This healthy biscuits and gravy recipe starts with a creamy low-fat sausage gravy that’s quick and easy to make with turkey sausage. Pair it with almost zero-fat yogurt biscuits for the comfort food you crave — with fewer calories and 90% less fat than the traditional version.
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Featured Comment by Karen:
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"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."
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthier comfort food: All the flavor of biscuits and gravy with fewer calories and less fat.
- Quick and simple: Turkey sausage gravy and drop biscuits are ready in about 30 minutes.
- Easy ingredients: Turkey breakfast sausage, non-fat yogurt, and skim milk — all simple, everyday staples.
- Flexible: Works for low-fat or low-calorie diets, or just when you want a lighter breakfast.
- Beginner-friendly: No roux needed — the gravy thickens with a simple slurry.
📋 Nutrition Snapshot
Traditional biscuits and gravy usually run 600–900+ calories and about 30 grams of fat per serving. This lighter version comes in at about 216 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 477 mg of sodium—over 60% fewer calories and 90% less fat than the traditional version.
🥣 Ingredients
- Turkey breakfast sausage – key to the flavor of a healthy, low-fat sausage gravy.
- Non-fat yogurt – provides moisture for the low-fat biscuits. Use regular non-fat, or Greek non-fat with a splash of milk since it’s thicker.
- Skim milk – zero-fat milk that works well for the gravy base.
- All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – standard pantry items for the biscuits.
- Seasoning salt and black pepper – simple, classic flavoring for the gravy.
✅ Pro Tip: You can use self-rising flour in place of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Just skip those extra ingredients.
👨🍳 Quick Overview: Healthy Biscuits and Gravy
Make low-fat biscuits
Stir together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; fold in non-fat yogurt until just combined.
Form drop biscuits on a baking pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 425°F until golden brown – about 12 minutes.
Make the healthy low-fat sausage gravy
Brown turkey breakfast sausage in a non-stick or cast-iron skillet.
Whisk together flour with skim milk. Slowly add the milk-flour slurry to the sausage over medium heat while whisking or mixing continuously for a few minutes until thickening.
Add seasoning salt and pepper. Simmer another 5–10 minutes.
Split biscuits and ladle the gravy over the top.
👇 Scroll down for the printable recipe card and complete step-by-step photo instructions, or keep reading for tips and discussion.
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🖊️ Low-Fat Biscuits
This is my Low-Fat Biscuits method, adapted here for biscuits and gravy.
These low-fat biscuits taste and feel very close to the classic version. If you pay close attention, you might notice a slight yogurt flavor, but it’s barely noticeable once the gravy is on top. They’re fluffy rather than flaky, which works perfectly for a lighter biscuits-and-gravy breakfast.
Use non-fat regular yogurt for best results. Non-fat Greek yogurt also works, but it’s thicker and may need a splash of milk to loosen the dough.
While I sometimes called these “zero-fat,” technically each biscuit has about 0.4 grams of fat from the flour. And watch the yogurt labels — “non-fat” can still vary quite a bit in fat content. So let’s call them “almost zero-fat biscuits,” or simply low-fat biscuits.
🖊️ Healthy Low-Fat Sausage Gravy
The secret to this healthy low-fat sausage gravy is using turkey breakfast sausage and a quick milk-and-flour slurry instead of a butter-and-flour roux. This method thickens the gravy nicely without the added fat. (See How To Make Gravy at Home for more about the slurry method.)
This gravy is slightly less creamy than a traditional roux-based version, but still flavorful and satisfying. The fat has been cut wherever possible, without sacrificing taste.
Turkey breakfast sausage browns well in a non-stick or seasoned cast-iron pan without added oil. The fat content varies between brands — some use only breast meat while others blend in dark meat — but all of them keep the gravy light.
The seasoning in the sausage is also key to the overall flavor. For best results, avoid plain ground turkey or unseasoned turkey sausage; the flavor won’t be right.
📚 More Low-Fat Recipes
Some of my other favorite low-fat recipes include Healthier Carrot Cake, Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Healthy Blueberry Scones, and Healthy White Chicken Chili.
❄️ Storage of Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store the gravy in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Keep the biscuits at room temperature in a bag with the air squeezed out.
- Freeze: Freeze biscuits and gravy separately. Seal airtight, and they’ll keep for up to 3 months.
❓FAQs
With this low-fat recipe, a serving of two biscuit halves with ⅓ cup of gravy is about 216 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 477 mg sodium. That’s more than 60% fewer calories and 90% less fat than the traditional version.
Yes. By swapping in low-fat turkey breakfast sausage, skim milk, and low-fat biscuits made with non-fat yogurt, you cut most of the fat while keeping the classic flavor.
Turkey breakfast sausage is the best option because it browns well, has the right seasoning blend, and keeps the fat content low. Avoid plain ground turkey or unseasoned sausage — the flavor won’t be right.
Yes. Greek yogurt also works, but it’s thicker and has more of a tang. It may need a splash of milk to loosen the dough.
Yes. You can make this gravy without meat if you prefer, but it will be lighter in flavor. Season well to make up for the missing sausage.
📖The Recipe Card
Healthy Biscuits and Gravy (Low-Fat Sausage Gravy)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder - (aluminum-free preferred)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups non-fat yogurt
- ½ pound turkey breakfast sausage
- 2 cups skim milk
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt - I used Lawry's
- ½ teaspoon pepper - or to taste
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.
- In a bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix well. Fold in 1¼ cups non-fat yogurt until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
- Make eight drop biscuits on a PAM-sprayed baking pan.
- Bake until golden brown—about 12 minutes.
- While the biscuits are baking, brown ½ pound of turkey breakfast sausage in a non-stick skillet.
- Whisk together ¼ cup flour and 2 cups skim milk. Slowly add the milk-flour slurry to the sausage over medium heat, stirring continuously.
- Continue stirring; the mixture will start thickening in a few minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper (or to taste). Simmer another 5-10 minutes.
- Split the biscuits and ladle the gravy over the top.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Use non-fat milk and yogurt. And the leanest turkey breakfast sausage possible.
- Exact nutrition varies by the brands used.
- Greek yogurt works but gives more tang and may need a splash of milk since it’s thicker.
- The serving is calculated with one biscuit cut in half and about ⅓ cup of gravy. If you want to use a more generous ½ cup, then the calories increase by only 45 calories.
- Use aluminum-free baking powder to prevent a metallic aftertaste.
- Store biscuits at room temperature in an airtight container up to 3 days (freeze up to 3 months).
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Originally Published March 1, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Debbie says
I grew up on biscuits and gravy and these turned out as good as I remembered, but without all the butter. Thanks for this recipe!
Made biscuits with wheat cake flour, Greek yogurt and added some milk. Not a full two cups flour because I read that when substituting wheat for white to add less. Used low-fat instead of nonfat for both because that is all I had.
Gravy was a little thick so I added more milk.
It’s just my husband and I at home so I’m looking forward to more cooking for 2!
JadaCass says
Made this meal for the first time today. We needed a change from the everyday breakfast. Loved the gravy trick with the shaker! Will definitely make this more often. The gravy sausage mix is so good, we imagined making it with rice or noodles.
Lana says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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