Cheddar Drop Biscuits with Bacon Gravy

This is a two in one recipe, where you will make both together, each one separately, and find all sorts of ways to use the recipes!

Biscuits and gravy is a southern retro classic side for breakfast and brunch.  There is something so comforting about smothering a tender flakey biscuit with a creamy rich meaty gravy.  Often this type of gravy is made with ground meat, but using bacon instead adds a lovely smokey quality.

Easy Cheddar Drop Biscuits

The difference between a classic folded biscuit with plenty of layers and a drop biscuit, is the way the biscuits themselves are formed.  Instead of rolling out the biscuit dough and then folding the rolled out dough several times and then cutting them out with a knife or biscuit cutter, you will take a large spoon or scoop and take portions of the dough and drop them onto the prepared baking sheet.  So a drop biscuit is a fabulously easy way to get to the baking and eating of said biscuits.  They are still tender and flakey, but just without the obvious layers.  

The flavours for these biscuits comes from a lovely combination of plenty of shredded cheddar cheese, and seasonings, namely garlic powder and cayenne pepper.  The butter and buttermilk add tenderness and tang.  Of course, if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, feel free to substitute with kefir.

The fun comes when you take the baking sheet filled with freshly baked biscuits out of the oven, and then brush on a garlic butter and herb glaze over the biscuits.  The aroma is wondrous!  These are now ready to go.  Yes, you can bake them in advance and warm them up in the oven or toaster oven at 325F till warmed through.

Bacon Gravy

Here is an easy rich gravy to create, especially when you don’t have roast meat drippings to work with.  In this case the meaty flavour comes from sautéed bacon. The bacon is removed, and chopped into small bite sized pieces, and set on paper towel till later.

The bacon drippings in the pan along with some butter are warmed through and combined with flour (making a classic roux) in preparation for the next step.  Cook these long enough to get the rawness of the flour gone, and a lovely nutty aroma is released.  The colour should be turning a beautiful brown.

Evaporated milk and stock are combined and added to the warmed fat and flour to cook and thicken, whisking till a smooth gravy is formed.  Using evaporated milk brings a richness without adding a lot of extra fat as opposed to using cream.  It also contains highly concentrated milk proteins that can act as powerful emulsifying agents, to help keep the sauce smooth and creamy, again without the extra fat.

Now the bacon, along with black pepper are added into the creamy gravy in the skillet.  Taste and see if you need a bit of salt.  I never add any till this stage.  The bacon has some salt, so it is best to taste and see how much salt the gravy actually needs. 

The Bacon Gravy can be made in advance and set on the back burner on low till needed.  You can also store any un-used gravy in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.  When re-warming the gravy, it will have stiffened up in the cold fridge. You may need to thin it out with a little cream, or stock to help loosen it up.  Stir on low till smooth and warmed through.

Final Thoughts

These biscuits are simple to make, and easy to store.  Store in a sealed container on the counter for a few days, and re-warm in the oven or toaster oven at 325F for 6-7 minutes or until warmed through.  You can make these biscuits with regular AP flour, or even a cup for cup gluten free blend flour, as I show here. The rise and texture will be the same, I promise you.

To freeze the biscuits, place any un-eaten biscuits onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and put into the freezer. Once frozen remove them to a freezer bag and store till you crave a biscuit. These biscuits are great with soup, chilli, or even cut in half and served with ham and cheddar slices. 

The Bacon Gravy is great over meatloaf, meatballs (like my German Frikadellen) or over Breaded Chicken Cutlets , Pork Cutlets, etc.  Also it works amazing over roast pork loin or Pork Chops. And if want to replace the biscuits with Cheesy Cornbread, well, I will be in full support of this!

If you make these comforting, retro classic Cheddar Drop Biscuits with Bacon Gravy, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

5 from 2 votes

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Cheddar Drop Biscuits with Bacon Gravy

Tender, fluffy cheddar and garlic butter biscuits served up irresistible bacon gravy. Perfect for brunch or even a light dinner side. The biscuits are a great side to chilli or soup. The gravy is amazing over cornbread, chicken cutlets or meatballs as well!

Course Baking, Breakfast

Cuisine North American

Keyword bacon gravy, drop biscuits, garlic butter

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Cheddar Drop Biscuits

• 250 g (2 cups) AP flour, can substitute a GF cup for cup blend flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 113 g (1 stick, 8 tbsp) cold butter
• 113 g (4 oz or 1 cup) shredded medium cheddar cheese
• 236 ml (1 cup) chilled buttermilk, plus a little more for brushing on the biscuits before baking

Garlic Butter Glaze

• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, can use dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Bacon Gravy

• 1 can of evaporated milk, see Notes
• Chicken stock, enough to make two cups with the milk, plus more if needed
• 8 rashers of bacon
• 2 tbsp AP flour, can use GF cup for cup blend
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

Drop Biscuits

1. Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet(s) with parchment paper
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar and cayenne pepper in a large bowl with a whisk.
3. Using a box grater, grate the butter on the large holes into the flour mixture and mix well with your finger tips.
4. Slowly pour the buttermilk evenly over the flour and cheese mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon till almost mixed through, as long as you can't see any dry flour patches you are good.
5. Use large spoon or even an ice cream scoop to drop balls onto the parchment lined baking sheet. You should be able to get ten biscuits.
6. Use a pastry brush to brush on a little buttermilk onto the tops and sides of each biscuit.
7. Bake until golden brown, about 16-18 minutes depending on your oven. If you need a few more minutes, take it.
8. While the biscuits are baking, combine the melted butter, parsley and garlic powder in a small bowl.
9. As soon as the biscuits are out of the oven, use the pastry brush to brush the tops of the biscuits with the garlic butter mixture.
10. These are best warm. Can be cooled to room temperature and stored in a sealed container for a few days. To re-heat, place in a toaster oven and warm through at 350F, about 8 minutes.
11. These can also be frozen: place on a wax paper lined baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once frozen transfer the biscuits to a freezer bag and store till needed. This applies to either unbaked or baked. When ready to eat, place the raw biscuits directly onto the baking sheet and bake as per the original directions, allowing extra time till baked through. Thaw baked biscuits in the fridge, and re-heat as stated above.

Bacon Gravy

1. Pour the evaporated milk into a two cup measuring cup. Add enough stock to bring the total up to two cups and stir to combine. Set aside.
2. Brown bacon in a cast iron skillet over medium to medium low heat til crispy. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Once cooled, chop into small bite sized pieces.
3. Remove all bacon fat, leaving two tablespoons in the skillet. If your bacon didn't release two tablespoons worth of fat, supplement with butter.
4. Whisk in the flour and cook over medium heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes, till the mixture has turned golden brown and the raw flavour of the flour has been cooked out.
5. Pour the milk stock mixture slowly into the skillet, whisking constantly till combined.
6. Bring to boil, and then reduce to medium low and simmer until the gravy is thickened and bubbly.
7. Add in the chopped bacon, a pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp of black pepper. Taste and see if you need more salt. Always better to start with less, since the stock and the bacon have salt.
8. Serve warm over biscuits. Can be made in advance and warmed up over low heat when needed. If needed, use a bit of milk or stock to thin out the gravy if it has firmed up too much for your liking.

Recipe Notes

The biscuit recipe is easily halved if you only want a few biscuits.

Evaporated milk can come in several sized cans. You want enough to give you around 1.5 cups but no higher (350 ml or so) It doesn't have to be exact, but the more milk there is, the richer the final gravy.
If you do use regular milk as opposed to the evaporated milk, then just use half milk, half stock. In this case half and half (10% fat) milk would be best.  The stock will help it keep from becoming too rich.