Try our healthy spin on this classic Southern dish! Flaky biscuits, rich gravy, and no animal products: what more could you want out of a vegan breakfast? We promise this tastes just as good as the original recipe. Watch the video below for step-by-step instructions.
Meaty shiitake mushrooms and fennel seeds are the perfect stand-ins for sausage. We use a healthy dose of vegan butter to replace the fat from meat, and we make a roux to ensure the gravy is thick and creamy. When making the roux, cook the flour until it begins to brown and smell nutty. This will give your gravy a deep depth of flavor.
Don’t be alarmed by the long recipe! We promise this dish is worth the extra effort. The biscuits are also a lot easier to make than you may think. The most important step is to ensure the butter is ice cold; don’t pull it out of the fridge until you’re ready to dump it into the dry ingredients. Vegan butter tends to be softer than the dairy-filled version, so pay extra attention. If you notice it beginning to melt in your hands, return the entire mixture to the fridge until the butter is solid again.
Enjoy this classic dish for brunch or as a fun “breakfast for dinner” during the week. Let us know how you like it!
Vegan Biscuits and Gravy
Ingredients
BISCUITS
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling surface
- 2 teaspoons cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¾ cup diced cold vegan butter keep in fridge until ready to use
- 1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- ¼ cup melted butter
GRAVY
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 cup finely chopped shiitake mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons Noochy Licious Nutritional Yeast
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups unsweetened plant-based milk
- ¼ cup diced green onions to garnish
Instructions
Make the Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 450℉.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
- Remove cold butter from fridge and slowly mix with dry ingredients, using your hands. Do not mix so much that butter begins to melt. There should be small bits of solid butter throughout.
- Add milk. Knead dough with hands until fully incorporated. Butter should still be visible.
- Place dough on a floured surface. Rub flour on rolling pin and roll out biscuit dough until between ¾ to 1 inch thick.
- Use a biscuit cutter to cut out biscuits, placing them a few inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Reroll the dough if needed. Work quickly, as the butter should not melt.
- Brush melted butter on top of each biscuit. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Meanwhile, make the gravy:
Make the Gravy
- Preheat a large sauté pan or cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat. Melt vegan butter.
- Add mushrooms, dry spices and sugar, using a wooden utensil to spread out evenly in pan. Allow to cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Slowly pour flour into pan, stirring the entire time. The flour will combine with the butter and form a roux.
- Slowly add milk. Mix until incorporated.
- Cook on medium heat until thickened. This will take between 4 to 6 minutes. Do not turn up the heat, as the sauce will burn. Once thickened, remove from heat and set aside.
- Leftover gravy will last 4 to 5 days covered in the fridge. Heat up in microwave or pan (recommended).
Serve
- Place 1 or 2 biscuits in the middle of a plate. Smother with gravy.
- Garnish with green onions and freshly ground black pepper.