Cornbread Biscuits with Green Chili Sausage Gravy

A blue and white enamel plate with yellow corn biscuits and gravy speckled with roasted poblano peppers on a wooden table top.

5 from 4 votes

Cornbread Biscuits with Green Chili Sausage Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy – with a twist! Warm, fluffy cornbread biscuits smothered with creamy, country-style sausage gravy infused with roasted poblano peppers.

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, Southern American

Servings:

Calories: 642kcal

Author: Leigh Anderson

Ingredients

Cornbread Biscuits

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely ground cornmeal
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter diced
3/4 cup buttermilk

Green Chili Sausage Gravy

2 large poblano chilis or three anaheim/hatch chilis
1 pound pork breakfast sausage
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup minced chives or scallions for serving

Instructions

Cornbread Biscuits

Preheat the oven 400F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silpat. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, salt and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Toss the pieces of butter into the flour mixture to coat. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the mixture is mealy and small pieces of pea-size butter remain.
Next, pour in the buttermilk. Using a wooden spoon or fork, fold the ingredients together until the the dough is just combined but still slightly shaggy. Being careful not to overmix the dough. If the dough feels too dry to work with, add 1-2 tablespoons buttermilk, as needed.
Use a cookie scoop or two large spoons to portion 6 mounds of dough onto the prepared baking tray, leaving at least 1½ inches of space between each mound. Lightly brush the tops with buttermilk and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Green Chili Sausage Gravy

Place the poblano chiles directly on the grate of a gas burner and turn the heat to high. Cook, using heatproof tongs to turn the chiles so they blister and blacken on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. See notes section below for an alternative oven-roasting method. Transfer the charred peppers to bowl or tray and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Let the peppers to steam until they are cool enough to handle, about 10-15 minutes. Once they're cool the skin will slide right off easily. Remove the skin by wiping them with a clean towel. A little char left behind is perfectly fine and adds a bit of smokey flavor. Cut away and discard the stems, seeds and any of the white stringy insides. Finely dice the remaining pepper, set aside.
Set a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat and cook the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it is loose and no longer pink, approximately 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour and a few turn of black pepper over the sausage and cook, stirring frequently, until the flour has been absorbed by the fat, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly stir in the milk and roasted chilis, cook at a very low simmer until the gravy gets thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If it is too thick for your liking add more milk and stir. Taste and add more salt/pepper as needed.
To serve, divide the biscuits between plates, top with generous spoonfuls of sausage gravy, garnish with chopped chives (optional) and black pepper.

Notes

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:

- All Purpose Flour: If you want to make these biscuits gluten-free and 1-1 gluten-free flour blend will work just fine for both the biscuits and the gravy.
- Buttermilk: Check out my buttermilk substitute suggestions here: Three Ways to Make Buttermilk
- Breakfast Sausage: Pork breakfast sausage is what I recommend for sausage gravy. You can of course substitute chicken or turkey sausage. You could, in a pinch also use a mild Italian pork sausage, in that case I would add in a bit of fresh or dried sage and a tsp of brown sugar to give it more of a traditional breakfast sausage flavor.
- Green Chilis: Poblanos are my go-to for this recipe. They're mild but flavorful. Hatch green chilis are great too, as well as Anaheim chilis. If you want more heat in the gravy add some fresh jalapeño or a few teaspoons of hot sauce.

How to Oven-Roast Peppers: Place the peppers on a baking tray then roast them in a preheated 475 F oven until the skins are soft and slightly charred, about 20-25 minutes for large bell peppers or 10-15 for the minis.

Nutrition