This simple and easy recipe for Tomato Gravy is delicious over biscuits for breakfast or brunch. A lot of people love it over rice or cornbread, too.
Featured comment: "This recipe gives me all the feels as it brings me back to my Grandmother making it when I would stay over at her house."
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Homemade Tomato Gravy Over Biscuits
We think it's best over homemade biscuits at breakfast or brunch (you can't go wrong with our classic recipe for homemade buttermilk biscuits), but it also makes a great "Breakfast for Dinner" dish. Lots of folks love it over rice or cornbread, and we're on board with that, too.
This southern tomato gravy recipe is so easy, and uses plain ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, so you can make it often.
For some of you, this Southern dish will bring back sweet memories. The rest of you will wonder where tomato gravy and biscuits has been all your life.
Before you go any further you'll want to read Southern Food Then and Now.
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Ingredient and substitution notes
These are simple, downhome pantry ingredients.
- Canned Tomatoes - The ones that give us the texture we love are diced tomatoes, but you can use crushed tomatoes (it would just have less tomato pieces) or whole tomatoes that you cut up into small pieces.
- Flour - Plain all purpose flour.
- Chicken stock - Chicken broth would be fine instead and beef stock or broth are good too.
- Salt - Plain table salt.
- Black pepper - We recommend freshly ground, but any coarse ground or even finely ground would work.
- Pan drippings from cooking bacon, sausage or ham - Bacon fat, country ham grease, or sausage drippings just can't be bought in a store, though a spoonful of Better than Bouillon (ham flavored) is a decent substitute. Read below for more details.
see recipe card below for quantities and measurements
The most important ingredient
You might think it's the tomatoes. Of course, you can't make it without them, but what really makes it "gravy" and not just thickened tomatoes are the pan drippings from your breakfast meat.
After you've cooked bacon, sausage or ham, use that pan for making your tomato gravy. Leave just a little of the rendered fat in the pan. Then you'll scrape the bottom as you make the gravy to incorporate all of that leftover goodness.
Some people say they can make a good tomato gravy with just the bacon drippings left from previously cooking bacon. We have never tried it that way but can imagine that it's a pretty good version.
How to make tomato gravy
- Begin with the large skillet where you've cooked your breakfast meat - bacon, ham or sausage are all good. Add the tomatoes and heat over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the skillet.
- Stir the flour into the stock and whisk until there are no lumps.
- Add the flour mixture to the hot tomatoes, whisking constantly.
- As it comes to a boil your tomato mixture will thicken. Reduce heat to simmer.
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer your traditional tomato gravy at least 5-10 minutes before serving over hot biscuits.
If you're here you must love southern food, so you will definitely want to check out 3 Ingredient Biscuits. It's one of our top posts around here. They are so good, y'all and they make the perfect base for this gravy.
This recipe made our Annual Reader Favorites. Check out the rest here.
Recipe FAQ's
You can! It is traditionally made with canned tomatoes as a way to use up all of those jars that were "put up" in the summer. But, you can certainly use fresh ones if you like. You'll just need to cook them for a few minutes first.
You can use water if you don't have any stock or broth. Besides the tomatoes, the most essential ingredient for flavor is the pan drippings left behind after cooking ham, sausage or bacon. The stock adds additional flavor, but you can get by without it.
You could say that. It became popular during the depression when tomatoes were plentiful but money was not. It was a way of getting the most out of something that people in the south commonly had on hand.
Love all things Southern Food?
If you're reading this post chances are you love southern food and know others that do too.
We've put together this awesome guide, Great Gifts for the Southern Foodie. It has several cast iron cookware choices, books of southern recipes and food history and small items that would make a great gift basket. We did the homework for you, and have only included items with Amazon 4 stars and above.
You'll want to be sure and check out our recipe for Southern Fried Chicken. We even had it cut up with a pulley (wish) bone. Remember those?
And for another classic breakfast staple, check out our traditional recipe for Southern sausage gravy!
Our web story on this recipe can be found here.
📖 Recipe
Easy Tomato Gravy
Ingredients
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 4 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup chicken stock or beef stock (or broth)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 2-3 tsp. pan drippings from ham, sausage, or bacon
Instructions
- Heat tomatoes (in iron skillet where you've cooked breakfast meat) over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan.
- Stir flour into stock and whisk until there are no lumps.
- Stir flour/stock mixture into hot tomatoes, whisking as you stir.
- Bring to a boil and stir until thickened.
- Reduce heat to simmer.
- Stir in salt and pepper.
- Simmer for at least 5-10 minutes.
- Tomato Gravy is best served over 3 Ingredient Biscuits.
Notes
Nutrition
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Classic Southern Recipes
- The Best Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions for Steak
- Smoked Ham on Big Green Egg
- Blackened Seasoning Recipe
- Country Fried Steak Recipe: Southern Style
- Old Fashioned Pimento Cheese Recipe
- Easy Dirty Rice Recipe
- Squash Fritters (Oven Baked)
- Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe
Mo2Ca says
I’m more inclined to make a light roux with equal amounts of bacon grease and flour Then add the tomato and broth with salt and pepper to taste.
I also make a sweet version to serve with buttered noodles and toasted buttery bread crumbs.
tomato and noodles
Strain tomato through ricer or use canned puréed or crushed TOMATOS.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter and
mix in 2 tablespoons of flour to make a light roux. Constantly stirr over medium heat.
Add the TOMATOS and the juice.
Next 1/2 cup of sugar.
Cook at a simmer till thickened a bit.
Serve over buttered egg noodles
Top with toasted buttered bread crumbs
Bread crumbs
Melt two tablespoons of butter. Add 1/4 cup of plain bread crumbs then toast till . Spread toasted bread crumbs over noodles before adding tomato sauce.