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A flaky biscuit covered in sausage gravy on a plate with fruit.
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Biscuits and Gravy from Scratch

Flaky buttermilk biscuits and creamy sausage gravy made from scratch. No baking mix, just real ingredients and cozy, classic comfort food done right.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Breakfast, brunch, Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: biscuits and gravy
Servings: 10 servings
Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

Buttermilk Biscuits

  • 2¾ cups all-purpose flour 330 grams
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 12 tablespoons butter cold and cubed; 170 grams
  • 1¼ to 1⅓ cups buttermilk cold; 300 to 315 grams
  • 4 tablespoons heavy cream for the tops

Sausage Gravy

  • 1 pound ground pork sausage mild or spicy
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2½ to 3 cups whole milk more as needed
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
  • salt to taste (depends on your sausage)

Instructions

Make the Biscuits:

  • Preheat to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper.
    Combining flour, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl to make biscuits.
  • Add chilled butter cubes and cut them into the flour with a pastry cutter or your fingers until crumbly with pea-sized bits.
    Blending cold butter into flour mixture.
  • Pour in 1¼ cups of buttermilk and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Add more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if it’s too dry.
    Stirring buttermilk into the biscuit batter.
  • Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently press it into a rough mound. If the dough looks dry or there are loose crumbs, just gather them up and either press them into the sides or pile them on top.
    Pushing biscuit dough into a mound on a counter.
  • Then shape the dough into a rough rectangle and fold it into thirds, like you’re folding a letter. This helps create layers and also pulls in any dry bits. Just press or sprinkle loose crumbs on top before folding.
    Give the dough a quarter turn, pat it into a rectangle again, and fold it a second time. Each fold builds structure and flakiness, even if the dough feels a little messy at first.
    Cutting the biscuit dough and folding it over itself to make flaky layers.
  • Pat the dough into a final rectangle about 9×5 inches and 1 inch thick. Slice the rectangle in half lengthwise to create two long strips, then cut each strip into 5 equal pieces to make 10 square biscuits.
    Slicing biscuits on a counter with a bench scraper.
  • Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with cream. If your kitchen is warm, chilling the biscuits for 10–15 minutes before baking helps keep the butter cold, which leads to better lift.
    Bake for 18–24 minutes, or until golden brown.
    Brushing cream on top of homemade buttermilk biscuits.

Make the Sausage Gravy:

  • In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until it’s fully browned, breaking it into small crumbles as it cooks. Don’t drain the fat, it's the base for the gravy. If the sausage is very lean, add a pat or two of butter to make up the difference.
    Ground pork sausage in a skillet to make country gravy.
  • Sprinkle flour over the sausage and stir well. Cook for 1 minute to eliminate raw flour taste.
    Adding flour to cooked breakfast sausage in a skillet.
  • Slowly pour in the milk while stirring to prevent lumps. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, they add great flavor. Keep stirring until the mixture is smooth, then let it simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the gravy thickens.
    Adding whole milk to a skillet with sausage to make southern gravy.
  • Stir in the black pepper, then taste the gravy before adding any salt. Some sausage is salty enough on its own.
    Adding pepper to stovetop sausage gravy.
  • Split warm biscuits in half and ladle the gravy on top. Serve hot.

Notes

Chill the biscuits before baking: If your kitchen is warm, chill the shaped biscuits for 10–15 minutes.
Grate the butter (or don’t): You can grate and briefly freeze the butter for quicker mixing, but I prefer cutting it into small chunks by hand. It creates larger chunks that hold steam pockets as they melt, which gives the biscuits extra flakiness.
Freeze unbaked biscuits: Cut the dough, freeze the biscuits on a tray, and bake them straight from frozen. Just add 2–3 extra minutes to the bake time.
Use whole milk in the gravy: It gives the creamiest texture, but other milk will work in a pinch.
Reheat gravy with a splash of milk: It thickens as it cools, so stir in a bit of milk to bring it back to a pourable consistency.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 438kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 856mg | Potassium: 211mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 593IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 2mg
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