The Easiest Southern Country Gravy
Inside: This easy southern white gravy recipe is ready in minutes with three main ingredients already in your kitchen. The ultimate side for good down-home comfort food!
Good gravy!
When you find out how fast and easy it is to make your own homemade white country gravy, you’ll wonder why you spent all that time waiting at Cracker Barrel for comfort food smothered in this goodness (maybe it’s those porch rockers).
What is Country Gravy?
White country gravy is a thick, rich, creamy sauce made from mixing a simple roux of flour and fat, with milk, salt, and pepper.
And gravy by any other name would be just as tasty. This one goes by a few—sawmill gravy, milk gravy, southern gravy, southern cream gravy, and white pepper gravy. It’s also called sausage gravy and breakfast gravy with the addition of a little breakfast sausage.
Make sure to print the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
What to Serve with Southern White Gravy.
The number one southern classic dish that requires country gravy is good ol’ chicken-fried steak.
And hot biscuits and gravy is one of those southern dishes that’ll stick to your ribs.
Southern white gravy is equally delicious served with:
- Mashed potatoes
- Pork chops
- Fried Chicken
- Chicken tenders as a dipping sauce
Ingredients for Homemade Country Gravy.
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (or other fat—see substitutions and variations)
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
How to Make White Country Gravy.
1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add and melt butter completely. Make sure it doesn’t brown.
3. Add the flour to the melted butter and stir with a small whisk to combine. You can use a wooden spoon to break up any clumps.
4. Whisk the butter and flour combination (the roux) for 3-4 minutes over medium or medium-low heat to cook out the raw flour taste. Again, don’t let it brown or your gravy will be brown rather than white.
5. Slowly add a little milk to the flour mixture while whisking (about half a cup).
6. Continue to slowly add milk while whisking and stirring.
SH&H Tip: If the gravy gets too thick, add a little milk. If the gravy is too thin, let it cook a little longer.
7. Season with black pepper and salt. (Adjust how much salt to taste if needed)
8. Simmer over medium low heat for five minutes or until thick, whisking often to prevent burning.
More southern favorites
- Short Cut Chicken and Sausage Gumbo: Quick Cajun Comfort Food
- No More Dessert Guilt: (Almost) Sugar Free Southern Banana Pudding
- Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing: Just Like Grandma’s Only Easier
- Best Boudin Dip Recipe: Easy Peasy Spicy Cheesy
- New Orleans Biscuit Beignet Recipe: It’s Big Easy + Air Fryer Fast
Substitutions and Variations.
- Substitute the butter for pan drippings from bacon, sausage, or poultry. Some cooks swear by using bacon fat. It does add a little smoky flavor to the gravy, but for me the main flavor comes from the pepper. Plus, I don’t usually have any bacon grease on hand, but I always have butter!
- If you don’t have whole milk, this gravy can be made with low-fat milk or dairy-free milk. The gravy will still thicken fine.
- Make this basic white gravy into homemade sausage gravy to serve over biscuits! Brown some pork breakfast sausage. Then slowly add the flour to the cooked sausage crumbles and follow this basic recipe, adding the milk, seasonings and simmering until thick. Bonus points for homemade biscuits—yum!
Want an easy ultimate Southern comfort dessert? Check out “Easy No-Bake Eclair Cake: Plate-Licking Favorite of the Summer Potluck.”
Storage and Reheating.
Homemade country gravy can be stored in an airtight container either in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to two months.
To reheat, warm either in the microwave or on the stovetop. Add some milk if necessary. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator before heating.
Why is Some Country Gravy Brown?
Sometimes country gravy looks like more of a brown gravy than a white gravy. And that’s okay—it will still be delicious! It’s usually either because the roux browned, there are remnants of meat that you cooked in the same pan beforehand, or from using meat drippings as the fat.
Printable Recipe:
The Easiest Southern Country Gravy
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter or other fat – see substitutions and variations
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add and melt butter completely. Make sure it doesn’t brown.
- Add the flour to the melted butter and stir with a whisk to combine. Use a wooden spoon to break up any clumps.
- Whisk the butter and flour combination (the roux) for 3-4 minutes over medium or medium-low heat to cook out the raw flour taste. Again, don’t let it brown or your gravy will be brown rather than white.
- Slowly add a little milk to the flour mixture while whisking (about half a cup).
- Continue to slowly add milk while whisking and stirring.
- Season with black pepper and salt. (Adjust how much salt to taste if needed)
- Simmer over medium low heat for five minutes or until thick, whisking often to prevent burning.
It’s shocking how good this easy white gravy recipe you can whip up in minutes from what you have in the pantry is.
It would even do Cracker Barrel proud.
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