Ramp Gravy Recipe

A creamy gravy flavored with ramps, perfect for biscuits or mashed potatoes.

Updated April 17, 2023

Why It Works

This intensely-flavored béchamel comes together in around ten minutes.

I told you about the time I caused a box of Popeye's biscuits to be quarantined and greedily devoured was forced to eat every last one myself. The morning after the morning after the big breakfast sandwich-athon, I realized that not only did I still have a few biscuits and slices of cheese remaining, but I also had a few dozen ramps (a permanent fixture in my crisper during the all-too-short season of my favorite vegetable), a bit of heavy cream (leftover from a recent crème fraîche-making binge), and major hankering for some Southern comfort.

You can probably see where this is going.

Cream gravy, made with a blond roux, onions, cream, and plenty of black pepper is a natural partner for buttery mashed potatoes, chicken-fried steak, or yes, biscuits. After all, what goes better with fatty starch* than a bit of starchy fat?

*and in case anyone was wondering, yes, chicken-fried steak counts as fatty starch with a bit of token beef thrown in for good measure

It's really nothing more than an intensely-flavored French béchamel (that's white sauce for you Francophobes), and it takes all of ten minutes to make properly—just about the time it takes to properly re-heat a biscuit and fry up an egg. It's the right thing to do. Your breakfast will thank you, I promise.

May 2013

Recipe Details

Ramp Gravy Recipe

Active 10 mins

Total 10 mins

Serves 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
6 ramps, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups light cream (heavy cream, half and half, or milk can be used in its place)
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt

Directions

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add ramps and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk until golden blond, about 4 minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in cream. Add black pepper. Whisking frequently, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, whisking frequently, until thickened, about 1 minute after it reaches a boil. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Serve ramp gravy over biscuits, fried chicken or chicken fried steak, or mashed potatoes.