There’s nothing like a little a little comfort food for breakfast, and this classic southern Tomato Gravy is the best of the best.
This red gravy is made with simple ingredients and filled with rich tomato flavor that is perfect to serve over top of homemade biscuits, fried eggs, or even fried rice. It’s a southern staple, and comes together with just a little bit of bacon grease, ripe tomatoes, a little sugar and flour. This recipe is a great way to use up leftover summer tomatoes.
Traditional tomato gravy might not be one that a lot of people know about, but if you know, you know. If you’re a fan of a good sausage gravy or love a tasty homemade breakfast with savory flavor on the weekends, you need to give this Tomato Gravy a try!
Recipe Ingredients
To make tomato gravy, you need the following ingredients:
- Fat: you will need to use bacon drippings, unsalted butter, vegetable oil, or sausage drippings to create the roux
- Flour: the all-purpose flour is what will be used to create the roux to thicken the Southern tomato gravy recipe
- Liquid: you will also need low-sodium chicken broth to make this homemade tomato gravy
- Tomatoes: be sure to have a can of diced tomatoes (undrained) and fresh tomatoes that have been peeled, seeded, and chopped
- Sugar: use white granulated sugar to help balance the flavor of this savory topping
- Seasonings: have kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper on hand
- Garnishes: optional garnishes for this traditional recipe would be fresh basil or finely chopped
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Tomato Gravy
- In a large skillet, heat the bacon drippings (or chosen fat) over medium heat until hot.
- Add the all-purpose flour to the bottom of the skillet, stirring constantly. Cook the flour and fat mixture (roux) for about 2-3 minutes, or until it turns a light golden brown. This helps to cook out the raw flour taste.
- Slowly whisk in the low-sodium chicken broth, ensuring there are no lumps. Continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth and thickens, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the undrained diced tomatoes and the chopped beefsteak tomatoes to the skillet. Stir well to combine.
- Add the white granulated sugar, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine all the ingredients.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The gravy should thicken and the flavors should meld together.
- Taste the gravy and modify the seasoning as needed, adding additional salt, pepper, or sugar to achieve the desired flavor.
- Once the gravy has reached the desired consistency, remove the skillet from the heat.
- Garnish with finely chopped fresh basil if desired.
- Serve the Tomato Gravy hot over biscuits, rice, or your favorite dish. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- If the gravy becomes too thick while cooking, you can thin it out by adding a little more chicken broth or water. Conversely, if it’s too thin, continue to simmer until it reaches the desired thickness.
- For a different taste, use a combination of fresh and canned tomatoes. Roasting the fresh tomatoes first can bring out their natural sweetness and add more depth to the gravy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Another name for tomato gravy is red-eye gravy. It is a combination of canned crushed tomatoes and a thickening agent to create a gravy-like consistency.
This tomato gravy is not just tomato sauce. It gets its name gravy because it uses a similar way to thicken the sauce just like gravy does, with a flour mixture.
Either will be fine, but we tend to use chicken broth with the gravy, but if you only have chicken stock on hand it will work as well.
You will need fresh tomatoes with this recipe, but not only fresh tomatoes. You will need a form of canned tomato to make up the correct flavor and texture for this gravy.
Serving Suggestions
This classic recipe is delicious served over homemade buttermilk biscuits, fried rice, fried eggs (any kind of eggs, really!), grits, or even just some simple toast.
Storage Tips
- Fridge: Place any leftover tomato gravy into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Once the gravy has cooled down, put the cooled gravy into a freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Enjoy More Delicious Savory Breakfast Recipes
Start the day off right with a good, savory breakfast recipe. These dishes are for when you wake up and do not want a sweet breakfast. Browse our comprehensive list of savory breakfast recipes.
- Baked Omelet
- Breakfast Potatoes
- Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche
- Healthy One Pan Egg and Turkey Skillet
- How to Cook Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot
- How to Poach Eggs in the Oven
- Sunrise Skillet
Tomato Gravy (Traditional Southern Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoon bacon drippings, or unsalted butter, vegetable oil, sausage drippings…
- 3 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅓ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- ½ teaspoon white granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh basil, finely chopped, for garnish (optional)
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the bacon drippings (or chosen fat) over medium heat until hot.
- Add the all-purpose flour to the skillet, stirring constantly. Cook the flour and fat mixture (roux) for about 2-3 minutes, or until it turns a light golden brown. This helps to cook out the raw flour taste.
- Slowly whisk in the low-sodium chicken broth, ensuring there are no lumps. Continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth and thickens, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the undrained diced tomatoes and the chopped beefsteak tomatoes to the skillet. Stir well to combine.
- Add the white granulated sugar, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine all the ingredients.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The gravy should thicken and the flavors should meld together.
- Taste the gravy and modify the seasoning as needed, adding additional salt, pepper, or sugar to achieve the desired flavor.
- Once the gravy has reached the desired consistency, remove the skillet from the heat.
- Garnish with finely chopped fresh basil if desired.
- Serve the Tomato Gravy hot over biscuits, rice, or your favorite dish. Enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe serves 4-6 servings depending on serving size.
- If the gravy becomes too thick while cooking, you can thin it out by adding a little more chicken broth or water. Conversely, if it’s too thin, continue to simmer until it reaches the desired thickness.
- For a different taste, use a combination of fresh and canned tomatoes. Roasting the fresh tomatoes first can bring out their natural sweetness and add more depth to the gravy.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
You have Tomato Gravy and Red Eye Gravy wrong. They are NOT the same thing. Red Eye is made with drippings from ham mixed with coffee. It’s called Red Eye Gravy because it was often made for breakfast to help you wake up.
Thanks for the clarification!