I’m all about starting fresh in the new year, but I’ve never been one for detoxes or diets. I like food … real, fulfilling, comforting food and I see no reason to sacrifice on goodness in anyway, whether it be nutrition or rich flavor, year round. Hence why these cream biscuits and gravy are a new favorite – and a rather genius recipe, if I do say so myself.
The idea for these cream biscuits and gravy came about when I received several boxes of Enjoy Life All-Purpose Flour Blend to trial out. As mentioned prior, I eat wheat, but cook and bake mostly gluten-free at home for Tony (and for some of the work I do!). And let me just say, I’m legitimately in love with this flour blend for a few solid reasons: it’s stocked with heat-stable probiotics (seriously!), it’s a good source of protein, it contains ancient whole grains, and it works better with natural binding than most other blends.
And truthfully, I had been struggling to find a gluten-free blend that wasn’t just starch, didn’t have a gritty texture, and didn’t add a strange flavor when used to make gravy. This is the one! I actually couldn’t believe how perfectly this sneaky gravy turned out. My cauliflower-hating, gravy-loving husband proclaimed it “really good” and had no idea it was made with veggies!
I did trial both “traditional” biscuits (made with coconut oil or buttery spread and milk beverage) but we much preferred these cream-style biscuits. I absolutely LOVE biscuits made this way! And because the flour blend is full of whole grain goodness, the biscuits don’t puff up high (just as whole wheat biscuits don’t!). In fact, you can omit the starch and up the wholesome flour blend to 2 cups if you’re fine with even a touch less height. Regardless, they still gain just enough rise (I was able to slice or simply break them apart horizontally), have a wonderful flavor, biscuit-y consistency, and are the perfect base for this cream biscuits and gravy recipe …
This cream biscuits and gravy recipe plus post is sponsored by Enjoy Life Foods. Of course, I really do love their new flour blend … not to mention that gluten-free, vegan brownie mix and oh-those dairy-free, allergy-friendly chocolate chips and chunks. I digress, and now have some serious chocolate cravings.
Special Diet Notes: Cream Biscuits and Gravy
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, and soy-free. The cream biscuits are naturally vegan, too, and vegan / plant-based options have been included for the delicious cauliflower gravy.
Also, this recipe for cream biscuits and gravy comes together quite easily and quickly, especially once you’ve already tried it a couple of times. I’ve just included TONS of notes and very detailed instructions for your initial guidance with this recipe.
- 1½ cups Enjoy Life All-Purpose Flour Mix (it's gluten-free!)
- ½ cup non-GMO cornstarch or tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum*
- 1⅓ cups coconut cream (see note below)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar (for strict vegan)
- Homemade turkey or vegan breakfast sausage (see below for easy recipe / recommendations)
- 2 cups steamed cauliflower florets
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup Enjoy Life All-Purpose Flour Mix
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the coconut cream, vinegar, and honey until smooth.
- Add the coconut cream mixture to the flour blend, and stir with a spoon to combine. Gently work it with your hands to bring everything together. It should be somewhat sticky.
- Dump the dough onto a floured mat (I use more of the Enjoy Life All Purpose Flour). Gently bring it together and pat it until about ¾- to 1-inch high. Use a 2- to 2½-inch biscuit cutter dipped in the flour to cut circles and place them in a greased baking dish, touching one another.* Bring the scraps together and cut again, an repeat the cutting process. If using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, you should get around 16 biscuits, 12 biscuits if using a 2½-inch cutter.
- Place the biscuits in the freezer while you preheat your oven to 425ºF (about 20 to 30 minutes).*
- Bake the biscuits for approximately 13 to 17 minutes, or until lightly risen and looking slightly browned. This flour blend is whole grain, so they don't have a fluffy "white" rise, but are perfect for the gravy.
- Blend the soft-cooked cauliflower with half of the water and the nutritional yeast, until smooth. Blend in the rest of the water.
- Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook (may just be heating through if using pre-cooked vegan sausage), breaking up with a spatula as you go.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Whisk in the flour for about 1 minute, it should absorb into the sausage and oil. Whisk in the cauliflower blend, and cook until thickened to your liking (I simmer about 5 minutes). If it thickens too much, add a little more water.
- Season with salt, to taste, and the black pepper.
- Cut biscuits horizontally with a serrated knife and plate, cut side up. Top with generous amounts of cauliflower gravy.
Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage: In a medium bowl, stir ¾ lb lean ground turkey with ¾ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon sage, ¾ teaspoon marjoram, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and a dash of nutmeg.
Vegan Breakfast Sausage Options: Most come pre-seasoned so you simply cook them up. A couple of products I've heard great things about are Neat Breakfast Mix (a nut-bean-oat blend) and Field Roast Apple Sage Sausage (grain-based), but there are many brands available. Or, you can make your own with this recipe.
*To help a bit with the rise, I do add a touch of xanthan gum and the biscuits are placed against one another to cling on to each other. Freezing also seems to help the rise (I tested both straight to the oven and freezing first - there was a noticeable difference). If you are avoiding gums, you can skip the gum, they will just spread a bit more (try placing in muffin cups or small ramekins to help prevent this).
32 Comments
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This recipe was amazing. We used bobs red mill and it still came out great. It was very easy to follow and the biscuits rose and browned, which usually doesn’t happen with gf flour. Awesome job.
That’s fantastic! So glad you enjoyed my recipe Leah.
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Ha, I’ll have to show my husband this when he gets home this evening. His all-time favorite meal is biscuits and gravy but we’ve yet to find a good gluten-free substitute. Can’t wait to try this!
My box of Enjoy Life flour mix arrived today so I’m dying to try this. One question though–do I have to put sweetener of any kind in the biscuits? I’m deeply Southern and sweetener in biscuits just isn’t done. Biscuits are supposed to taste like buttermilk. Is the sweetener necessary for some chemical reason?
Hi Nancy, you don’t have to. I add just a touch of sweetener to offset any bitter flavor in the flour. Gluten-free flours tend to have slightly bolder and sometimes a little bitterness in flavor, but in this case, it isn’t heavily noticeable. It’s just a flavor balance thing – you can omit if desired!
Thanks Alisa! I so appreciate your answering me so quickly. Can’t wait to try these. I have big hopes for this flour blend. I’m wheat, soy, and corn free as well as vegan, so bread is not much a part of my diet and I find it’s biscuits I miss most. I wonder how this recipe would work with vegan cheese shreads.
I hope you enjoy the flour blend Nancy. I think it would work pretty well with cheese shreds. You could probably omit the xanthan gum then.
Cauliflower gravy??? Genius!! Love how creative these healthy swaps are!
Oh wow! This looks SO amazing! I love it not just for myself but also as a super-sneaky way to get veggies in my kids.
Husbands, too 🙂
I am so intrigued by the cauliflower gravy. I have used other veggies in thick sauces before, but never thought to use cauliflower. I am going to have to try that gravy for sure!
Being completely straight-forward, I had tried a couple of the “cauliflower alfredo” recipes on blogs – one was just okay, the other dreadful – so I was quite hesitant on going this route. But as a gravy, using a roux and some olive oil, it turns out beautifully and delicious – we loved it and the veggies disappeared!
Wow, these look amazing! I love that you use coconut cream in the biscuits — I love using that in cooking.
It works brilliantly, and surprisingly there is no coconut flavor once baked.
You brought your A game to this recipe. And you got me wanting to try that new flour blend!
I think you should – mix things up a little 🙂
I am currently doing a whole 30 and I am really missing some biscuits and gravy! I have seen nutritional yeast in other recipes but have never tried it. I can’t wait to make this and see if I can get my gravy as creamy as yours looks!
It’s worth a try Jennifer – especially starting with small quantities. It isn’t a make or break in this gravy recipe, but I think adds that something extra. Good luck with the Whole 30!
Thank you so much Alisa for letting me know what it is..I found a recipe online to make a dairy free Parmesan cheese but I did not know what the nutritional yeast was. I will have to go check out the health food store by me so I can get some of that for my son. Thank you so much I appreciate it.???
No problem Amber! I recommend starting with recipes that don’t use too much (1 to 3 teaspoons per serving is usually what I recommend) as for some it can be too strong. Once you’re used to it though, it’s not uncommon to want to add more!
I can’t believe you succeeded! What a challenge! I could go for some biscuits and gravy right now, for sure….
Honestly, I couldn’t believe how good the gravy was Sarah – I was patting myself on the back for that one 🙂
You may want to check out Bizzy Lizzy Flourless Bakery, I plan to try the gravy.
Thanks Sheila!
DAIRY FREE AND GLUTEN FREE? You are my new favorite person. This is my favorite breakfast, but I always battle tummy aches if I eat it. Bookmarking this NOW to try.
You poor thing! I promise, no tummy aches with this one – just deliciousness!
I had a question about the nutritional yeast is that A specific kind is that a regular yeast because I don’t know what the difference is?
Hi Amber, so sorry, I should have included a link! This is nutritional yeast – http://amzn.to/1UbOXOM – it isn’t an active yeast, but rather more of a flavoring ingredient / spice, that just happens to be rich in B vitamins, too. When used in higher quantities, it has a definite cheesy flavor, but here, I feel it just brings the flavors together and adds that touch of umami. It’s sold in most grocers these days (definitely in natural food grocers though), but if you can’t find it, I would add just a touch of miso, or omit if needed. However, I highly recommend trying it!
I love this idea!!! Haha! How fantastic and totally allergy safe!! I approve 😉
Thanks Rebecca – it isn’t easy to get your seal of approval!