’s a keeper.
Belton is known for his approachable Louisiana cooking and down-to-earth teaching style. In Cookin’ Louisiana, he explores the state, parish by parish, sharing 78 recipes along with colorful stories and step-by-step tips. Think Cajun Shrimp Bowls, Cracklin’ Cornbread, and Smothered Pork Chops—plus this hearty biscuits and gravy recipe that will earn a permanent spot in your breakfast rotation.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Family favorite. Flaky homemade biscuits, creamy gravy, and just a hint of Cajun spice keep everyone coming back.
- Authentic roots. Straight from Kevin Belton’s fourth cookbook, a love letter to Louisiana food culture.
- Comfort food, made simple. Straightforward pantry ingredients create a meal that feels special without fuss.
Ingredients
Biscuits
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup cold milk
Sausage Gravy
- 1 pound pork breakfast sausage
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 tsp Creole seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the Biscuits
- Freeze the butter for easy grating and extra-flaky biscuits.
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in frozen butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stir in milk just until combined. Gently knead on a floured surface, folding the dough 5–6 times.
- Pat the dough 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits with a 2 ¾-inch cutter and place less than ½ inch apart on the sheet.
- Bake 10–12 minutes, until tops are golden.
Prepare the Sausage Gravy
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks.
- Sprinkle in flour and cook for 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
- Slowly stir in milk. Add Creole seasoning, salt, and crushed red pepper.
- Simmer, stirring, until the mixture has thickened to a creamy consistency.
Serve
Split warm biscuits and ladle on the sausage gravy.
Start your morning with even more Southern comfort. Try my hearty Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole packed with eggs and cheese, bake a batch of Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins bursting with fresh berries, or prep a crunchy, homemade Cracklin’ Oat Bran Copycat Cereal for easy grab-and-go mornings.
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
Biscuits
- 6 tablespoons cold butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup cold milk
Sausage Gravy
- 1 pound pork breakfast sausage
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Chill butter in the freezer for 10–20 minutes before beginning this recipe. The very cold butter makes light, flaky, buttery biscuits.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Remove butter from the freezer and cut it into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk to the flour mixture and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Transfer the biscuit dough to a clean, well-floured surface, and use your hands to gently work the dough together. If the dough is too sticky, add flour until it is manageable.
- Once the dough is cohesive, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeat this step 5–6 times, taking care to not overwork the dough. Use your hands to gently flatten the dough to 1-inch thick.
- Press a 2 3/4-inch-wide biscuit cutter straight down into the dough and drop the biscuit onto theprepared baking sheet. Repeat until you have gotten as many biscuits as possible, and place them less than 1/2 inch apart on baking sheet.
- Once you have cut as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently rework the dough to cut outanother biscuit or two until you have at least 7 biscuits total. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until tops arelightly golden brown.
- Prepare gravy while the biscuits are baking.
Sausage Gravy
- Place sausage in a skillet and turn heat to medium-high. Cook, crumbling the sausage as it cooks, until no pink remains. Do not drain the skillet.
- Sprinkle the flour evenly over the sausage crumbles and cook a minute longer until the flour isabsorbed. Slowly pour the milk into skillet, stirring as you pour. Add Creole seasoning, salt, andcrushed red pepper, if using. Cook, stirring, until mixture is thickened.
- Once biscuits are finished baking, slice in half, and ladle gravy over biscuits.
Notes
Nutrition
Tips for Success
- Batch ahead. Freeze extra biscuits and reheat as needed.
- Cold butter = flaky biscuits. Keep it chilled until you mix it in.
- Adjust thickness. Add a splash of milk if the gravy is thicker than you like.
Storage and Reheating
Store biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature. Refrigerate leftover gravy in a sealed container. To reheat, warm biscuits in the microwave for about 30 seconds and gravy for 30–45 seconds, adding a splash of milk to bring back creaminess.
About the Cookbook
Kevin Belton grew up in New Orleans, learning to cook from his mother and grandmother, and has spent decades teaching classic Louisiana cuisine. Cookin’ Louisiana (his fourth cookbook) gathers 78 recipes—from Andouille and Shrimp Lasagna Roll-Ups to Summery Peach Cake—grouped by parish with vibrant photographs and Belton’s trademark storytelling. This biscuit and sausage gravy recipe is just one of many reasons to add the book to your collection. Look for it at your local bookstore or on Amazon.
Last Bite
If you love a hearty Southern breakfast, this Biscuits and Sausage Gravy recipe is the real deal! If you give it a try, let me know how it turned out in the comments below – I’d love to hear if it made your weekend breakfast rotation. And don’t forget to pin or share the recipe so you can whip it up again whenever that comfort food craving hits!
I saw you on tv for the first time today…love that you sing to your food as i do too when i know im cooking something particularly yummy. Cant wait to try the sausage gravy, will be watching you again. Funny in your comments about not finding the pastry cutter in the cluttered drawer, its like you were talking to me. 🙂
I thought I had parchment paper, but I didn’t. I used the non-shiny side of aluminum foil.
Everything went well.
This is my basic recipe but leave out creole seasoning and hot flakes . I add a little onion powder and little garlic powder not enough to actually taste just enough to give it some extra flavor.
Those changes are great for those who prefer food on the milder side. Thanks for sharing your version.