Make my vegetarian 4-ingredient Homemade White Gravy recipe in about 10 minutes time. This white gravy recipes is perfect to pour on top of biscuits, mashed potatoes, or even chicken fried steak. This gravy recipe is perfect for an easy breakfast, brunch, or even breakfast for dinner.
My husband LOVES biscuits and gravy. I created my Homemade White Gravy recipe back in 2010 when I learned on the Food Network how easy it was to make your own white gravy. Back then I didn’t know how to make homemade buttermilk biscuits. Instead, I opted for the refrigerated canned Pillsbury biscuits. The first time I made my husband the white gravy for biscuits he was so happy. A lot has changed since then, and I’ve significantly upped my biscuits and gravy game. Since then, I also perfected my sausage gravy recipe, too!
I love that my kids now ask for biscuits and gravy on the weekend. You will find me making them at least once a month. And when I’m not making white gravy for biscuits I’m making this same white country gravy to slather on mashed potatoes and chicken!
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Butter – I like to use salted, but you can also use unsalted butter. Whatever you have on hand!
- Flour – I use plain old All Purpose Flour for my white gravy.
- Milk – 2% or Whole Milk works best. I’ve never tried using 1% or Skim milk or other milk alternatives.
- Black Pepper – I like to use a mix of ground black pepper and cracked black pepper corns.
How to Make White Gravy
Melt butter in sauce pan on medium-low. Add half of the pepper to the butter. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until butter is melted.
Once butter is melted create a roux whisking in the flour to the butter. Making sure there are no clumps. It will look like paste and no butter should be present.
Once roux has been created slowly whisk in milk. Keep your flame on medium-low.
Slowly, you’ll notice that the mix will start to thicken up as you whisk the sauce. Continue the whisking mixing process for about 5 minutes until thick. The gravy should stick to your whisk or wooden spoon.
Before the gravy is done add in the remaining black pepper to taste and a little salt if desired. Serve immediately.
Drizzle the white pepper gravy on top of fluffy homemade (or store bought) biscuits, and enjoy!
FAQs
Here are all the frequently asked questions readers have asked when making my white gravy for biscuits.
This white pepper gravy makes a little over a cup of gravy. So depending on how hungry or how you are serving this gravy will depend on how many it can feed. I have calculated the recipe to feed 4 adults a single ¼ cup serving. Because let’s get real, who only uses 1 tablespoon of gravy?
My white gravy recipe consists of just four ingredients. White gravy is made of a roux of butter and flour mixed together to form a paste. Then, you whisk in the milk, and season with black pepper.
Depending on the area you live will depend on what people call white gravy. Some may call it cream or sawmill gravy, other popular and common names include country gravy, white gravy, milk gravy, white pepper or simply pepper gravy, and sausage gravy.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks I’ve learned when making this easy white gravy recipe.
- Spicy – If you like your white gravy on the spicier side you can add in a whole teaspoon of black pepper. I also like to add additional freshly cracked black pepper on top.
- Gluten Free – You can make this gluten free by using either a gluten free flour or making a cornstarch slurry using 3-4 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed into the cold milk. Instead of making a roux with the butter and flour, you would simply melt the butter then pour in the cornstarch slurry milk into the sauce pan and whisk until thick.
- Vegan – You can adapt this recipe to make it vegan. However, I have never tried to switch out the dairy products for non-dairy alternatives. I would like to guess that it would come out similar but with a slightly different not as rich and creamy taste. If you are vegan and try my white gravy recipe with substitutes, please feel free to leave a comment and tell me exactly what you did and of course, how it turned out!
- Leftover Storage – Store any leftover gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheat leftover white gravy – To reheat the leftover gravy you can either microwave in 30 second increments until hot or reheat on the stove top in a sauce pan until hot.
Breakfast Recipes
- Southern Breakfast Potatoes
- Kielbasa Breakfast Skillet with Eggs
- Southern Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches
- Baked French Toast Casserole
- Fried Breakfast Potatoes
If you make this white gravy recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Homemade White Gravy
Equipment
- Stove Top
Ingredients
- ½ stick salted butter
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter in sauce pan on medium-low. Add half of the pepper to the butter. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until butter is melted.
- Once butter is melted create a roux whisking in the flour to the butter. Making sure there are no clumps. It will look like paste and no butter should be present.
- Once roux has been created slowly whisk in milk. Keep your flame on medium-low. Slowly, you'll notice that the mix will start to thicken up as you whisk the sauce. Continue the whisking mixing process for about 5 minutes until thick.
- Before the gravy is done add in the remaining black pepper to taste and a little salt if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Spicy – If you like your white gravy on the spicier side you can add in a whole teaspoon of black pepper. I also like to add additional freshly cracked black pepper on top.
- Gluten Free – You can make this gluten free by using either a gluten free flour or making a cornstarch slurry using 3-4 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed into the cold milk. Instead of making a roux with the butter and flour, you would simply melt the butter then pour in the cornstarch slurry milk into the sauce pan and whisk until thick.
- Vegan – You can adapt this recipe to make it vegan. However, I have never tried to switch out the dairy products for non-dairy alternatives. I would like to guess that it would come out similar but with a slightly different not as rich and creamy taste. If you are vegan and try my white gravy recipe with substitutes, please feel free to leave a comment and tell me exactly what you did and of course, how it turned out!
- Leftover Storage – Store any leftover gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheat leftover white gravy – To reheat the leftover gravy you can either microwave in 30 second increments until hot or reheat on the stove top in a sauce pan until hot.
Nutrition
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Lori
My Roux didn’t come out 🙁
Too much butter to flour combo and came out too smooth so texture of gravy was off
Katie
Hi Lori, I’m sorry to hear this. Sometimes you need to mix the butter and flour together enough that it makes a pasta almost. Then it’s a constant whisk and slowing stiring in the milk/cream. Hope these tips help you execute the gravy better next time.
Sabrina
First time ever making gravy and it was literally so easy and so good. I did add bacon grease like a tablespoon and it got even better. Definitely will use this recipe again.
Katie
Sabrina! This makes me so happy to read. Yes…. I love your addition to the bacon grease. It adds so much flavor. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a 5 star review.
Brianna
I used vanilla almond milk since I can’t have dairy and it came out so good obviously it was sweet but I loved it and it did thicken up. Obsessed with this recipe I love it
Katie
Brianna, glad you were able to alter the recipe to fit your needs. Thank you for taking the time to leave a 5 star comment.
Kalli
So so delicious! I’ve been looking for a homemade gravy to use a top by breakfast bowls! This was amazing! I did add a little onion and garlic powder after wards, no more than a teaspoon or so of each and it came out perfect!
Katie
Hi Kalli, thank you for leaving a 5 star comment. So happy you love this recipe as much as I do!
TAMMY
I LOVE YOUR WHITE GRAVEY RECIPE THANKS
Katie
Hi Tammy, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a 5 star review. It means a lot to me to hear you love it!
Nancy Gordon
Great basic gravy recipe! I am vegan so I ‘veganize’ it using Earth Balance or Country Crock vegan plant based butter and any plant based milk such as almond or oat. I’m using a lot of oat milk these days; more comparable to reg milk due to its thick nature! If one wants meat in their gravy, just add a small handful of TVP ( textured vegetable protein). Great healthy protein source and it also thickens!
It really does taste fantastic!!
Katie
Hi Nancy, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a 5-star review! I love that you shared how you made this recipe vegan! So happy you enjoyed it.
Troy Collins
Being from South Louisiana this is soooo good, everybody should try this. It’s that great… thanks…
Katie
Troy, your 5-star review MADE MY DAY! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. I’m so happy you love this recipe as much as I do!
Ana
Very easy and yummy, just made a vegan version with oat milk, I added a tiny tiny dash of apple cider vinegar just to act as the acid that dairy has and it works great. You wouldn’t know its vegan!
Thanks for the recipe
Katie
Ana, thank you for taking the time to leave a 5 star comment and for sharing how to make this recipe vegan! So happy you enjoyed it.
Lisa Brown
Can you replace unsalted butter for salted butter
Katie
Hi Lisa, yes, absolutely you can replace unsalted butter for salted just know you will need to add a pinch of salt (about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon) salt to the mix to cut the “flour” taste! Hope that helps.
Virginia Coulter
Hello, my name is Virginia and I made your white gravy. It was very good. My family does like heat though so I actually added another 1-1/2 teaspoons pepper. It came out perfect! I now have a new recipe for my recipe box on my kitchen counter
Katie
Hi Virginia, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a 5 star review! I’m so happy your family loved this recipe! I love the heat too and typically add a ton of fresh cracked pepper to my white gravy after I have served my family! 😉 If your family loves sausage gravy, make sure you check out my recipe for that, too!
Sandra haller
What you have made is white sauce. It can be thin, medium or thick. I learned to make this in cooking class, my freshman year in high school. We made a breakfast dish eggs a la goldenrod. I still make it at least a couple times a month. Everyone loves it.
Katie
Hi Sandra, Yes, another name for white gravy is white sauce. It’s so delicious and versatile!
Katie
so easy, and my husband loves it!!!
Simply Life
oooh this looks great!