Biscuits and Gravy

Friday for dinner I finally got around to veganizing one of my favorite pre-vegan recipes: biscuits and gravy.  I had long since made the recipe vegetarian (in fact, I'd never even had biscuits and gravy as a meat eater!), by using vegetarian breakfast sausage.  But the old recipe still called for buttermilk biscuits (occasionally homemade, but often store-bought) and milk for the gravy.  I figured subbing in soy milk to make gravy would be no issue, but making vegan biscuits was another matter. 

 

Fortunately, I found this recipe online, made it to a 2/3 scale, and they came out beautifully!  I applied some of my previously acquired biscuit-making-savvy as well, including making sure to use very cold "milk" and "butter", and pressing the dough out with my fingertips rather than rolling it.  Both of these tricks ensure you get the fluffiest biscuits ever.  Josh actually called them "perfect"! 

 

For the sausage I used one 8 oz. package of Yves Meatless Breakfast Patties, which (unlike Morningstar Farms breakfast patties) don't contain any eggs as a binder.  Simply brown the patties in a pan, then remove and cut up to add into the gravy once it's cooked. 

 

For the gravy, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, then add 2 tablespoons of flour until the roux is golden brown.  Add 2 cups of milk of choice (I used soy), and stir until thick.  Then add sage and red pepper flakes to taste.  At the very end, stir back in the diced sausage and serve over aforementioned tasty biscuits! 

 

Not your typical dinner food, but super filling.  Obviously, it's also a great brunch option.  I barely noticed any difference from the old non-vegan version.  The only thing that seemed different was that I could taste the baking soda in the biscuits just a bit - which I'm attributing to the fact that I was supposed to use aluminum-free baking soda and did not.  I will stock up on some non-aluminum baking soda to see if it makes a difference for next time ...