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    Home » Recipes » Breakfast

    White Gravy Recipe

    By: Jessica · Posted: Oct 22, 2023 · Updated: Feb 7, 2025 · This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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    Jump to Recipe 7 comments
    5 from 5 votes
    Close up of white gravy spooned over biscuits and close up of gravy in skillet.

    This White Gravy Recipe is so easy, made in just a few minutes, and is delicious served over homemade biscuits, on top of southern country-fried steak, or used to dip these breakfast pigs in a blanket in to.

    If you’ve been intimidated by making gravy, don’t be! We’ll show you the step-by-step process and no-fail method for a perfect Southern gravy recipe each time.

    White gravy poured across biscuits, sitting on white plate.

     

    This easy white gravy recipe is a classic, old-fashioned favorite to serve over biscuits or over Instant Pot mashed potatoes, making this a great recipe for breakfast or even a country-style dinner. Or if you prefer a sausage gravy, this chorizo sausage gravy is one of our favorites that provides a meaty, heated, flavor. Or, fire up those tastebuds with this jalapeno gravy!

    Jump to:
    • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients Needed
    • Substitutions
    • Equipment
    • How to Make White Gravy
    • Recipe Pro Tips
    • Recipe FAQs
    • What to Serve with White Gravy
    • Storage
    • More Country-Style Recipes You’ll Love
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    Why You’ll Love This Recipe

    • Classic: This classic white gravy recipe is the old-fashioned favorite, that uses simple, basic ingredients.
    • Only a few ingredients: You don’t need a lot to make this homemade white country-style gravy! Actually, you may already have the ingredients on hand and can whip this up right away!
    • Ready in only 10 minutes: It doesn’t take long to make this creamy white gravy recipe, so it can be made while you cook biscuits in the air fryer!
    • Familiar favorites: Also called a southern gravy, white pepper gravy, or a sawmill gravy, this delicious white gravy is called many things but the bases are similar; flour, milk, fat, salt, and pepper.

    Ingredients Needed

    This easy homemade white gravy recipe uses simple ingredients! However, there are some substitutions that can be made, and more details about some of the ingredients are below.

    Labeled ingredients for white gravy recipe, sitting on kitchen counter.
    • Bacon grease – We love using bacon grease for this recipe. It adds a hint of flavor and saltiness.
    • All purpose flour – We say 2 “heaping” tablespoons of flour, meaning we use a big serving tablespoon, and dip it in the flour, creating a “mountain” of flour on top of the spoon. This is flexible but is similar to about ¼ cup of flour (not packed), or so.
    • Black pepper – Adding black pepper to the gravy is key, in our opinion. Some even prefer a lot of black pepper, some more than others, so that’s why we suggest adding it to your taste preference.
    • Salt – The amount can differ, due to the saltiness of the bacon grease you use. So we say to add the amount of salt to your taste preference. Remember, you can always add but it’s harder to take it away if you add too much.

    Substitutions

    If you’ve found that you’re out of some of the ingredients needed for this recipe, or prefer to use something different, here are some suggestions:

    • Bacon grease – you can also use melted butter instead of grease, or you can use sausage grease, or other meat drippings.
    • Milk – although we prefer using whole milk for white gravy, you can use 2% if that’s what you prefer. Skim milk, or different types of milk may cause the recipe to vary in results.

    Equipment

    A large skillet is used for this recipe, and a cast-iron skillet is preferred for this southern classic if available.

    How to Make White Gravy

    Making this gravy recipe is easy but there are some crucial things to keep in mind while making it for best results, so it doesn’t turn out clumpy, it thickens perfectly, and more.

    We suggest making the gravy right before ready to serve, so if making a big breakfast, save the gravy for last.

    *Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

    Steps 1-4 showing how to make white gravy.

    STEP 1. Melt or warm the bacon grease. Over low, simmering, heat, add bacon grease to the skillet and allow it to warm through. (Image 1).

    Tip: If the skillet is too hot before step 2, clumps will develop. Make sure the pan is gently warm, and not too hot.

    STEP 2. Milk & flour. In a jar, or small mixing bowl, add in the 2 heaping tablespoons of flour and about 1 cup of the milk. Tighten lid, and shake vigorously for about 2-3 minutes or until the mixture looks free of clumps. (Image 2). Or, if mixing in a bowl, use a whisk and mix to make sure the mixture is smooth.

    STEP 3. Add to skillet. Once the milk and flour mixture is smooth and evenly mixed, pour in to the warmed bacon grease and whisk to combine.

    STEP 4. Add remaining milk. When the milk and flour mixture is heated through with the bacon grease, add the remaining cold milk, salt, and pepper, and then turn the heat up to medium-high heat, constantly whisking. The gravy will begin to thicken and you’ll want it to cook for at least another 5 minutes to let the flour cook.

    Tip: If you notice the gravy thickening too fast, or too much before the 5+ minutes are up, turn the heat down, still whisking. You want the gravy to thicken but you don’t want it too hot, or it will get too thick and possibly scortch.

    White gravy in a cast iron pan, with a spoon resting inside.

    Once the gravy has thickened, and has cooked through for about 5 minutes, taste test the gravy to see if you should add more salt and or pepper. Serve!

    Spoon scooping up serving of white gravy, out of skillet.

    Recipe Pro Tips

    • If you have clumps. If your skillet was too hot when adding the milk/flour mixture, it’s ok! It may just take a little more whisking, and as it thickens, the lumps can sometimes be thinned out. Whisk vigorously (my favorite is using a flat whisk for this) until the clumps break up. If the clumps are too big or there are too many and the whisk isn’t working, you can also use a hand blender or regular blender in a last effort, or even strain it!
    • Bacon grease. We know that you may not always feel like making bacon just for your milk gravy. If you do love using bacon grease, save the bacon grease when you make, say, air fryer bacon, and freeze the cooled, leftover bacon grease in to ice cube trays, so you can pull 1-2 cubes out when it’s time to make gravy.
    Two biscuits sitting on white plate with white country gravy spooned over the top.

    Recipe FAQs

    What is white gravy made of?

    Flour, milk, bacon grease, salt and pepper.

    Why is my gravy lumpy?

    If the pan is too hot when adding flour, or if the pan is too hot and the gravy sits too long without being stirred, the flour can form in to lumps.

    Why does my white gravy taste like flour?

    Because simmering for at least 5 minutes is important for the flour to cook, and blend with the other ingredients. If not, the gravy can taste doughy or have a raw flour taste.

    Can you freeze white gravy?

    Yes! Allow it to cool and store in an airtight, freezer-safe container, or in a freezer bag, and place in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.

    What to Serve with White Gravy

    Gravy is delicious served with so many things! Here are some of our favorites:

    • hot homemade biscuits
    • air fryer hashbrowns patties
    • scrambled eggs
    • fried pork chops
    • southern country fried steak
    • fried potatoes and onions
    • Instant Pot mashed potatoes
    • fried deer meat
    • baked chicken cutlets
    • chicken tenders
    Bite of biscuits and gravy on fork, holding above plate.

    Storage

    If you have leftover gravy, allow it to cool and place it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

    Or if freezing, it can be frozen for 3-6 months.

    More Country-Style Recipes You’ll Love

    Love old-fashioned recipes like this one? We think you’ll also love:

    • Close up of southern fried chicken on white plate.
      Southern Fried Chicken
    • Dutch oven beef stew in white pot.
      Dutch Oven Beef Stew
    • Bowl of ham and beans with spoon, and cornbread sitting on side of bowl.
      Ham and Beans Recipe
    • Old Fashioned Tuna Casserole on white plate.
      Old Fashioned Tuna Casserole

    Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

    Have you tried our biscuit and gravy casserole? It’s a must, after this one!

    Recipe

    White gravy poured on top of biscuits, sitting on white plate, next to yellow napkin.

    White Gravy Recipe

    Jessica Burgess
    A classic white gravy recipe, made of flour, milk, bacon grease and salt and pepper! Perfect served over biscuits, or your favorite southern dishes.
    5 from 5 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 5 minutes mins
    Total Time 10 minutes mins
    Course Breakfast, Dinner, Side Dish
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 238 kcal

    Video

    Equipment

    • skillet

    Ingredients

    • ¼ cup bacon grease or a little more/less is fine!
    • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour heaping tablespoons
    • 2½ cups whole milk divided
    • salt to taste
    • black pepper to taste

    Instructions
     

    • Over low, simmering, heat, add bacon grease to the skillet and allow it to warm through.
    • In a jar, or small mixing bowl, add in the 2 heaping tablespoons of flour and about 1 cup of the milk. Tighten lid, and shake vigorously for about 2-3 minutes or until the mixture looks free of clumps. Or, if mixing in a bowl, use a whisk and mix to make sure the mixture is smooth.
    • Once the milk and flour mixture is smooth and evenly mixed, pour in to the warmed bacon grease and whisk to combine.
    • When the milk and flour mixture is heated through with the bacon grease, (this is cooking the flour, to get the "raw" taste out) add the remaining milk, salt, and pepper, and then turn the heat up to medium-high heat, constantly whisking. The gravy will begin to thicken and you'll want it to cook for at least another 5 minutes to "cook" the flour in the gravy.
    • Once the gravy has thickened, and has cooked through for about 5 minutes, taste test the gravy to see if you should add more salt and or pepper. Serve!

    Notes

    Tip to prevent clumps: If the skillet is too hot before step 2, clumps will develop. Make sure the pan is gently warm, and not too hot. If you have lumps, whisk vigorously until the clumps break up. If the clumps are too big or there are too many and the whisk isn’t working, you can also use a hand blender or regular blender in a last effort, or even strain it!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 233mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 247IU | Calcium: 188mg | Iron: 0.2mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

    Keywords country gravy, easy gravy recipe, gravy for biscuits, sawmill gravy, southern gravy
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Comments

      5 from 5 votes (1 rating without comment)

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    1. rich bosak says

      May 17, 2025 at 3:09 pm

      5 stars
      Great Recipes
      Thank You

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        May 17, 2025 at 7:48 pm

        Thank you, Rich! I’m so glad you like them!

        Reply
    2. Sherrie says

      January 03, 2024 at 1:29 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks for sharing this gravy recipe. Ive always wanted to try others aside from my mom’s classic gravy recipe 🙂

      Reply
    3. Melissa says

      January 03, 2024 at 12:27 pm

      5 stars
      We served this over biscuits and it was perfect!

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        January 03, 2024 at 1:17 pm

        Oh good! I’m so glad that you liked this white gravy recipe, thank you!

        Reply
    4. Kristyn says

      January 03, 2024 at 11:56 am

      5 stars
      This gravy is creamy & delicious!! I will be pouring it over everything!! It’s hard to eat mashed potatoes without it!

      Reply
      • Jessica says

        January 03, 2024 at 1:18 pm

        Haha, I feel the same way about this gravy recipe — thank you!

        Reply

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    Jessica Burgess of Fantabulosity, slicing an avocado.

    Hi, I'm Jessica! - Owner and Creator of the blog and brand, Fantabulosity.

    I’m here to teach you how to make quick and easy recipes, using simple ingredients, that your family will love.

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