CHOCOLATE GRAVY
Chocolate Gravy is an old-fashioned recipe you will fall in love with and serve time and time again. It’s a delicious treat over biscuits, waffles, pancakes, etc. We love it over biscuits and have enjoyed it for many, many years.
We love this chocolate gravy on our cathead biscuits. They have hundreds of reviews and are a very popular recipe for a reason!
Table of contents
❤️WHY WE LOVE THIS RECIPE
This recipe was made by our Mother, and her Mother made it for her.. so it goes way back, which is one reason why we love it. Plus, it’s just delicious! I do have to laugh; every time I post this recipe on social media, someone confuses it with adding chocolate to sausage gravy. Not sure why that happens but this isn’t made with sausage gravy! This is a sweet chocolate sauce you pour over biscuits.
🍴KEY INGREDIENTS
- Sugar
- Cocoa
- All-purpose flour
- Carnation evaporated milk
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Vanilla
- Butter
- Nuts (optional)
SWAPS
Many people don’t add cinnamon, but it is how our family has made this recipe for many years, so we always use it. You can leave it out if you like, but it adds a great flavor. Nut’s are optional too.
🍽️HOW TO MAKE
This is a very simple recipe to make and only takes a little time. You can throw this together quickly on a weekend morning to enjoy with your biscuits.
COOKING STEPS
Step 1
In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, flour, and cinnamon and salt. With a wire whisk or spoon stir in milk a little at a time until ingredients are wet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. (This will burn easily so be sure to stir)
Step 2
Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour into a bowl and top with nuts if desired. Serve over warm biscuits.
⭐TIP
Always keep stirring when making this chocolate gravy, it will burn or stick quickly. This is also wonderful on pound cake!
HOW TO SERVE CHOCOLATE GRAVY
BISCUIT VARIATIONS
If you have followed our site for any amount of time, you know we LOVE our biscuits and have 30+ biscuit recipes. You may want to check out our biscuit Ebook. Here are a few easy recipes you may love:
❓FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
You didn’t cook it long enough. You really need to cook it until it is thick, which depending on the heat you use (we suggest medium heat) will how long that will take.
Yes, you absolutely can and heat it up in the microwave or on a low heat when you are ready to serve it.
STORING
We store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or you can freeze it for 3 months.
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SERVING SIZE
Makes about 2.5 cups of gravy.
Chocolate Gravy
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups carnation evaporated milk
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
- Nuts optional
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, flour, and cinnamon and salt. With a wire whisk or spoon stir in milk a little at a time until ingredients are wet.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. (This will burn easily so be sure to stir). Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour into a bowl and top with nuts if desired. Serve over warm biscuits.
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Have you tried this chocolate with PANCAKES ?? I’m about to right now !!
I haven’t but PLEASE report back!
My mom made this for breakfast with good old hot biscuits. I don’t think she had a recipe for it. She just pinched, poured and stirred it up. It was so good!
This like Mommie’s and Mamaw’s recipe… Could not figure out how to make it so Thank-you thank-you thank-you for taking my back to my family!!
You’re so welcome! We are thrilled you found this recipe.
Oh my goodness this is delicious ! Also amazing over ice cream ! Simple recipes are always the best , thank you for sharing this one
You are so welcome and we totally agree this gravy is wonderful on just about anything!
This is the best chocolate gravy recipe! Everyone loved it and the cathead biscuits were amazing. I love all of our recipes and just recently subscribed to your magazine. Keep up the great work ladies!
We are thrilled you love this recipe and thank you so much for subscribing to the magazine! Hope you love it.
my Great Grandma , Mama made this every morning for my Mom when she was growing up in the hills of Arkansas, Mom is 80 now, still works from home , running a very successful business.from Arkansas, in Alabama, i take care of Mom and my Brother, He has Dementia., i am going to make them some of your Cat Head Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy today, Thank you Ladies for the recipe
What fabulous memories!! We hope you enjoy the biscuits and gravy.
I did a double take when I saw the chocolate gravy recipe. That was my dad’s favorite gravy, but never saw it in print. Wow. I’m from Ky, but now live in Colorado. Anytime I mention Chocolate gravy, people think I’m nuts. My husband loves it. All good food was born in the South!!!
Carol Ault
Colorado
I was born in southeastern Ky but raised in northeastern Ohio, up by Lake Erie. My mother used to make what she called chocolate syrup for breakfast. I would break up her homemade biscuits on my plate, pour the milk gravy on top and then the chocolate syrup. Used to love this but haven’t had it since I was young. Thanks for bringing back the memories.
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you have this recipe. My grandmother made it for our family every Christmas! I am going to start the tradition with my kids. Thank you so much!
So glad you found the recipe and can renew this wonderful tradition!
Potatoes were the main staple of food (Irish family) when we were kids. My mom made the best fried potatoes and served with chocolate gravy on top. We loved it. Don’t knock it until you try it. My mother passed away before I could learn how to make the chocolate gravy. I’ve tried other recipes but this one is the one. Thank you.
I’m so glad you found a recipe that reminded you of your Mothers! I am definitely going to have to try it over fried potatoes.
Your comment reminds me of when I was a child and we would sometimes have caramel fried potatoes on a weekend. My mother made caramel gravy because we couldn’t afford cocoa unless we got some in our commodities. And we would pour the caramel gravy over fried potatoes. It was very good and I’m sure the chocolate is, too!
My mom used to make this for 10 kids & it was such a treat , I am going to make this for my family since you gave me the recipe . Thank you !!
I had never heard of Chocolate gravy until I saw your recipe. Made it for my husband and grown kids for a Sunday breakfast. It was so good. Thanks for the recipe. It’s a keeper.
Oh my gosh! I swear your website has every dish I grew up on! This is such a wonderful recipe and it has the cinnamon in it! Just like my Mother made. Thank you so much for sharing with us. My girls loved this as much as I did growing up.
We are so glad you found the recipe and enjoyed it! Thank you so much for the kind comment.
Made this delicious gravy for my kids this morning as a special treat to celebrate the school year ending. Followed this exact recipe and it was incredible!! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
So glad it was such a hit! We love this recipe too.
My husband gave us the recipe w/out the cinnamon he loves it when it gets cold he says it’s the best chocolate pudding there is.
I’m having it for supper tonight. My stepmother made this when I was a kid. I love chocolate and this is the best.
Maybe you should give it a try! We have been using this recipe for a long time too and this is the way we like it 🙂
My grandma made this for us and my mamma made this for us and I made it for my kids and now my kids make it for theirs. We just called it chocolate. It doesn’t get any better than this for breakfast!!
I’d like to make this for our family’s Christmas Eve brunch. How much does this recipe yield? I need enough for about 35 biscuits. Also is it okay to put in a crock pot?
This would make about 3 to 4 cups. Sorry, I have never tried putting it in a crock pot.
how is it warmed up for left-overs?
I remember my mom making this for breakfast, it was like a treat for us, she never added cinnamon, we could eat on all day, Wonderful memories, So delicious!
Miss Judy, as a southern girl born here in Tenn. but raised in Ohio, I was privileged to spend most of my summers here with my mamaw. This is the chocolate “gravy” she made for us “youngins” along with biscuits & fresh yard eggs. I have tried to replicate it through the years (my mama did not remember the amounts) with no success but yours is how I remember it so I’m going to make some for my husband and I tomorrow!
Thank you so much for this terrific site, it has brought many of my childhood memories back in such a pleasant way – thru familiar meals, “ism’s & anecdotes. We were poor but we always ate well, slept well, had a roof, clothes on our backs and shoes on our feet – except in the summer when barefoot was the only way to be!
My mamaw and mama passed many years ago but reading your blogs, stories & recipes make them seem close by and makes me feel like a kid again instead of 67. Thank you.
I came across your blog, and looked for chocolate gravy and lo and behold there it was. I remember the first time I had it. I was newly married to a man from AL. His aunt made chocolate gravy and served it with the lightest biscuits ummh. It made me want to try anything Southern.
My mother made this for us and we absolutely loved it. Hot biscuits and butter a must!
If you are a diabetic try making it with Splenda, same amount as sugar. Just don’t eat the whole pan. LOL.
This is the best gravy you will ever eat. I’m 72 now and I remember my Momma makeing this for us kids when we were little.
I’m making this again! I always come back to this post when I want to make it! Made it a dozen times so far 🙂
My mom made this for us when we were little. I was just thinking about this dish a week or so ago and didn’t remember how she made the gravy. Thank you for bringing a memory to life. I love, love, love your site. I am no longer living in the south, but there is no doubt the south still lives in me. Growing up in Virginia shaped me in all manner of ways. I am grateful for the gift of growing up southern,
This would be sooo good with pancakes! I always made pancakes and had different toppings to put on them for my kids, they loved it. They are grown up and on their own now but, I am going to try this as a surprise for the next family breakfast.
My Mother made this for us, but not with cinnamon in it. We put the butter on it individually as we chose and the amount. Gravies were always on our breakfast table of 2 adults and 6 kids. I also recall and “egg gravy” and a “tomatoe gravy”….. both were delicious with eggs and biscuits.
Both of my parents are from the South (TN &NC) and had chocolate gravy, and my Dad had egg butter, which sounds like may be your egg gravy, also served over biscuits. Good stuff!
THE SOUTHERN LADY, my MAMA made this, except with dumplings in it, have you ever heard of this? I would not eat because i did not like coco at the time —-now i do, but dont know the recipie could you help??
Sorry, I have never made it with dumplings.
Oh, thank you SO MUCH for this recipe! I was born and raised in Kentucky, but when we went to visit my grandmother in Alabama she’d make this for me every breakfast! It brings back so many good memories! She passed when I was 10, so I never got to get the recipe from her, and it seems like no one has ever heard of Chocolate gravy!
My mom made this for all if us when we were kids and now I make it for my son. When he has friends over, I make it for them and they all LOVE Chocolate Gravy!
My Aunt from Asheville, NC makes homemade chocolate dumplings with peanut butter in the center and they are excellent! Trying to learn how to make them!
Oh how us kids enjoyed this growing up in East Tennessee!!!
Born and raised near Charlotte NC and this was a staple in my family. My dad made it often. We ate it with Buttered Toast and it is still made when we all get together for Breakfast. This was usually made against my mom’s wishes!!! 🙂
This just totally made my day! Chocolate ‘n (“and” ‘cept said the Southern way) biscuits is a many generations favorite in our family. We use corn starch instead of flour and I prefer fresh raw whole milk (don’t like canned milk in anything!). Never hyped any of us up, just gets ya rarin’ to go for the day. Be careful not to hurt yourself tho, you will want more.
My boss was from Ga. She made it without the sugar or cinnamon.
My grandmother, bless her, made chocolate graveyard and pancakes for us every morning….all of the grands and friends love it and still make it for our kids and grands…She was born and raised in Louisiana as were most of us grands….I have found that it must have been a secret recipe as not many people knew of it. …..Yummmm to you !
I had an aunt in Nashville who would fix this with biscuits whenever I would come to visit. Very yummy.
I have made this for my children and grandchildren, we had our son that moved to Madison, Wisconsin several years ago. When we went to visit we had to make chocolate gravy and biscuits for him and his room mates. They also had never heard or eaten it. Hooked instantly.
I am also from Oklahoma. My mother made chocolate gravy for me when I was a child, too, but she always put it over waffles for breakfast. I haven’t had it in decades, but I still remember how good it was over a hot crispy waffle.
I also grew up eating chocolate gravy. My mom use to make it for us all the time. We would pour it over our biscuit and add a little butter. It was our favorite. It didnt get better than that for breakfast. She made it a little different thou, she didnt add cinnamon or use evaporated milk. Brings back great childhood memories. Also we go over on weekends as adults and she will still fix it for us.
That’s how my mom made it too for us 4 kids. Loved it!
My 1st husband from southeast OK told me about chocolate gravy about 1962. I had never heard of it and asked him how to make it. He told me to make regular white gravy and add cocoa to it. It was awful! The next time we saw his Mother, I asked her how to make it. She said just use the recipe for hot cocoa on the Hershey’s Cocoa can and thicken it with flour. We still laugh about that ‘chocolate gravy.’
My Granny raised me on Chocolate Gravy and biscuits and also Chocolate Syrup on pancakes. And now since I am a Nana myself, my grandbaby is getting this delicious treat. We make it often here in Oklahoma.
I had this for the 1st time when I was in 5th grade, at my friends grandmothers. I thought they were all crazy, until I tried it! I instantly fell in love and my mom has made it for me as a special birthday breakfast every year since. I am now 36 and she brings me a plate to work. She said that her mom made this a lot when she was a kid because it was cheap, they were poor and had 7 kids to feed. She doesn’t like it because they had it so much and I guess that’s why she never made it for us. I sure am glad I went to my friends grandmothers for the weekend. This is my all time FAVORITE!
Oh my heck (that’s what we say in Utah). Anyhow, I grew up in AZ and my best friend’s mom used to make chocolate gravy and bisquits. She was from Jackson, Miss. To this day I love southern cooking. She also made red eye gravy with coffee (I think). By the way, I do believe I was born in into the wrong family (Mex/Am). I think in my other life I was a true southerner. 🙂
When I first met my ( unknown to me at the time)future husband ( a Kentucky boy)we were discussing his favorite foods over chicken and dumplings and he told me about Chocolate Gravy. I gave it a shot without a recipe and it was wonderful. I have found I can easily use less sugar and it still taste great! We love it on pancakes with fresh strawberries, and on ice cream. My husband tells everyone he married me for my homemade chicken n dumplings and my chocolate gravy! Easily a family favorite right up there with sweet tea.
I’m so surprised at the negative comments by those who have never tried chocolate gravy. I hadn’t heard of it either until I started dating my husband 30+ years ago. His mom fixed it once when I was over there and I was hooked. I, like many others, didn’t think it sounded appetizing but all it takes is one taste and you’re hooked.
AMEN! I just cant believe the number of people who wont even try it and give it a chance, sorry to be them!
I was born in KY. and lived there most of my life and this the first time ! ever heard of chocalate gravy and I am 62 now. I’ll have to ask my mom as she was born and raised there too.
Not being a big fan of chocolate (I like it now and then) I doubt I’d like this too much but I LOVE peanut butter gravy over biscuits or over a plate of burgers, mashed ‘taters and Suthin’ green beans!!! However, I have a friend who loves chocolate so I might make this for her!
Would love to know how to make the peanut butter gravy!
How do you make peanut butter gravy?
This just not sound appetizing at all. Chocolate on Bisquits…let’s stick with Red Eye Gray, honey, or sausage gravy.
When I was first married, my husband asked me to make him pancakes and chocolate syrup. I had never heard of such a thing. I had to call his Mom and ask her how she made it. It’s a syrup as opposed to a gravy…just sugar, cocoa powder, flour and water. I still can’t bring myself to eat it with pancakes but my DH loves it. His grandma used to make it every morning for the farm crew(aka family). Apparently it is filling and gave them lots of energy to get out and work. 😉
Chocolate syrup is what we had growing up. Mother never made it into a gravy–just a thick syrup. I still make it every now and then for myself and my daughter and granddaughter who live with me. It’s so good on top of a hot buttered biscuit!
I am 53 years old and have eat Chocolate gravy since I was a kid… may mom is 80 and ate it as a kid too…. LOVE LOVE LOVE chocolate gravy over hot biscuits with a big dob of butter on top!!! Does not get any better!!!!! Never had it with cinnamon though????
Just found your site, from a posting on facebook. I, too, grew up with chocolate gravy and bisquits. We fix ours a little different than the recipe posted here, never tried it with cinnamon, but am very sure it would be delicious! We eat ours over bisquits and link sausage.Yummm. For many years, I thought this was something my made up, until i found another person in my hometown that had treid it.
Did a search online many years ago, and was shocked to see it all over the place, not just here in WV.
Like the recipes, have put you in my favs and gonna send my daughter your site.
Thank you Jackie. So happy you like the recipes and happy to have you on the site, too. Have a great weekend.
Chocolate gravy has a special place in our family….I was raised in the South and have lived my whole life in the South but never heard of chocolate gravy until I married. My husband’s grandmother shared her recipe as it was my husband’s favorite food. It became a regular at our breakfast table on weekends when my son was growing up. When he joined the Marines and deployed to Iraq he sent me an email that the first meal he wanted when he got back home was Mama’s Chocolate Gravy and homemade biscuits and yes, that is exactly what he got too. Just found your blog and I’m really enjoying ti. Brings back alot of memories.
Welcome Boadecia! So happy you found me and happy to have you here. Thank you for the wonderful comment. Have a great week.
Hello, I just corrected the recipe adding the salt when you add flour, cinnamon, etc. I seldom use the salt as I am not a salt person. You can leave it out. Thank you for bringing this to my attention and I hope you enjoy the recipe.
OMGosh! How I ADORE chocolate gravy! Growing up, my best friends mother was from North Dakota and would make it on occasion. She passed her recipe on to my mother and she to me. Its a much simpler recipe, but yours sound wonderful and I will definitely have to try it:)
Christina, Thanks for coming by. My family loves chocolate gravy, too, especially my 4 year old grandson! Have a great week.
Just saw your recipe for chocolate gravy! I am from Louisiana, and had never heard of “chocolate gravy”, until I visited my cousin one summer in Pulaski, Tennessee. They live on a large tobacco farm, and got up really early every morning. They also had dairy cows, and other farm animals.One morning at about 5 am, I awoke to the most awesome aroma of warm cocoa & fresh butter simmering on the stove. My aunt served her special chocolate gravy over hot homemade biscuits, with a side of scrambled eggs- fresh from hen house & Tennessee ham fresh from their smoke house. She topped it off with fresh milk from their dairy cow. I have to say, it was the best thing I had ever tasted! She sure knew how to get a reluctant city girl out of bed, and off to help pull weeds out of the tobacco patch! Thanks for sharing this recipe! It brought back sweet memories of my family & my youth. My family will love it! -Tina
Tina, I enjoyed your comment so much. Chocolate gravy is a treat with my family. Children love it. Your comment brought back memories of the farm to me as well. I hope you and your family have a great New Year and thank you for stopping by to visit me.
I never tried it and only recently even heard of it, but I am diffineatly going to make it for my grandsons one of these mornings (we won’t tell mom)
Donna, Your grandsons will love it! Merry Christmas.
My grandmother, rest her soul, made chocolate gravy for me as a young child and now I fix it for my family. There is nothing like chocolate gravy with breakfast.
Christine, I love it, too! My problem is, I try to eat it all when I make it. Chocolate gravy with hot biscuits just can’t be beat!
It is wonderful with bacon or with mini marshmallows in it. I have 29 cousins and las year, myaunt invited us in groups for chocolate gravy and biscuits since that was what we all grew up with.
This so reminds me of my childhood. My mother would occasionally make chocolate gravy and biscuits as a special treat. She never had a recipe, like may of the special things she made, so I don’t either. I want to try this for my kids…for special occasions of course. Thanks for the recipe!
i have never had chocolate gravy with biscuits but i love it on scrambled eggs my grandparents used to cook it i will have to try it on biscuits
Hi Tiffany, I have never put it on eggs but will try it your way, too. Thanks for coming by and leaving a comment. Have a great week.
Oh My! My idea of breakfast 🙂 A little coffee and I’d be wired til noon…..
we had puddin’ and it was the same as your gravy more or less but we did not eat it for breakfast. coca was one of the few items we had in out pantry. I was amazed to read there was going to be a world shortage of chocolate by 2012.
truth be told we mdidn’t have a pantry. we had a kitchen safe and that was all the room we needed for our food supplies.
when we were young we had coco to drink for breakfast. milk, coco and sugar.
I’m like Balisha, Judy…I’d never heard of chocolate gravy! But it sounds wonderful. (As do your buttermilk biscuits!)