Last Updated on June 15, 2024
Making sausage gravy without flour may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! We’ll be looking at tips, tricks, and recipes in this article.
Table of Contents
What Is Sausage Gravy?
If you haven’t had sausage gravy, you’re missing out! Sausage gravy originated in the southern part of the US and is an extremely popular dish, that is most often eaten at breakfast time. It’s filling and goes great with biscuits – or even eggs and bacon. It’s most often made with pork sausage fat, milk, and seasonings.
Ingredients In Sausage Gravy
The ingredients you’ll often see in sausage gravy are:
- Ground Pork
- All-Purpose Flour
- Whole Milk
- Salt
- Black Pepper
Is Sausage Gravy Gluten-Free?
As you can probably see from the ingredients above, traditional sausage gravy is not gluten-free. This is because wheat all-purpose flour is most often used. As you probably know, wheat is a no-go when following a gluten-free lifestyle. Along with cereal grains such as rye, barley, oats (unless GF oats), wheat should be avoided at all costs when following a gluten-free lifestyle.
Although traditional sausage gravy isn’t gluten-free, it’s very easy to adapt it to suit us. We’ll be taking a look at how to make sausage gravy gluten-free later in this article!
How To Thicken Sausage Gravy
When it comes to gravy, for me it’s the thicker the gravy, the tastier it is. And sausage gravy is no exception! Flour is a great thickener, and of course, gluten-free flour is an option – but cornstarch is definitely the better option, in my opinion. As cornstarch thickens up sausage gravy so quickly, you only need half of the amount of product, than you would if you were using GF flour.
All you need to do to thicken sausage gravy with cornstarch is as follows:
- Put cornstarch and water into a bowl. There should be more water than cornstarch
- Stir until smooth (this may take a while)
- Add the mixture to your gravy – this should be done gradually and be stirred throughout the process (cornstarch can be quite lumpy, so ensure there’s no cornstarch lumps in your gravy)
The thickness of your gravy is down to you. Everyone likes their gravy a different thickness, so add more cornstarch if you’re wanting the sausage gravy to be even thicker!
Why Cornstarch Instead Of Gluten-Free Flour?
There are a few reasons you may want to use cornstarch instead of gluten-free flour. Let’s take a look at some of them.
- Price. Gluten-free flour can be incredibly expensive. You can usually pick up a bag for around $3 in your local grocery store. That may not seem costly – however, you can pick up cornstarch for less than a dollar usually!
- Taste. Cornstarch is pretty tasteless. Some people don’t like the taste of flour, so it’s a great alternative for thickening.
- Thickening Power. As mentioned earlier, cornstarch has twice the amount of thickening power, in comparison to flour. That means that your cornstarch will last twice as long as GF flour!
- Availability. If you’re gluten-free, you’ll likely have cornstarch and gluten-free flour in your pantry. However, family and friends may not. Cornstarch is usually a staple in many households, so much easier to use for others who aren’t gluten-free.
- Texture. The texture when using cornstarch makes for a far better end result. It’s smoother and somehow makes it even tastier.
Learn more about: Do Mashed Potatoes Have Gluten?
Making Sausage Gravy With Cornstarch
Using cornstarch instead of flour couldn’t be easier! So let’s take a look at some recipes to make the tastiest gluten-free sausage gravy. We’ll be looking at two recipes. They’re almost identical, but both highly recommended by their audience.
Blessed Beyond Gravy has a yummy Gluten-Free Sausage Gravy which takes no time at all. The only ingredients you’ll need for this recipe are:
- Ground Sausage (ensure it’s gluten-free)
- Milk
- Cornstarch
- Water
- Salt and Pepper to taste
She also explains how to make it thinner or thicker, as required.
Crunchy Cream Sweet has a delicious Best Sausage Gravy Recipe. What I love about this recipe, is that it’s not pitched as gluten-free. She uses cornstarch because it makes her sausage gravy smoother and tastier – which is always a good sign! The ingredients for this recipe are:
- Ground Sausage
- Half and Half Milk
- Cornstarch
- Butter
- Black Pepper
- Salt and Black Pepper to taste
TIP: A reminder that many sausages aren’t gluten-free. The cheaper they are, usually there’s a higher chance that gluten is an ingredient. Be sure to check any ingredients you purchase, even if it’s a product you buy frequently. Ingredients are subject to change at any time.
TIP: Another tip that many recipes suggest, is make sure that you’re utilizing the black pepper. It adds so much flavor and just the right amount of spice. Depending on how spicy you like your sausage gravy, be sure to alter the amount of pepper you’re using.
Conclusion
I hope this article has helped you become more familiar with how to make sausage gravy with cornstarch. Using anything other than flour to thicken products can be daunting, but I hope you now feel much more comfortable doing so. It will actually make your cooking even tastier – and you’ll be using less product. It’s a win/win! And as it’s a naturally gluten-free product, you don’t need to spending more (as we usually have to).
We have the sausage gravy covered. Now we just have to find some gluten-free biscuits…

Hi, my name’s Zoë. I live in London, UK. I work full time as a freelance writer and critic for West End theatre. Writing has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I spend most of my free time at the theatre, or at conventions. I’m married to the love of my life, and live in a small apartment with my fur baby, Lillie. I run two of my own blogs: No Safer Place and Stage to Page: both of which have won awards. I also have a YouTube channel where I talk about all things stagey.