Sharing is caring!

Homemade Country White Gravy

This homemade Country White Gravy is creamy, peppery, and incredibly easy to make from scratch. Made with butter, flour, milk, and a few simple seasonings, it’s the classic Southern-style white gravy that’s absolutely delicious poured generously over warm homemade biscuits.

There’s something especially comforting about splitting open a fluffy biscuit and covering it with warm country gravy. You don’t need sausage or bacon to make a flavorful gravy, either. This simple white gravy comes together in about 10 minutes using ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

Serve it over biscuits for breakfast or brunch, or spoon it over fried chicken, chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, pork chops, or even breakfast potatoes.

Why You’ll Love This Country Gravy

This is one of those basic recipes that’s worth knowing how to make from memory. Once you know the simple ratio of butter, flour, and milk, homemade gravy becomes incredibly easy.

You’ll love this recipe because it’s:

• Ready in about 10 minutes
• Made with simple pantry ingredients
• Rich and creamy
• Perfect over homemade biscuits
• Easy to make thicker or thinner
• Delicious for breakfast or dinner
• Made without sausage
• Much better than a gravy packet

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• Pinch of seasoned salt, optional

How to Make Country White Gravy

Melt the Butter

Place a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat.

Add the butter and allow it to melt completely.

Don’t let the butter brown. You want the gravy to remain a pretty creamy white color.

Add the Flour

Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter.

Whisk the butter and flour together until smooth.

Continue cooking for about 1–2 minutes, whisking constantly.

This creates a simple roux and cooks away the raw flour taste.

Keep the heat moderate so the flour doesn’t brown.

Add the Milk

Slowly pour in about 1/2 cup of the milk while whisking constantly.

The mixture will become very thick at first.

Continue slowly adding the remaining milk while whisking.

Adding the milk gradually helps create a smooth gravy without lumps.

Season the Gravy

Add the salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and seasoned salt, if using.

Whisk until combined.

I especially like plenty of black pepper in country gravy. It gives the creamy white gravy that classic peppered flavor.

Cook Until Thick

Continue cooking the gravy over medium to medium-low heat, whisking frequently.

After several minutes, the gravy will begin to thicken.

Once it coats the back of a spoon and reaches a creamy, pourable consistency, remove it from the heat.

Remember that gravy continues to thicken as it cools.

Country Gravy and Biscuits

Warm biscuits and homemade country gravy are one of the best comfort-food breakfasts.

Split freshly baked biscuits in half and arrange them on a plate.

Spoon plenty of hot white gravy over the biscuits, making sure some of the gravy runs down the sides and soaks into all those fluffy biscuit layers.

Finish with freshly cracked black pepper.

Serve immediately while everything is warm.

What Is Country Gravy?

Country gravy is a creamy white gravy traditionally made from fat, flour, milk, salt, and plenty of black pepper.

It’s also sometimes called white gravy, milk gravy, or sawmill gravy, although those names can refer to slightly different preparations depending on the region.

Some versions begin with sausage or bacon drippings, while a simple country white gravy can be made with butter.

The basic technique is similar to making a béchamel sauce: fat and flour create a roux, and milk is gradually whisked in to create a smooth, creamy sauce.

Country Gravy Without Sausage

You don’t need sausage to make delicious country gravy.

Using butter as the fat gives you a simple, creamy gravy that works especially well when you want classic white gravy for biscuits.

It also makes the recipe versatile enough to serve with lots of different meals.

If you’re making sausage separately, you can always spoon the gravy over sausage patties and biscuits when serving.

How to Make Country Gravy with Bacon Grease

For an old-fashioned variation, replace some or all of the butter with bacon drippings.

You’ll need approximately 4 tablespoons of fat total.

Melt the bacon grease in the skillet, whisk in the flour, and continue with the recipe as directed.

Bacon grease gives the gravy a richer, smokier flavor that’s especially good with biscuits and eggs.

How to Make Sausage Gravy

You can easily turn this recipe into sausage gravy.

Brown about 1 pound of breakfast sausage in a large skillet.

Depending on how much fat the sausage releases, add enough butter to give you approximately 4 tablespoons of fat in the pan.

Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and fat and stir well.

Slowly add the milk while stirring, season with salt and plenty of black pepper, and cook until thick and creamy.

Why Is My Country Gravy Lumpy?

The easiest way to prevent lumps is to add the milk gradually.

After cooking the butter and flour together, add only a small portion of the milk.

Whisk until completely smooth before adding more.

Continue gradually adding milk while whisking and you’ll end up with a silky, creamy gravy.

If you pour all of the milk into the roux at once, getting rid of flour lumps can be more difficult.

Why Isn’t My Gravy Thickening?

Give it a few minutes.

Flour needs to heat in the liquid before its full thickening power kicks in.

Continue gently cooking and whisking the gravy. As it approaches a simmer, it should begin to noticeably thicken.

Don’t immediately add more flour. Adding dry flour directly to hot gravy can create lumps.

What If My Gravy Is Too Thick?

This is an easy fix.

Whisk in a little additional milk, a few tablespoons at a time, until the gravy reaches the consistency you like.

Country gravy also thickens as it sits, so you may need to add a splash of milk when reheating leftovers.

What If My Gravy Is Too Thin?

Continue cooking the gravy for another minute or two before changing anything. It may simply need more time to thicken.

If it’s still thinner than you’d like, mix a small amount of flour with cold milk in a separate bowl until completely smooth, then gradually whisk a little of the mixture into the simmering gravy.

Cook until thickened.

How Much Black Pepper Should I Add?

Country gravy is supposed to have a noticeable black pepper flavor.

I recommend starting with about 1 teaspoon and adding more to taste.

Freshly cracked black pepper gives the gravy an especially good flavor and creates those classic little black pepper flecks throughout the creamy sauce.

What to Serve with Country White Gravy

Biscuits are the obvious choice, but this easy gravy can be served with all kinds of comfort food.

Try it over:

• Homemade biscuits
• Gluten-free biscuits
• Chicken fried steak
• Country fried chicken
• Fried chicken
• Mashed potatoes
• Breakfast potatoes
• Hash browns
• Pork chops
• Eggs
• Sausage patties
• Breakfast casserole
• Toast

You can even serve biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, and breakfast potatoes together for a big country-style breakfast.

Can I Make Country Gravy Ahead of Time?

Yes, although country gravy is best freshly made.

Prepare the gravy and store it covered in the refrigerator.

When you’re ready to serve, warm it gently in a saucepan over low heat.

The gravy will thicken considerably after refrigeration, so whisk in a splash of milk while reheating until it’s smooth and creamy again.

How to Store Leftover Country Gravy

Allow leftover gravy to cool and transfer it to an airtight container.

Store it in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days.

Reheat the gravy slowly on the stovetop or in short intervals in the microwave, stirring frequently.

Add a little milk as needed to restore the original creamy consistency.

Recipe Notes

Whole milk gives country gravy the richest, creamiest texture, but 2% milk can also be used.

Don’t let the flour brown if you want classic white country gravy.

The gravy will continue to thicken as it cools. If it becomes too thick, whisk in additional milk until you reach your preferred consistency.

Freshly ground black pepper is especially important in this recipe. Add as much as you like for a classic peppered country gravy.

For even richer gravy, substitute a portion of the milk with half-and-half.

You can substitute bacon drippings for some or all of the butter for an old-fashioned variation.

Easy Homemade Biscuits and Gravy

You don’t need a complicated breakfast to make something incredibly comforting. A batch of warm, fluffy homemade biscuits covered in creamy white country gravy is simple, inexpensive, and satisfying.

The best part is that the gravy takes only a few minutes to make. Melt the butter, whisk in flour and milk, add plenty of black pepper, and you’ve got a creamy homemade gravy ready to pour over hot biscuits.

Whether you’re making a big weekend breakfast, holiday brunch, or breakfast-for-dinner, this easy Country White Gravy is one of those classic recipes you’ll want to keep around.