Low-fat sausage gravy and biscuits. Yep, the classic breakfast comfort food can become a regular without by-pass surgery. One biscuit (two halves) plus sausage gravy goes from 540 calories with 34 grams of fat to 226 with 3 grams of fat. Amazing.
Editor note: This is an update to a recipe I first published March 1, 2014. The photos have been re-edited, and the text updates. The only change to the recipe is a decrease in the salt which is my current practice and makes this healthier.
I started with my no fat biscuits, added some sausage gravy with turkey sausage and nonfat milk. For the gravy, I used the slurry method instead of a roux, and I used a Pioneer Woman recipe as the model for spicing but otherwise unrecognizable.
My Rating
Low 4 or high 3. Not quite up to the full-fat version but very nice for what it is.
Pro Tips: Recipe Notes for Healthier Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
The Biscuits:
As I said in my Zero Fat Biscuit post, the texture and taste are a little different but not much with the biscuits. The gravy is not as creamy but almost. You will live longer with this version.
The Sausage Gravy:
All the fat the could be eliminated was cut out. I used a slurry gravy method that does not require the fat needed for a roux gravy method. See How To Make Gravy at Home for more information on this method.
I have decreased the salt in the biscuits. This reflects my current practice and decreases the sodium by 120 per serving.
The serving is calculated with one biscuit cut in half and about 1/3 cup of gravy. If you want to use a more generous 1/2 cup, then the calories only increase by 45 calories.
Preheat oven to 400 convection or 425 regular oven.
Combine 2 cups AP flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well. Add 1 1/4 cup nonfat yogurt. Fold in until all dry is incorporated.
Make eight drop biscuits on a PAM sprayed baking pan. (Yep I know there are 9)
Bake until golden brown. About 12 minutes.
While biscuits are baking, brown 1/2 pound of turkey breakfast sausage.
Whisk together 1/4 cup flour with 2 cups skim milk. I used a Tupperware shaker. Slowly add the milk-flour mixture to the sausage over medium heat while whisking.
Continue to whisk, and this will start thickening in a few minutes. Add one tsp seasoning salt and 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste). Simmer another 5-10 minutes.
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Healthier Sausage Gravy and Biscuits
Ingredients
Zero Fat Biscuits
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup non-fat yogurt
Gravy
- 1/2 pound turkey breakfast sausage
- 2 cups skim milk
- 1/4 cup AP flour
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt - I used Lowery's
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper - or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 convection or 425 regular.
- Combine 2 cups AP flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well. Add 1 1/4 cup nonfat yogurt. Fold in until all dry is incorporated.
- Make eight drop biscuits on a PAM sprayed baking pan.
- Bake until golden brown.About 12 minutes.
- While biscuits are baking, brown 1/2 pound of turkey breakfast sausage
- Whisk together 1/4 cup flour with 2 cups skim milk. I used a Tupperware shaker.
- Slowly add the milk-flour mixture to the sausage over medium heat while whisking. Continue to whisk and this will start thickening in a few minutes. Add one tsp seasoning salt and 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste). Simmer another 5-10 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Recipe Tips:
- Use zero fat ingredients - the milk and yogurt. And the lowest fat turkey sausage possible.
- You can use Greek Yogurt but there will be more of a yogurt taste.
- The serving is calculated with one biscuit cut in half and about 1/3 cup of gravy. If you want to use a more generous 1/2 cup, then the calories only increase by 45 calories.
Nutrition
Originally Published March 1, 2014
Lana
We have a bit of a dilemma at our house. We are sort if the reverse of the "Jack Sprat and his wife" type family. In the 2 years I have taken off 110 pounds, my husband has also lost and he doesn't need to! His doctor attributed it to healthier diet, but cautioned him not to lose any more. I still need to lose about 30, and that will take me to about where he started! So, I can eat no fat, and he can eat no lean! LOL! I made this recipe and made his using pork sausage and whole milk, and mine as written. His comment was that it was some of the best biscuits and gravy he has ever eaten! I fried up and crumbled both the turkey sausage and pork sausage, and froze it to use for later. This has become a pretty regular favorite. Tonight I'm going to make the General Tsao's and put his on angel hair (sort of like Lo Mein) while mine is on steamed broccoli slaw. Thank you so much! I have every faith that the meal tonight will be just as excellent! I will rate it, too.
Stella
I discovered you while looking for calorie content in biscuits and gravy and saw this wonderful recipe. I have recently been diagnosed with CHF. Do you have any low sodium recipes to share?
Thank you
Stella
DrDan
Hi Stelia,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe.
I don't specifically cook low-sodium. But since the recipes are cooked at home, you can adjust the added salt. Usually, recipes are fine with about half the added salt. But many foods contain a fair amount of salt already like dairy products.
A few hint in addition to the cutting the salt in half in recipes: If using pre-cooked beans, use low sodium and rinse. Better yet, learn to use dry beans. There are sodium free broths if you can find them. Of course, use other low sodium products.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Hannah
Can’t wait to try this!! I was looking for a healthier busicuits and gravy and I ironically have all the ingredients already in my fridge!
DrDan
Hi Hannah,
Welcome to the blog.
This is an interesting recipe that I really like. Comfort food without the guilt.
Thanks for the note and Happy New Years.
Dan
Rosy
I use cornstarch mixed with water to thicken this. It works well most of the time. Im going to play around with okra in this recipe as i think it may thicken and give a creamier savory flavor to it.
DrDan
Hi Rosy,
Welcome to the blog.
Cornstarch can be used here at a ratio of 1 tablespoon corn starch replacing 2 tablespoons flour. The trouble with corn starch is the texture is "shiny", not very creamy, and it will not heat up well for leftovers.
If you are trying to avoid the flour, look at arrowroot. The volume would be the same as the cornstarch or a bit more. It will act more like the flour.I take that back. The arrowroot does not play nice with dairy products. I was just thinking of gravy. Sorry.
Dan
denise
I really enjoyed this recipe. I used Mrs Dash table seasoning instead of Lawreys, to cut back on the salt. I just found this site yesterday and I'm hoping all the recipes are as tasty as this one.
Kali P
This recipe is so delicious! I accidentally used Greek yogurt and ended up adding about 1/4 cup more in order to make sure the dry ingredients were fully incorporated. The biscuits still baked up perfectly well and are very tasty if a bit sticky. It wasn’t until after the fact that I realized what my mistake was. I don’t have seasoned salt so I used salt plus some extra seasonings - I used cayenne, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and smoked paprika. The gravy turned out absolutely delicious. I am so excited to know I can whip this up for breakfast when I get the hankering for a (formerly) guilty pleasure.
Kim M
Tried this recipe with my significant other and we were both incredibly satisfied. Hands down a 10/10! Will use again.
DrDan
Hi Kim,
Sorry for the delayed reply. This is amazingly good for what it is. Even in its low-fat state, it is better than lots of restaurants.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Marie
Hello,
Does this recipe use standard nonfat yogurt or do I need to use Greek?
DrDan
Hi Marie,
I'm sure it would "work" but Greek Yogurt has more of a "twang" to it and I was trying to avoid that. Also, it is thicker so it would need a bit of milk or water added.
Sheri
The biscuit recipe was great but as someone who really never adds salt to anything I found the biscuits themselves rather salty. After topping with the gravy it balanced out but I think I will cut the salt in half or eliminate altogether. I used fresh ground sausage that we make ourselves after butchering which we keep as lean as possible so I can't comment on your gravy. Sausage gravy is a staple in the south & finding a low cal/low fat biscuit this good is amazing!
Thank you for your efforts!
DrDan
Hi Sheri,
Thanks for the note. I haven't looked at this recipe for a while. My current practice is 1/2 teaspoon on salt and I just changed the recipe to reflect that.
Dan
Renee
Thank you!!
SusieHmMkr
My understanding of alternative flours is that Sprouted Spelt Flour is the only alternative that can be used in place of All Purpose flour in an equal exchange (1 c flour in a recipe can be exchanged for 1 c spelt flour).
Ken
Great recipe. A couple of people have asked about Whole Wheat versus All Purpose. I have found for my personal use that replacing 1/3 - 1/2 of the called for All Purpose with Whole Wheat from hard white wheat works well including for gravy. I grind my own and try and get it real fine for baking. I do this in my own baking mixes and the family does not notice or care. When my grandfather was up in years he was on a strict low sodium diet but loved his biscuits and gravy. I found that if I chopped up onions real fine and sauté' them with the flour and a little fat that it was a good substitute for a need for salt for taste. I do not see why adding some onion or onion powder to your fine recipe in place of the salt wouldn't work. I love this site and your recipes. Simple and good tasting, what else is there.
DrDan
Hi Ken,
You are right to focus on the sodium here which is higher than I like. As you know sodium many times is needed to bring out flavor but subbing in some onion powder for taste may do it. The seasoning salt is more of a problem but other seasoning could be used.
The whole wheat can usually be used for about 1/4 to 1/3 of the AP flour. If you get above that, you may need a bit more liquid or in this case, yogurt.
Thanks for the note and enjoy the site.
Dan
Karen Coles
This is an awesome recipe! My overweight husband loves biscuits and gravy, and when I make this for him, he doesn't even realize that it's a low fat, lower calorie recipe. I sauté some chopped bell peppers and onions with the sausage for a little extra flavor.
gail victoria
Finally found a recipe I, being single, can easily replicate without any ingredients I have to buy in volume which, once making one dish, then go stale if I don't use them soon. Most recipes I see are either for more than two people, or requiring ingredients which will spoil or must be bought in volumes if not planning to cook from scratch using same ingredients any time soon. And I am neither vegan, nor vegetarian, but moderate weight conscientious. So thanks with this particular gravy recipe. However, I rarely use bleached white flour, always unbleached version. Can other types of flour from wheat or other grains be used. Other flours from other grains have more fiber, and breaks down faster than finely processed bleached wheat flour. Would love to know. And I see you may have other recipes which may be compatible with what I want.
DrDan
I never use bleached flour since I don't care if it is off white a little. So when you see AP flour on this site, it is unbleached all purpose flour (Usually Gold Medal or King Auther.) Whole wheat can be used but requires a bit more yogurt as the "liquid" in the biscuits. I have never used whole wheat for gravy but expect it would be fine. I don't use alternative flours, so no comment on them. Years ago I did some things with soy and almond flour and the cooking characteristics of each seem to vary even from brand to brand. That was many years so modern alternative flours probably don't have the issues I had then. But I see no need to use any of them outside of a true allergy or celiac disease which fortunately we don't have.
Dan
Gabe Dinsmore
Amazing. I used Italian sausage instead for the gravy. I was just looking for a great gravy recipe and I found one! My whole family loved it.
DrDan
Thanks for the note, I need to do this more often but I never have the yogurt when I want it.
Dan
Louise
Jjust a hint.being limited on sodium I have made this using bisquick heart smart baking mix in place of flour also not adding salt or by powder or bk soda.i make them in drop biscut form and the difference in sodium is amazing.sodium is only about 350 instead of over 1000. I appreciate your recipe a sit gave me the inspiration to use it as a guide for something I haven't been able to eat in years.thank you!!!
Jerry
Thank you for this recipe. I was out of all purpose flour so I used wheat flour instead. It worked just fine. I suffered a heart attack last May and had to change my eating habits drastically. Sausage and gravy biscuits was one of the things I missed most. This gravy was just as good and even better than some that I used to eat. All things in moderation.
Pat
Aha....now I can fix this for my husband and not feel guilty! Thanks!
DrDan
Use this one if you want him to live.
Thanks for the note.
DrDan
Note: Pat is from Savor The Best. Check out the Tooth cake ...
TC Moore
Thanks for the biscuit recipe, definitely going to give it a try. I like to add my flour directly to the cooked meat and cook it for a few minutes to get rid of the 'flour taste' just a bit. Then I just whisk in the milk. I think it tastes just a bit better and one less dish to clean.
DrDan
Thanks for the note. I'll try that next time. The simmering of the gravy seems to take the raw flour taste out for me.
DrDan