Why You Will Love This Recipe

Simple Ingredients: Made with mostly pantry staples, this old-fashioned sausage gravy requires just 10 ingredients to prepare.

Budget-Friendly: Since you’re likely to have many of the ingredients on hand, there’s very little to buy here. Plus, this rich and meaty gravy easily serves a crowd!

Customizable and Versatile: You can easily make a few ingredient swaps to make it just the way you prefer and it goes with a variety of dishes to create satisfying meals to please everyone.

Old-Fashioned Sausage Gravy Ingredients

Ingredients needed to make old fashioned sausage gravy on the table.

Breakfast sausage: Use any type of breakfast sausage you enjoy. Spicy, maple, and of course traditional are all great options! Typically, ground sausage, which cooks up into crumbles, is your best option for making breakfast sausage gravy rather than links.

Butter: Used for cooking the onions. I find it adds more flavor than cooking them in oil.

Onion: My preference is using yellow onion to add more depth to the sausage and gravy.

Spices: Dried thyme and garlic powder give it flavor while some cayenne pepper and black pepper give it a slight kick.

Flour: Used for thickening the gravy so you get the perfect texture.

Chicken broth: Mainly here for the savory flavors it adds to the gravy.

Heavy whipping cream: For the richest and creamiest texture. You can use half and half as well or use half milk and half heavy cream, but the consistency will not be as thick.

Be sure to scroll down to the full recipe card for the complete list of ingredients along with their quantities.

How to Make Easy Sausage Gravy

Making this easy sausage gravy from scratch is easier than you think!

Breakfast sausage being cooked in a cast iron skillet for easy sausage gravy.

Step 1: Cook the sausage. Crumble up the sausage and add to your preheated cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook until it’s no longer pink and then drain the fat off.

Onions and butter being cooked in a cast iron skillet.

Step 2: Cook the onions. Melt the butter in the same skillet. Add the onions and garlic powder. Cook until the onions are golden.

Flour added to the skillet of onions and butter.

Step 3: Make the roux. Add the flour and seasonings to the skillet with the onions. Whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes.

Heavy cream and chicken stock in a cast iron skillet being whisked in.

Step 4: Make the gravy. Slowly add the whipping cream and chicken broth to the skillet. Whisking to prevent clumping.

Breakfast sausage being added to the gravy in a cast iron skillet.

Step 5: Finish. Add the sausage and continue to cook the gravy until it’s add its desired consistency.

Storing Directions

Leftovers: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to four days in an airtight container. You can store it in the freezer for up to three months, but I would not recommend keeping it longer than that. Keep in mind that freezing high fat dairy products sometimes cause the fat and oil to separate so it may have a grainy texture.

Reheat: If the sauce is frozen, allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Return the sauce to your skillet and reheat over medium heat. You may need to add a bit more dairy to the gravy to restore the consistency.

Serving Suggestions

Biscuits and sausage gravy are a classic serving suggestion for breakfast! Try it with buttermilk biscuits or these lemon dill biscuits for something a bit different.

Make your favorite egg dishes even heartier! We love it as an extra on this mountain man breakfast but it’s also great with scrambled eggs and egg casseroles. It also goes great with this skillet sweet potato hash or some fried potatoes.