This is the time for greens! To stuff yourself full of all the fresh, crisp and tender leaves you’ve missed all winter long.
If you are lucky, your garden spinach overwintered and the first leaves are big enough to pick without sacrificing the whole plant. If not, perhaps, the vendors at the first-of-the-season farmers markets are showing off their luscious spring spinach.
Raw, wilted, steamed, sauteed or stewed, spinach makes so many meals possible, from soup and frittata to salad and a comforting skillet supper. And sausage gravy!
Yup, we’re adding green to that diner standard that can so often be a thick, gloppy gut bomb. Not this time.
The addition of spinach, plus a few simple techniques, lightens up sausage gravy into a creamy and comforting weekend brunch–perhaps for Easter.
Not only for biscuits, This gravy
Granted, this spinach sausage gravy is terrific over a buttery homemade biscuit. Go that route for an indulgent brunch–and plan a good outing or some yard work afterwards.
For a new approach, pour it over a slice of toasted crusty bread, like this multi-grain no-knead bread.
For gluten-free or anyone doing Whole30, I made it with arrowroot for thickening and substituted almond milk for cow’s milk and served it over a pile of roasted potatoes.
This may be my favorite way to enjoy sausage gravy yet. With a bottomless cup of coffee, of course.
Spinach Sausage Gravy
The addition of spinach to this diner classic makes it lighter and far less indulgent. This recipe also includes gluten- and dairy-free alternatives so that you can enjoy sausage gravy even if on a restricted diet. I made it with almond milk, but you can use the nut milk of your choice. Serve it over a biscuit, toasted artisan bread or a bed of roasted potatoes. Feel free to top it with a fried or poached egg.
- 8 ounces pork sausage
- pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 pound baby spinach, stemmed and roughly chopped (or 1 10-ounce bag frozen)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or tapioca flour)
- 1 1/2 cups milk, whole or skim (or unsweetened nut milk)
- pinch nutmeg
- pinch sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the pork sausage and the red pepper flakes (if using) and cook, while breaking up the sausage into crumbles, until it loses the pink color, 4-5 minutes.
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Add the spinach and stir until it wilts. Then let it steam for about 2 minutes to release some of the moisture. Add the flour and stir for about 2 minutes to cook off the raw taste of the flour.
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Add the milk and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the flour. Bring the mixture to a low simmer for 10 minutes, stirring now and then.
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Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and taste for seasoning. Keep warm over low heat until ready to serve.
Pork sausages tend to be salty but seasonings can vary. Proceed with caution when adjusting the levels of salt to your taste.
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