Easy Biscuits + Gravy Bake

The first time I ever ate biscuits and gravy was in high school. It was the first time I’d ever really heard of or paid much attention to the dish and didn’t know it would eventually become a breakfast favorite of mine.

One of my high school friends had been born in Texas; they moved to the Midwest when she was a child but most of her family lived in the Virginia area so her family roots and recipes were very southern. She called her grandma “Maw-Maw” which, at the time, I thought was her family’s cute name for her grandma. It was only a few years ago that I realized “Maw-Maw” was a southern thing. At any rate, it as Maw-Maw who made the very first biscuits and gravy that I ever ate. I was immediately a fan.

Fast forward about 20 years and I was living in Portland, Oregon. Restaurants and food is huge in Portland. Going out to eat, particularly for breakfast, was one of my favorite pastimes when I lived there. (Who am I kidding? It’s still one of my favorite pastimes.) And I found myself trying biscuits and gravy basically all over town.

Biscuits and gravy is usually a safe choice because … how can you screw it up, right? Well. I have had a few less than marvelous biscuits and gravy in my day. But it doesn’t deter me. I keep on trying it at nearly every breakfast spot that serves it. So how is that I’ve never made it?

I can’t really tell you. Maybe in my mind I thought it would be hard to make; though that doesn’t usually deter me. Maybe I’d never come across a recipe that looked super tantalizing. I have found tons of recipes on Pinterest that looked pretty good though so I can’t imagine that’s the reason. Speaking of recipes on Pinterest, I have seen a ton of recipes for biscuits and gravy casserole floating around that have always looked enticing. I typically do not keep pre-made biscuits on hand though and all the recipes I had seen called for store-bought biscuits.

The other day at Von’s I picked up some biscuits because they were on sale. My intent, at the time, was to make one of those tantalizing casserole recipes. The ironic thing is I don’t really like store-bought biscuits. And I was reminded of that today when I made this recipe. I think this recipe would be fan-flipping-tastic … if I had used homemade biscuits.

Next time!

The recipe below is a conglomeration of all the fabulous recipes you find on Pinterest for biscuits and gravy casserole.

You can use ground turkey sausage and milk instead of cream if you so wish. But in my opinion, there’s no point in trying to healthify a dish such as biscuits and gravy. It’s inherently unhealthy and should stay that way. Like pizza. And ice cream. Meant to be unhealthy, people!

You may be wondering why I said you can use parsley or oregano. I ran out of dried parsley a while ago and have been subbing oregano in its place. I love the taste of oregano and find it goes in almost any dish. If you agree, feel free to add oregano to this dish. Otherwise just stick with your dried parsley.

ingredients.

1 lb pork breakfast sausage (hot, mild, sage flavored; whatever your preference)
4 T. all-purpose flour
2 ½ c. cream, the fattier the better
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
black pepper, to taste
Dried parsley or oregano, to taste
6 store bought, large, canned ready-to-bake biscuits (such as Pillsbury Grands biscuits)

directions.

In a large non-stick skillet brown sausage over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Set aside.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9×13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with non-stick spray or grease with butter or shortening.
While the sausage is browning and your oven is heating, cook milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat, about three to four minutes. Whisk in flour. Stir constantly until thickened. This should happen pretty immediately. Add cubed cream cheese, pepper and parsley or oregano and stir until cream cheese is melted and ingredients have been combined.
Pour gravy into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle sausage evenly over gravy.
Place the biscuits on top of the sausage and gravy. You can fit more than 6 biscuits in your pan, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I squeezed 12 biscuits into my dish and it sopped up all the gravy.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until biscuits are golden-brown and cooked through. You can bake your extra biscuits right alongside your casserole on a sheet pan; bake for about half the time.