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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- Gumbo with Chicken, Sausage, Shrimp, and Crab
- Crab Au Gratin Recipe
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- Easy Deep Fried Turkey Breast Recipe
- 21 of the Best Pecan Recipes for Fall
- Classic Pecan Pie (Southern Style)
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Aunt Susan says
Biscuits with tomato gravy and bacon would have been soooo good for breakfast! Love it!
Pam says
You can have it this weekend!
Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures says
Mmmmmm... This sounds wonderful! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Pam says
Thanks, Marci!
Cindy says
This recipe reminds me of my mother’s tomato dumplings—yum!
Pam says
Hmm.... I've never heard of tomato dumplings - but they sound good, too. I'll have to search out a recipe.
B Harper says
Mama cooked her bacon in the iron skillet till it was crisp and laid it out on paper towels. Added the tomatoes , home grown if that time of the year, added a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper cooked till done and crumbled up the bacon in the gravy. Served it over her drop biscuits , dam it was good too. Almost as good as her scrambled hamburgers .
Pam says
Love bringing back those memories. Your mama's sounds delicious too.
Hady Kayed says
Simply Wonderful. I tried it this afternoon. I pan fried some sausages and and then added the diced tomatoes. Served that with some pasta and VOILA...instant hit.
Pam says
So glad to know you enjoyed it!
Sheila poe says
I grew up on tomato gravy my mom made Brown gravy and cut a couple of tomatoes up and let it simmer . gosh it was so good
Pam says
Takes you back, doesn't it, Sheila?
Deborah Harding says
Yesss. Love brown 🍅 gravy over cube steak. Yummmyy
Alice says
I am going to try this recipe
Pam says
Hope you enjoy, Alice! Let us know how it turns out.
Pete (female) says
I am going to have to try this, I love stewed tomatoes so this is something like it.
Pam says
We hope you enjoy Pete!
Emily says
My mother used to make tomato gravy (it was slightly sweet so had a little sugar or the tomatoes were TN sweet)! It was delicious! Our favorite way that she served it was--a layer of sliced open cornbread on a plate, covered with white beans, and topped with tomato gravy--It was an awesome meal!
Pam says
Thanks, Emily. We love keep great family memories like that alive.
Sherry says
I’m making homemade tomato gravy for breakfast for my best friend Susan Newton I’m the morning
Pam says
I hope she loved it, Sherry. You are a good friend!
Al E. says
Sounds like a great recipe! I'd like to make it, but with fresh tomatoes. How do I do that?
thanks.
Al E.
Pam says
Thanks, Al! Fresh tomatoes would be great. I would just cook them down first, like you would for any dish you would use stewed tomatoes. You'll need quite a few to get the equivalent of two cans. That would be about 3.5 cups of cooked tomatoes. I like to dip my fresh tomatoes in boiling water for about a minute to make them easier to peel. Then just cut them up coarsely and simmer for 30 minutes or so. After that proceed with the gravy recipe. I hope you love it like we do.
Donna says
I'm from TN, but the first time I had tomato gravy was from my mother in law in FL. She would add flour to bacon grease (like you're making gravy), then then add the tomatoes and some milk, and of course salt & pepper. She always served it over rice, and it was so good!! Haven't made it in a while, got to do it!
Pam says
We love love love it when readers comment about our recipes bringing back family memories! Hope you'll enjoy it, Donna.
Pearlene Sizemore says
I Make regular milk gravy, then simmer fresh tomatoes
Jonathan says
This is a family favorite of ours over biscuits and my mom always made bacon beforehand and we ate it with bacon. She used the bacon grease to cook the tomato gravy. I wonder where this originated? We lived in Alabama and I think my grandmother passed it down to my mom. Most people I know in Texas have never even heard of this. Some people know of red-eye gravy which is completely different.
Pam says
We've always had it with whatever breakfast meat was cooked that day, sausage, ham or bacon. I wish I knew too where it originated. Agree that a lot of people never heard of it - that's why we decided to publish the recipe. Thanks for visiting Jonathan!
Jennifer Hutchison Whitten says
My momma was a Driggers! Our family is in south Alabama and North Florida!
Pam says
Small world, huh?
Deirdre says
I love tomato gravy, but only have vegetable stock to hand - can I use that to make this recipe?
Pam says
Absolutely! Even water is fine if you have no stock at all, but stock of any kind gives an extra depth of flavor.
veenaazmanov says
Sounds very interesting and perfect to make and stock when Tomatoes are in plenty. Can enjoy it with any snack or with Rice for any meal too. Yum.
Pam says
Indeed, but we actually use canned tomatoes, but it can be enjoyed any time of year.