15 biscuits and gravy recipes you can make in under 30 minutes

Let's kick off with the classics. The Food Network's Ree Drummond has a recipe that goes over all of the steps to making delicious biscuits and sausage gravy, right down to the amount of sausage grease to use. It also teaches basics for gravy-making that will allow you to make other recipes on this list, so if you haven't made homemade gravy before, this recipe is a great place to start. This variant on biscuits and gravy is served with sausages in patty form, not interspersed in the gravy, so it's perfect for people looking for a big, hearty breakfast in about 25 minutes. Fry up some eggs in the leftover grease with the five extra minutes you have, and you'll have yourself a breakfast that will be envied by all of your Instagram followers. Find the full recipe here, via thepioneerwoman.com.

For those of you looking for something a bit different than the classic white sausage gravy, MattBites.com has a delicious, quick recipe for chipotle-chorizo gravy as well as chile biscuits infused with black pepper and parmesan. All in all, if you manage your time well, the biscuits should take about 30 minutes to make from scratch, and while they're in the oven, you can prepare the delicious, spicy-smoky gravy. The full recipe can be found here.

As a caveat here, yes, the recipe says that this dish will take 40 minutes to complete. But if you prepare your gravy while the bottom layer of biscuits are cooking, you should be able to complete this recipe in a half hour or less. The great thing about this casserole is it can be augmented and added to to create an even heartier breakfast, so feel free to add scrambled eggs, cheese, peppers or really whatever you want before it goes into the oven the final time. The full recipe is here, via Family Fresh Meals.

With the additions of sage, onion and Italian sausage (instead of breakfast or country sausage), this simple recipe adds a bit of Italian flair to to the standard biscuits and gravy formula. Consider serving, as in the image, with some fresh sliced tomatoes for a bright, acidic contrast to the hearty biscuits and gravy. Follow along with the full recipe here.

As you've probably noticed by now, if you're using canned biscuits, the key to making a good biscuits and gravy is nailing the gravy. And in an episode of "Good Eats," Alton Brown shows how to make a delicious, hearty and, above-all, easy gravy while your biscuits are in the oven. The keys to Brown's recipe are using a cast iron skillet and stirring the flour into the sausage fat (and then proceeding to cook the flour down a bit) before gradually whisking in the milk. Oh, and be sure to scrape up the browned, stuck-on sausage bits! That's the good stuff. The full recipe can be found here, along with a step-by-step video. Now, if you want extra credit (and have a bit more than 30 minutes), Alton Brown has a recipe for delicious from-scratch Southern biscuits as well.

For those of you who want to take some extra time to learn how to make Southern-style biscuits, this recipe from Lauren's Latest provides a wonderful step-by-step guide (with images!) on how to ensure that your biscuits come up flaky and wonderful every time. The best part of this recipe, however, is the sweet maple gravy made with pureed onions and cayenne pepper. The deep sweetness provides a nice depth of flavor, so definitely try this one out. The full recipe can be found here.

This is probably the easiest recipe on the list. While your canned biscuits are baking in the oven, simply cook a whole bunch of sausage in your skillet, then add in flour and milk until the mixture thickens up and becomes a hearty, sausage-filled gravy. Season with salt and pepper, and you should have a delicious gravy prepared long before the biscuits even exit the oven. From start to finish, this recipe takes about 15 minutes, so there's no excuse not to try it. The recipe is here, via Allrecipes.

To reiterate, all of these recipes can be made much faster by substituting premade biscuit dough, forgoing the fancier, more labor-intensive, custom, from-scratch biscuits, and this recipe is no exception. That said, if you've made biscuits before, and can put a dough together in about 10 minutes, you should be able to make this dish in about 25 minutes total. The Asian flavors of the scallions blend well with the lap cheong sausage here and create a simple, unique and wonderful flavor. Follow along with the full recipe at tworedbowls.com. 

There are few things better than dessert for breakfast, and this recipe for sweet vanilla gravy is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth when served over a warm, flaky biscuit. As an added bonus, there's no meat in this recipe, so the gravy will cook up in 15 minutes or less! Step-by-step instructions can be found at allrecipes.com.

Gravies are usually made from a roux, a mixture of fat and flour, so why not use one of the tastiest, fattiest meats out there to flavor gravy? This recipe, via Food.com, eschews sausage in favor of bacon to add some wonderful smoky-salty-fattiness to the gravy. Serve atop canned biscuits for an easy breakfast in 20 minutes flat. Follow along with the recipe here.

Just because you're a vegan doesn't mean you can't chow down on some good old Southern cooking. Minimalist Baker has recipes both for vegan biscuits and a delicious vegan gravy that can be made from scratch in less than 30 minutes if you manage your time well. The gravy is a sumptuous mix of nutty almond milk and earthy mushrooms, and while it's not a traditional sausage gravy, it's still mouthwatering atop these flaky vegan biscuits. Plus, this recipe is only around 500 calories, so it's not even that bad for you! You can find the recipe here.

Few things go together better than sweet potatoes and maple syrup. So why not combine that duo with the tried-and-true pairing of biscuits and gravy? These sweet potato biscuits (and the peppery maple gravy that goes with them) can be whipped up in under a half hour, but for those of you who want to take more time, you can always make your sweet potato puree using cooked sweet potatoes instead of canned. You can follow along with the step-by-step instructions at theeggfarm.com.

One of the few problems with classic biscuits and gravy is that there aren't natural nooks on biscuits where delicious sausage gravy can pool. This recipe, via Kitchen Concoctions, solves that problem by preparing the biscuits in a waffle iron. The biscuits cook up crisp and golden in a very short time and offer the perfect vessel for a creamy, luscious sausage gravy. The full recipe can be found here.

For a (very slightly) healthier version of biscuits and gravy, why not try this recipe that tops canned biscuits with turkey sausage gravy instead of pork sausage? The fatty turkey provides more than enough flavor to elevate both the biscuits and the gravy, so much that you won't even notice the fact that there's no red meat in the gravy. Try the recipe here, via Taste of Home!

If you weren't already aware, having biscuits and gravy as a meal isn't the most healthy thing in the world, so why not go all out? Sarcasmically has a recipe for some mind-blowing deep-fried, gravy-filled biscuit balls, and though the recipe states that it takes an hour, you can save a half hour or more by using canned biscuit dough (and even jarred country gravy). The key is to be careful when wrapping the dough around the gravy and use only about a half teaspoon of gravy when filling them. You want to fry the balls at 275 degrees for about five minutes to ensure delicious golden-brown-ness, and then enjoy. The full recipe is here.