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| A roux based gravy made with tomatoes is traditional served over biscuits, but can be served with meatloaf, over rice, or spooned on grits, alongside fish and with some hushpuppies. |
Southern Homestyle Tomato Gravy
Southern Tomato Gravy is another one of our classic southern recipes, that goes great with those Sour Cream Biscuits I just posted a little earlier. Totally different from what our Northeastern Italian neighbors call Sunday Tomato Gravy {what we Down South call Tomato Sauce, or Creole Gravy, or more often, just Spaghetti Sauce} meant for pasta. This tomato gravy is the kind of gravy that us Southerners most traditionally love to eat over hot, and preferably homemade, southern buttermilk biscuits, like we do with our sausage gravy.There are dozens of ways to make tomato gravy - this is just one of them - and, as with most southern gravy, this one starts off with a roux. Now don't freak out about the tomatoes and cast iron thing. I cook everything, including tomato, in my cast iron... with just a couple of very basic "rules." Here, we just need a nice light roux, but you'll still need to keep a close watch over it and stir constantly, making sure to also take in from around the outside edges of the skillet so it doesn't burn. You're going for a nice beige coloring.
Once you add in the veggie and broth mixture and the roux has cooled a bit, you'll start adding in the milk. This is a fairly thick gravy, so start with 1 cup of milk and add more till you reach the consistency you like. And of course, you'll need some biscuits!
Hello.

If you love tomatoes, you will love tomato gravy spooned over hot biscuits! Give it a try and while you're at it, grab my recipe for homemade buttermilk biscuits, or mix it up and try these sour cream biscuits instead.
If you think this sounds yummy, I'd sure ♥ it if you'd click to pin it, tweet it, stumble it, or share it on Facebook to help spread the word - thanks!
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Recipe: Southern Homestyle Tomato Gravy
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 10 min | Yield: About 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
- 2 cups of chopped tomatoes, with liquid (about 3 medium)
- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of butter or bacon fat
- 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
- 1 to 2 cups of milk
- Kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper
- Commercial or homemade biscuits
Peel, seed and dice the tomatoes, reserving the juices. In a small pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil; add the tomatoes and juices, onion and green pepper, and let simmer while you prepare the roux.
In a separate skillet, heat the butter or bacon fat over medium heat; stir in the flour. Cook and stir over medium, stirring constantly, until roux reaches a light beige color. Quickly stir in the broth and tomato mixture, adding slowly, but continuously, until fully incorporated. Stir in the milk and season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until nicely thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve over hot biscuits, with meatloaf, over rice, or spooned on grits alongside some fried catfish and with some hushpuppies on the side.
Note: Can substitute 1 (14.5 ounce) can of stewed/diced tomatoes, undrained, or whole tomatoes, undrained, then chopped. Use a pair of kitchen shears to chop the tomatoes up right in the can. Double tomatoes if you prefer. Can also be made without the onion and bell pepper if desired.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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Well Heellloooooo Gorgeous!! Can you believe I've never tried tomato gravy!? I've always wanted to, though...and yours has set my mouth a-waterin'! I've bookmarked it and I'm gonna try it soon :D
ReplyDeleteWEll, Mary, I've never had tomato gravy before. Makes me wonder where I've been! I must say it looks extremely tasty over those homemade biscuits!
ReplyDeleteI need to try this, thanks for posting! I feel a biscuit and gravy meal coming on in our family's near future!
ReplyDeleteHey Mary,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for stopping by my blog. Now that I only have a small amount of comments I can try and visit some of the pages of those who have supported and sent their blessings out to me. I am so thankful of your support. Please tell all the moms and women you know about the new site. If you have a church home, please have them announce it as well. Again, just stopping by to show your page some love sis.
Man that food looks good. We finally found a soul food restaurant in our part of Houston, it was off the hook. Keep it up.
When my daughter was little, she loved me to make "bickets and red sauce". She still asks for it every now and then but she pronounces it correctly now!! I have never put milk in my tomato gravy--I'll have to try that now.
ReplyDeleteSheila in NC
haven't had tomato gravy on years... This looks great...gotta save the recipe...
ReplyDeleteBut a real Southern cook making a roux in an oven??? Hide quick, they will be coming for you
Truthfully, I have never heard of tomato gravy. It must have alluded me (unfortunately) during my 18 month occupation of the South. I admit, I'm a little skeptical of tomato gravy...but that only makes me want to try it more. If it has your endorsement, it must be good. Your recipes have yet to let me down.
ReplyDeleteHope you're having a good weekend!
I think I responded to all of ya at your blog or on email but I gotta address this "challenge" right here in the good ole comments themselves.
ReplyDeleteDave, Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave...
Last time I checked I pretty much think you'd have to classify me as a "real" southern cook considering
I was born and reared about as deep south as one can be, and I haven't been cooking all of my life anywhere BUT the south! So I guess I'd be comin' after myself LOL??!!
So now, don't you go beatin' up on my oven roux till ya at least give her a college try ya hear??! Then you come back here and tell me about it. ;)
P.S. This method ain't exactly unique to me. I learned it from a real southern cook!
this looks really good...Wonder how this would be a swiss steak gravy? We love gravy here at our house...I make it from scratch..like to try this one sometime....
ReplyDeleteI've never seen this before Mary, probably cause I live wayyyyy up here in Pa.! LOL!! Tomatoes are my favorite veggie so I know I'd love this, I have know doubt that it's delicious on biscuits! I love southern recipes, I mean love them. I'm so glad for your blogs so I can see how real southern cooks do it!
ReplyDeleteI grew up eatin catfish, grits and tomato gravy. There is a slight variation that my aunt and grandmother had that differs from your receipe and every other one I have looked up and that is okra, there was always okra in our tomato gravy. I have been looking at receipes cause unfortunately they have both passed away and I dont know their exact receipe, I will be trying your receipe and add the okra and hopefully it will be close, thanks for putting up this receipe and giving me a starting point for hopefully recreating my favorite childhood dish.
ReplyDeleteNow that is my kind of meal!! I need to add an okra and tomato version as a variation here. There are several ways to prepare it, so I hope that you find the one that you remember from your aunt and grandmother!
DeleteGrowing up my mom would make tomato gravy and biscuits. MY FAVORITE MEAL EVER!!! Unfortunately I am the only person in my house that likes tomatoes so I just make it for me :)
ReplyDeleteSame here LaVenia! My husband will eat tomato based sauces but he just doesn't have the same appreciation that I do for fresh tomatoes silly man!!
DeleteMy favorite meal growing up!!! Tomato gravy and hot biscuits. This would also be great over rice :).
ReplyDeleteI'm curious - I have a friend who likes Italian style spaghetti sauce, but who has bad reflux. Would this be a lower-acid recipe than regular spaghetti sauce, and could it be made to work acceptably with pasta?
ReplyDeleteHi Ursula & welcome! You know, I really don't know! I don't address dietary restrictions on my site because there are just simply too many, and I really can't speak to GERD or acid reflux & how to adapt recipes to be low acid. I have lots of readers who adapt recipes to specific dietary needs, but I really have no expertise so I leave that up to the individual. I do use sugar to counter acidity of tomatoes in some recipes, so not sure if that's a way that is used with low acid diets or not. Sorry I can't be of more help.
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