This White Gravy Recipe is so easy, made in just a few minutes, and is delicious served over homemade biscuits, on top of 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.
This easy white gravy recipe is a classic, old-fashioned favorite to serve over biscuits or over 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!
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🎥 Video for White Gravy Recipe
❤️ 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.
- 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!*
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.
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!
💭 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.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Flour, milk, bacon grease, salt and pepper.
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.
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.
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 biscuits
- hashbrowns
- scrambled eggs
- fried pork chops
- country fried steak
- fried potatoes and onions
- mashed potatoes
- fried deer meat
- baked chicken cutlets
- chicken tenders
❄️ 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:
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 Recipe
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
Nutrition
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.
Sherrie says
Thanks for sharing this gravy recipe. Ive always wanted to try others aside from my mom’s classic gravy recipe 🙂
Melissa says
We served this over biscuits and it was perfect!
Jessica says
Oh good! I’m so glad that you liked this white gravy recipe, thank you!
Kristyn says
This gravy is creamy & delicious!! I will be pouring it over everything!! It’s hard to eat mashed potatoes without it!
Jessica says
Haha, I feel the same way about this gravy recipe — thank you!