Recipe: Vegan Biscuits with Chocolate Gravy

I took some extra time off work after the holidays, so I have the time to share one of my favorite childhood breakfasts, veganized!

Biscuits and chocolate gravy!

Wait, what?

If you've been reading Food for Dissertating for a while, you probably know that I'm not from the northeastern region where I now live; nope, I grew up in Oklahoma. And Oklahoma has it's own version of an Appalachian classic: biscuits with chocolate gravy. In Oklahoma, it is not a gravy at all, really. As I was researching this stuff because I had a craving, I learned that in Appalachia, they apparently make it like any other gravy--a roux made of hot fat and flour and then with a liquid added, and they often put bacon in it. (What!?) That is not my chocolate gravy.

No, instead, Oklahomans made a kind of hot chocolate pudding and called it gravy, and thank goodness, because it's amazing. My mother made it with actual cook and serve pudding mix and biscuits in a can about twice per month, and there were never any leftovers. I don't feel my best eating stuff like this very often anymore, but this time of year we all get nostalgic.

Note that as pudding rather than gravy per se, you can't be stingy with it, which is why it is best served in a bowl, with the biscuits all torn up into bite size pieces, and enough gravy for them to swim in.

The origins of this dish are mysterious, but it bears some resemblance to a Mexican mole sauce. Anyway, here's how to make it. This is a recipe for one but feel free to double, triple, or quadruple it. This is very forgiving in that way. I was inspired by this omnivore recipe, which I scaled down and veganized.

Vegan Biscuits with Chocolate Gravy
Serves 1

1 hot biscuit
4 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup soy milk (or whatever non-dairy milk you have on hand)
1 teaspoon vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk cocoa powder, flour, and sugar in a bowl until well mixed. Whisk in soy milk until smooth. Pour this mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens to the consistency of gravy. Turn off heat. Whisk in the butter and vanilla until the butter has melted.

Tear hot biscuit into bite sized chunks in a serving bowl. Pour gravy over the biscuit. Serve immediately. (Note that the gravy gets a skin on it as it cools; some people like this but I always hated it so the immediately part is important to me.)

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Comments

  1. OH MY GOODNESS GET IN MY MOUTH!
    Definitely have to give this a try.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you love it! I'd normally say I hope you like it. But I really do hope you LOVE this.

      Delete
  2. What a fabulous idea to serve a sweet gravy with light and fluffy biscuits. That is definitely comfort food! Family recipes like this are the best!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hooray for nostalgia food; it sounds like such a fun breakfast!

    ReplyDelete

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