Sour Cream Gravy Recipe

Who doesn’t love a good, creamy gravy? This easy sour cream gravy recipe is perfect for those times when you want something a little bit fancier than just plain old gravy. Plus, it’s really easy to make – you only need a few simple ingredients. So go ahead and give it a try!

This recipe is a wonderful, fast, and flavorful gravy that takes any dinner (or breakfast or brunch!) to the next level. It’s amazing because you don’t even need meat to make this, and it’s spectacular with whatever you’re having for dinner.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth, optional
• 2 cups milk or cream, 2 1/2 cups if you don’t add broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme, optional

Instructions

1. Add the butter and flour to a pan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or flat spoon. Cook for about three minutes, until the roux is a light golden brown and has a nutty aroma.
2. Bring the heat down to medium-low. Add in the broth and milk and whisk vigorously until the liquid cooks into the roux. Add in the salt and pepper. Allow the sauce to cook for another three or so minutes, stirring regularly, to thoroughly cook the flour and thicken the sauce.
3. Add the sour cream and cook for two minutes. If the gravy is too thick, add additional broth or milk, or water. The gravy should be thick enough to stick to the back of the spoon, but not as thick as jam, and certainly not lumpy.
4. Taste the gravy, and add salt and pepper and additional spices as needed.
5. Serve immediately, and if it gets a film, simply stir to incorporate.

Why this works

I grew up on a potato farm in Idaho. Potatoes and gravy were my favorite food, hands down. But it wasn’t until I moved to the south that I realized you can make gravy without a pot roast or fried chicken, and it’s still some of the most amazing sauce you can imagine!

With just a few simple ingredients you’re sure to have on hand, you can whip up a batch of gravy that’s perfect to go on top of potatoes, rice, biscuits, or with chicken, pork, or fish.

The special ingredient in this recipe is sour cream. It provides a zip and flavor that is full and delicious, and thickens the sauce beautifully. It also adds more flavor without the full fat of heavy cream (which is nothing less than amazing!).

What can I add to mix it up?

This recipe as outlined is the perfect dinner side, to go on potatoes, rice, biscuits, or over meat. But it’s also the perfect starting point for going in all sorts of different directions with dinner. If you add cayenne and more black pepper, it’s perfect on top of fried chicken. Thyme or rosemary makes it perfect for fish or pork, and bacon, sausage, or chipped beef makes it perfect for a hearty southern breakfast with biscuits.

Tasting the gravy and adding spices and salt to taste is important to making the sauce perfect for your purpose.

If you’re going to add sausage or breakfast meat, you can actually start by cooking the meat in the pan and removing all but the two tablespoons of grease or drippings. Using the fat from the meat instead of butter is a perfect way to have even more flavor run through the dish. Or, just use saved bacon fat from another day to start this dish and impart a really hearty flavor. Bacon or sausage grease can be substituted for butter in equal amounts.

How do I reheat this dish?

The flour in the gravy is what makes it thick. When it cools, the flour binds to the liquid, making it thicker than when it was first taken off the stove. This is normal! When you reheat, simply pop it in the microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring as you go. As needed, add a tablespoon of milk or broth at a time to thin the sauce.

If you don’t stir regularly, the outside will reheat much faster than the inside, risking it exploding in the microwave and making a huge mess.

What’s the film on the gravy?

Because this is a milk-based sauce, it will likely get a film on it as it cools. This is normal; it’s the proteins of the milk congealing as it cools. Simply stir the dish right before serving to push the film back into the sauce; it will dissolve right away.

How long will this last?

Because it is a dairy-based dish, it’s important to keep it refrigerated when it’s not on the table. As long as it’s not left out for hours on end, it will last four days in the fridge. It can be frozen and reheated; just be sure to whisk it vigorously and add a little extra liquid.

More Recipes You May Enjoy:

• Easy Cream Gravy without Milk
• Easy Cream Gravy Recipe
• Easy Gravy Recipe Without Drippings