Biscuits and gravy is one of those foods that are hard to give up and just as hard to replace. I've tried several gluten and dairy free biscuit and gravy recipes in the past but have never been happy with them. It's hard to cover up the taste of coconut in the full fat coconut milk and the thinner carton coconut milk makes a watery gravy. Eventually, I figured out a gravy recipe that I loved and used it to make my breakfast dippers with gravy. The addition of thyme gives it an even better flavor, although it's not necessary. Since then, whenever I want biscuits and gravy, I usually just toast some store-bought gluten free bread to put my gravy over. Good but not the same.
Most gluten free biscuit recipes I've tried have turned out too dry or only looked like biscuits but didn't really taste like them. A reader asked if my multi-purpose dough could be made into biscuits. At first, I thought I would have to add lard and make some other changes but as I was trying to make dinner rolls, I realized they tasted just like biscuits and didn't make a good roll. I made another batch of dough and cut them into biscuits and it turned out perfect! They don't get those flaky layers that you get from a traditional biscuit but there's only so much I can figure out without gluten. If anyone has that part figured out, please let me know! However, the flavor is perfect, they're soft on the inside with a slight crust, and for some reason, they always end up with a perfect split down the middle. I don't know what's causing that to happen but it's very convenient!
A quick note about the biscuits. I know traditional biscuits are golden brown on the top but if these get that dark, they've probably baked too long! They only take a few minutes in the oven and stay a pretty pale color with barely any brown on top. The best way to tell if they're done is to insert a toothpick in the middle. Once the toothpick comes out clean, they're fully cooked.
Recipe
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A gluten and dairy free take on biscuits and sausage gravy.
Ingredients
- 1 batch of multi-purpose dough - biscuit variation
- 1 lb ground breakfast sausage
- 1 can full fat coconut milk - you may substitute almond milk or coconut milk from a carton if you prefer a milder flavor.
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp thyme, optional
- 1 Tbsp all purpose gluten free flour (affiliate link)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Separate dough into 8 equal sized pieces.
- Fold each piece onto itself 3-4 times and press down into discs, being careful not to round off the edges. Rough edges allow the biscuits to rise higher and if they get sealed off from being molded into perfect circles or being cut with a blunt item such as a coffee cup, they will not get a good rise. If you prefer to roll out and cut your biscuits, make sure you use a very sharp biscuit cutter or knife.
- Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 16-20 minutes. Note that these biscuits don't get very brown so check them around 16-20 minutes and be careful to not over-bake.
- While the biscuits bake, brown sausage in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the sausage is fully cooked, remove from the skillet using a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave the remaining fat in the skillet.
- Whisk in the gluten free all purpose flour and allow to brown for a moment.
- Whisk in coconut milk and spices and add the meat back in. Increase the heat and allow the mixture to bubble slightly. Turn off the heat once thickened. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
- To serve, slice the biscuits into top and bottom halves and top with gravy. The texture of the biscuits improve if you allow them to cool for a few minutes before slicing open.
Notes
This original recipe was made with paleo ingredients although I don't recommend that variation anymore. Contact me if you would like recommendations for paleo substitutions.
These look amazing and the pictures are beautiful! Saving this for later!
Thanks so much, Megan! I've actually been pinning a bunch of your drink recipes lately. They're all so creative. I don't see how you do it!
I have just started to cook gluten free foods. This was my second recipe to try. The recipe was easy to try and the taste and texture were very good..
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Lane! If you ever have any questions on gluten free cooking, feel free to ask and I'd be happy to try and answer them.
I don't know what I did wrong but they didn't rise at all and are very dense. They taste like unsweetened sugar cookies but are to heavy for biscuits. I have more dough I'd like to try again if I knew what I did wrong. Please help.
Hi Sue. Sorry the recipe didn't work out. Usually, if this dough doesn't rise, that means that baking soda was used instead of baking powder as there is no acid in the recipe to activate the baking soda. It's also always possible that if baking powder was used, it has gone bad or the dough sat too long before getting baked. Additionally, since the dough has so much starch, it needs to be warm when eaten but that's usually just a concern for leftovers.
I used this biscuit recipe for a long time but ever since this recipe was published seven years ago, I've learned a lot more about gluten free baking and have tried many biscuit recipes that I enjoy more. I'd love to go back and make improvements to this recipe knowing what I know now. For instance, using a coffee cup to cut out the biscuits (as I said to do in my recipe) can seal the edges and make the biscuits not rise as much. A very sharp tool works best or what I do now is just grab a hunk of dough and fold it a few times by hand then lightly press it down onto the baking sheet with my fingers.
I also prefer to cut in some cold dairy free butter into the dry ingredients. I had never tried dairy free butter when I published this recipe and shortening gave it an off-taste but the almond flour really helped with the flavor when taking out the butter. Some cold fat does help make it flaky.
I don't get a lot of time to work on this website anymore but I will work on creating an updated biscuit recipe as soon as I restock some ingredients :)
Hi Sue. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve published the improved biscuit recipe since we last communicated. I hope you’ll enjoy this version more :)