Lush & Creamy Gluten-Free Sausage Gravy Made with Cashew Cream

Creamy and indulgent, this gluten free AND dairy free sausage gravy is easy comfort food at its best. It’s not fussy or complicated to make (all you need is 7 ingredients – most of which are likely already in your pantry!), and thanks to cashew cream and all-purpose seasoning, the texture and flavor is absolutely next-level-delicious. We’ve been making this recipe for years, and it’s truly a back-pocket staple that’s perfect for slow weekend brunches! Ready in just 30 minutes.

Fool-proof and super creamy gluten free sausage gravy that is sure to be a hit at your breakfast table

Nothing compares to a perfect comfort food breakfast spread.

And biscuits and gravy has to be up there with one of the most perfect nostalgia-inducing brunch dishes!

This recipe for gluten free & dairy free sausage gravy is something that we’ve been making for years, and I’ve been wanting to share it with the NK community for a very long time.

And finally! After many tests with some slight tweaks to the method and ingredient proportions to make sure it’s *just* right, the moment is here.

If you’re familiar with our catalog of creamy dairy free recipes, then you’ll likely already know that cashew cream is our indisputable favorite dairy free alternative.

The mild flavor and incredibly luscious texture of soaked, raw cashews blended with liquid provide a genuinely dreamy quality to everything from soups to sauces to pasta dishes.

This breakfast gravy is rich and deeply flavored, with the ideal ratio of luscious gravy to bits of caramelized sausage and onions. It’s absolutely DELISH and utterly easy to make!

If you’re curious about trying other dishes that feature cashew cream, be sure to check out our library of cashew-cream based recipes!

Ingredient highlights

This recipe is the perfect example of humble and easy-to-find ingredients coming together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. There are a few key ingredients that you’ll want to prioritize for the BEST-tasting sausage gravy!

Breakfast sausage

Try to find the highest-quality breakfast sausage available. The seasonings incorporated in it make up a large portion of the gravy’s flavor. We love using a house-made sausage option that you should be able to find at most grocery stores!

Raw cashews

For the smoothest, creamiest texture, raw cashews are the best option to make the cashew cream base for the gravy. Roasted cashews are drier and less able to take up water while they soak, which is what allows them to blend seamlessly with the chicken broth.

All-purpose seasoning

Not every all-purpose seasoning is created equal! To amp up the savory flavor in this recipe I used Simply Organic All-Purpose Seasoning blend, our personal favorite. Poultry seasoning can be used its place with very similar results.

Coconut aminos

Coconut aminos add an extra little layer or umami rich flavor and just the barest hint of sweetness to the gravy. Gluten free tamari could be used instead, although it’s saltier than coconut aminos and you may want to use less – 1 teaspoon instead of 1 tablespoon would probably be sufficient!

How to make creamy gluten free & dairy free gravy just 30 minutes!

This sausage gravy is the opposite of fussy. Because you won’t be making a roux, and the gravy part of the recipe comes together just by blending cashews with broth, you have way more flexibility to get the consistency of the gravy right. And you don’t have to worry about the gravy splitting or turning out lumpy – thank goodness!

Prep tip! Soak your cashews before you’re ready to start to save a little bit of time during the cooking process. They can easily be soaked a couple of hours in advance.

Step 1: Soak the cashews to prep for blending

Soak cashews in hot water for at least 15 minutes, until pale and plump.

Step 2: Cook sausage and onions

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a medium sized skillet. Add breakfast sausage and diced onion and cook, breaking up sausage with a spatula, until sausage is cooked through, and onions are tender. Add all-purpose seasoning and coconut aminos and stir to combine.

Step 3: Make cashew cream base

Drain cashews and add to high speed blender container with chicken broth. Blend on high for at least 1 minute, until mixture is smooth and creamy, and no pieces of cashew remain.

Step 4: Finish making the gravy

Add cashew cream mixture to the skillet and stir to combine. Increase heat slightly to bring to a low simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until gravy has thickened to desired consistency.

Step 5: Season and serve

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve as desired!

What about the biscuits?

When I photographed this recipe, I used Capello’s Frozen Gluten Free Biscuits. They are not dairy free but they are gluten free and they’re absolutely phenomenal. So easy to make because you just pop them in the oven for 20-ish minutes and you’re done.

Another option that I tried is Pamela’s Gluten Free Biscuit Mix. The biscuits can be made dairy free, and they were delicious. However making them is a bit more time consuming because you assemble the dough more-or-less from scratch before baking.

Tips for getting the gravy consistency right

Something so helpful that I’ve learned about cooking with cashew cream is that it’s super easy to adjust the consistency of whatever you’re making with it.

When you first add the cashew cream mixture to the cooked sausage it will seem like a lot of somewhat-thin liquid. But as it simmers, it quickly thickens up.

It will thicken even more as it cools, but if the gravy ever gets *too* thick, all you have to do is thin it out with a little bit of additional chicken broth, stirring between additions until you’re back to where you want to be.

If you enjoyed this gluten free gravy, we’d love it if you would take a moment to rate and review it below! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 It’s also a good place for questions, and super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe. 

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!

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