Last Updated October 5, 2020

Published October 13, 2018

Every year for a week’s length of time, my best friend and I would live together. This was our week to catch up, usually in the summertime or fall, from all the things that had happened since we last saw each other during New Year’s.

About six years ago, our week-long, live-in moved up to Massachusetts, to her family’s property nestled in the woods of a private community.

We shared our last trip to Massachusetts with her family. It was like a mini reunion up there. Her aunt, uncle, and cousin (with his wife) came from out West. Her brother and sister-in-law drove up from Pennsylvania and, of course, we hung out with Nanna who lived there full-time during the summer.

For every meal we would meet in Nanna’s camper-turned-little-house. We would sit at the long dining room table in the sunroom with all of its windows.

One chilly morning under the pine trees, we trekked up the hill to Nanna’s house. Arriving in the sunroom we said, “Wow, what’s for breakfast? It smells amazing.”

“Biscuits and gravy.” Aunt C replied.

I had never had biscuits and gravy before. I think the only time I saw it offered on a menu, was in a Cracker Barrel on the way to South Carolina.

Of course, I knew how to make it — I’ve watched Paula Dean.

We had buttery Grand’s biscuits, cut in half. Then Aunt C layered the white “gravy” with chunks of crumbled sausage on top. It was rich, heavy, and peppery. A delicious dish to start a day of adventures.

It Starts with Biscuits

This memory of my first time eating biscuits and gravy in the sunroom of Massachusetts, is what I thought of this week.

My neighbor Bee, works in a school as the cafeteria manager. She’s in charge of food orders and production. At the end of every school day, she noticed that leftover food was thrown away, so (with permission), she started to bring it home: hoagies, French fries, sandwiches, and this week — biscuits.

25 Whole Wheat Biscuits

Bee gave me a whole tin-foil boat of these crumbly, whole wheat biscuits that the cafeteria was just going to throw away. I gladly accepted them, because food waste in our country is insane.

I placed the biscuits on the kitchen counter and started to think: What could I make with these?

My sister took one and pulled off a piece: “They’re a little dry.”

“They should soak in something.” I was wondering if I could pull them apart and make a French toast casserole. And then it hit me: “I can make biscuits and gravy” – just like Aunt C did up in Massachusetts.

The Research

I knew for sure that I needed the dairy-base and crumbled sausage, but what else? So I turned to Pinterest and found a biscuits and gravy recipe from The Pioneer Woman. (This is also ironic cause my best friend loves her cooking show.)

The Pioneer Woman’s Biscuits and Gravy Recipe

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What’s great about this recipe is that it’s one skillet, which makes for easy clean up. Plus, most of these ingredients you’ll probably have on hand.

If you wanted to be a great home-cook, you could make your own biscuits too.

Recipe Ingredient Update

I received some recent feedback from the community that there may have been a typo in the original recipe, calling for two tablespoons instead of teaspoons. I have since gone back and reviewed my notes and have found this to be true.

The original Pioneer Woman’s recipe calls for two teaspoons of black pepper for the sauce. I’ve had individuals create this recipe using the tablespoons of black pepper. It makes for a spicer sauce but it is edible.

However, if you truly want to recreate the Pioneer Woman’s recipe, use two teaspoons. The above card has been updated accordingly. I apologize for the error and thank you for the foodies who pointed this out!

The Pioneer Woman’s Biscuits & Sausage Gravy Instructions

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My Thoughts

Cooking Time

I made this video at 4:00 am before work. Filming slowed me down a bit, but overall it is an easy recipe which is quick to execute. I saved time since I already had the pre-made biscuits. In total, it took me about 20 minutes to complete this recipe.

Number of Servings

This is a good recipe for a group. I probably would’ve doubled it if I had 6-8 people to feed. I would prefer to have more of the “gravy” to put over the biscuits. But this was enough for 4 people.

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Would I Do Anything Different?

I personally liked my gravy’s consistency, it was similar to an Alfredo sauce. But I also remember Aunt C’s gravy was thick and hearty, so I’m not sure if I cooked mine long enough. The Pioneer Woman cooks hers for 10 minutes. I simmered mine until the flour had thickened it.

I used sweet Italian sausage patties (because ShopRite didn’t have crumbled sausage), so I “crumbled” them myself.

I like the additional flavors of pepper and onion that was in this sausage. The Italian in me wanted to add garlic and herbs to this gravy, but that probably wouldn’t have been true to the dish, so I coated it with extra black pepper.

K. Martinelli Cooks The Pioneer Woman’s Biscuits and Gravy Recipe

Thanks for watching!

Have you made biscuits and gravy before? Or other Pioneer Woman recipes? Tell me about it in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!

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Oct 13 The Pioneer Woman's Biscuits and Sausage Gravy