Keto Sausage Gravy

Sausage gravy, a real southern treat, is now transformed into a keto recipe! You will be amazed how quick and easy it is to make and how delicious it is to eat. If you love sausage as I do, it’s great to be able to add a few ingredients which will transform it into a low carb creamy delight.

If you’ve ever been to the Southern states you’ve definitely seen one famous thing on the menu for breakfast…biscuits and gravy! To make a low carb biscuits and gravy recipe at home we’ve come up with this delicious Keto Sausage Gravy. 

It’s amazing that you can make this delicious breakfast and still remain on your keto way of eating. Your friends and family will love it and ask for it over and over again, trust us!

Try our keto biscuits recipe which pairs perfectly with this sausage gravy, or you can pour it all over a perfectly roasted turkey.

What is Sausage Gravy?

Sausage gravy is a delicious Southern breakfast that has become a staple for families in many of the Southern states. 

A traditional sausage gravy uses browned sausage and a roux made with butter and flour. After that, the pork fat and milk are added along with black pepper which makes it a bit spicy.

This is true comfort food at its finest!

Is Sausage Gravy Keto?

Sausage gravy is a thick, hardy gravy made from sausage covered in dairy, milk, or cream, along with flour to thicken it. The traditional, Southern recipe has a lot of carbs that we need to remove to make it keto friendly.

Thankfully something you can still eat on a low carb diet as long as you make a few modifications by replacing the flour, milk, and cornstarch.  Don’t worry, it tastes just as good as the original!

How Many Carbs in Sausage Gravy?

It is really hard to say how many carbs are in a serving of sausage gravy because everyone makes it a little different and serving-sizes vary. 

However, with the flour and milk and other ingredients it comes up with many more carbs than you are allowed to eat on a low carb diet. Traditional recipes for sausage gravy range from 68-187 carbs per serving.

Then don’t forget that when you add a biscuit or two to the meal then the carbs also jump way up, all way too high for a low carb diet. 

Compare a traditional sausage gravy with our low carb sausage gravy which only has 2.2 NET Carbs per serving. That’s a huge difference and lets you enjoy a delicious low carb breakfast!

What Ingredients are in Low Carb Sausage Gravy?

• Sausage – Hot, Sweet, or Breakfast type.
• Cream Cheese – Full fat, preferably Philadelphia brand.
• Heavy Cream – This will help thicken the gravy.
• Butter – Any type.
• Chicken Broth – Low salt or regular. If you need to be gluten-free then choose the College Inn brand.
• Xanthan Gum – This is a thickening agent to replace flour or cornstarch, with zero carbs and is very keto-friendly.
• Salt – Any type will be fine.
• Pepper – Black, ground.
• Onion Powder – This will give you a good flavor.
• Garlic Powder – A good spice that gives a lot of flavors.

Low Carb Thickening Options for Gravy

Both flour and cornstarch will add unwanted carbs to your recipe and are a no-go on a Keto diet.  Have no fear because there is a zero carb thickening agent called Xanthan gum that works great. 

One of the problems with flour and cornstarch is that it requires a big portion of each to make any gravies thick, whereas with xanthan gum it only takes ¼-½ tsp to thicken things.

Substitutions & Different Variations

Even though we love this recipe the way it is, it still is possible to make substitutions and vary it. Here are some ideas:

• Ground Chicken can be used instead of sausage.
• Ground Turkey can also be used instead of sausage.
• Beef Broth can be used as a replacement for chicken broth.

Can I Make a Nut-Free Gravy?

In our sausage gravy, we do not use any almond flour at all, instead, we use xanthan gum to thicken things so it is already nut-free.

However, you can also make a sausage gravy with almond flour as a replacement for traditional white flour. In that case it’s not nut-free so keep it in mind.

How to Make Keto Sausage Gravy

Now we will show you step by step how to make keto sausage gravy. Hopefully, you prepared low carb biscuits ahead of time. If not, check out our recipe.

STEP 1: Get your sausage and put it into a frying pan. Set the burner on medium heat. Break up the meat into small pieces and continue stirring it until there is no more pink left in the meat.

STEP 2: The next step is to cut up the butter and cream cheese and add them to the sausage. Continue to stir them into the meat, as they melt fully.

STEP 3: Now add the broth and cream while continuing to stir.

This is also the time that you should add the spices.

STEP 4: The Xanthan gum is the last thing to add so that it can do its thickening job. A little bit goes a long way so don’t be tempted to add any more since it takes a few minutes to thicken up.

STEP 5: Cut the biscuit in half and pour your portion of gravy on top of the biscuit and enjoy!

Making Keto Sausage Gravy without Xanthan Gum

If for some reason you don’t want to use xanthan gum in your recipe to thicken the gravy or you don’t have any in your kitchen there are other options that will help to thicken the keto sausage gravy. 

Just add a little more cream cheese, 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired thickness.

FAQs and Best Tips

You probably have some questions running through your mind about the ins and outs of making keto sausage gravy and we will try to attempt to answer as many of them as possible.

Sharing some helpful tips that we have learned along the way will also help you make this gravy come out great every time.

• Since you need to use ground sausage, if you use sausage links, make sure to take out of the casing before frying it up. 
• My favorite sausage is Perri Hot Sausage if you have it in your area. It has a great flavor and just the right amount of spice.
• If you heat up your sausage gravy on the stove try to use a non-stick frying pan so that it won’t stick to the pan.
• Only use a small portion of xanthan gum or else your gravy will be too thick. If you need to add more than the recipe calls for, do it ¼ tsp at a time. It takes a few minutes to thicken so don’t rush it.

How to Make Sausage Gravy Thicker

One of the ingredients usd to thicken traditional sausage gravy normally is flour which we all know is not a low carb option in our diet. That means we need to replace it.

Xanthan gum is a leader in low carb thickening agents, just a little bit does the job of a larger quantity of flour.

If you do not have xanthan gum in your house or if you want another idea, try simmering the gravy longer than usual on low heat. This will reduce the water content which will in turn make the gravy thicker. Even though it will take a little longer than usual, it will come out nice and thick and also creamy.

How to Make Breakfast Gravy Smoother?

If you want to make your gravy smooth instead of chunky you can stick it into a blender or Vitamix on low, for just a few seconds. It will grind up the sausage and make the gravy smoother.

How Much Gravy Do I Need Per Person?

It’s hard to say exactly how much sausage gravy each person will eat. It is a very rich and filling breakfast item, and when you add a biscuit you will have a quite filling meal. 

In my opinion, a ¼ cup of gravy for every biscuit is the normal amount to eat. Start with that, if you feel that you want to increase it a little then you have that option.

How to Make it Less Salty?

• You can omit the added salt for a less salty gravy.
• Also using unsalted butter will also cut out some of the salt.
• You can use chicken broth with reduced sodium.
• Using ground turkey or chicken results in less salt than if you use pork sausage.

What to Serve with Country-Style Breakfast Gravy

The fun part about sausage gravy is actually putting it on different foods. Here is a list of low carb options you can put sausage gravy on:

• Keto Biscuits
• Low Carb Waffles
• Keto Chaffles
• Eggs
• Bacon

How to Store Sausage Gravy 

Storing Keto sausage gravy is really easy. If you have extra sausage gravy leftover, just pour it into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

How to Reheat

Once you take the leftover sausage gravy out of the refrigerator, you can heat it up in 2 ways:

1. Microwave – Put the portion of sausage gravy in a bowl, loosely cover it, and heat it for 1-2 minutes.
2. Stove – Put the portion of keto gravy in a saucepan and heat it on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring so that it doesn’t stick to the pan. 

TIP: If you have a nonstick pan that may help.

Can You Freeze Keto Sausage Gravy?

Most of our recipes will freeze up very well, but this is not one of them. I would not suggest freezing the leftover keto sausage gravy. 

The problem is that when you thaw it out, it does not stay together, and the cream becomes separated, which means that you will not have a nice creamy gravy for breakfast and it will be lumpy instead.

Tools to Use

This is one recipe that does not require a lot of tools, all you need is:

• Frying Pan – To cook your gravy in.
• Large Spoon – To mix up the sausage gravy.
• Cup and Spoons – To measure out ingredients.
• Mix and Chop – This is a tool that is made by Pampered Chef and is shaped like a star on a handle that does a great job in taking pieces of meat like sausage and as you press down on it the meat gets ground up small.

Other Diets This Recipe is Good For

• Keto/Low Carb – This recipe nicely fits into our goal of eating a low carb diet.
• Sugar-free – There is no sugar in this recipe.
• Gluten-free – This is another winner for our friends who can’t eat any gluten.
• Nut-free – There are no nut products in this keto sausage gravy.
• Egg-free – If you can’t eat eggs you will be very happy that this is a recipe that is egg-free.

Can You Eat Gravy and Lose Weight?

This is good news, yes you can eat such a yummy food like gravy and still lose weight! 

The main reason is that this sausage gravy is made from ingredients that allow you to stick to a low carb diet like Keto and stay within your macros.  Of course, you can’t go overboard and still need to stay within your daily calorie limit, but if you do that you can still follow your diet which helps you lose weight.

Other Similar Recipes

If you like our Keto Sausage Gravy try some of these other low carb recipes:

• Keto Sausage Balls
• Keto Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• Keto Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms
• Keto Breakfast Casserole

They all are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will be a hit with your family and friends!

Other Low Carb Sauce Recipes

If you’re in the mood for some other Low Carb Sauce recipes then try our:

• Perfect Keto Gravy
• Keto Cheese Sauce
• Keto Pizza Sauce 
• Creamy Keto Alfredo Sauce
• Keto BBQ Sauce 
• Creamy Keto Ranch Dressing

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