Creamed Chipped Beef Gravy on Toast Recipe (S.O.S.)

How to make Creamed Chipped Beef from scratch, in just 10 minutes! This creamy classic chipped beef gravy is the perfect easy breakfast to serve over toast, biscuits and more!

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The Best Creamed Chipped Beef Gravy on Toast!

This creamed chipped beef recipe combines tangy, salty dried beef crisped in butter with a creamy white sauce for an quick and easy breakfast the whole family will enjoy!

The creamy bechamel sauce comes together quickly and easily, for the perfect sos gravy! This is my kind of comfort food! I grew up with this recipe, and looked forward to my mom making it on weekend mornings, served over crispy toast.

You can serve the Creamed Chipped beef simply over white toast, or make it fancy and use rye toast, homemade biscuits, or even toasted English muffins! I also love a side of bacon and a fried egg alongside the dish, too!

This recipe makes the perfect Sunday morning hearty meal, and it one of my favorite meals for brunch! 

What sets this recipe apart

Crisping the chipped beef prior to making the roux for the gravy (cream sauce) really sets this recipe apart, adding a bold flavor to the finished gravy, and better texture to the cooked chipped beef!

Ingredients

How to make creamed chipped beef, the easy way, with minimal ingredients! Here's what you'll need:

• Butter. You can use unsalted butter, or salted butter. Keep in mind that the dried beef is very salty. Because of this, I usually prefer to use unsalted butter for this recipe.
• All-purpose flour. This will act as the thickening agent for the gravy. be sure it's fully incorporated into the butter and chipped beef to avoid a lumpy gravy.
• Milk. You can use whole milk or 2% milk for this recipe! Either makes a perfectly creamy sauce.
• A package of dried beef. I prefer Knauss brand. You can find this is the cold breakfast meat section of your grocery store. Be sure to get "dried beef", not "creamed chipped beef", as you'll be making your own gravy. I find the dried beef gives the best flavor, and I am not a huge fan of canned or jarred dried chopped beef.
• Freshly ground black pepper, or mixed peppercorns. I like the added bite a touch of pepper adds to the gravy.
• Optional: fresh or dried chives, for garnish. These add a nice, herbal quality to the finished dish, and look pretty, too!

How to Make Creamed Chipped Beef Gravy on Toast

This easy Creamed Chipped Beef on toast recipe comes together start to finish in about 10 minutes, making it a super easy breakfast or brunch indulgence for any day of the week! Here's how to make this chipped beef with creamy white gravy:

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan.
2. While butter melts, cut dried beef in half lengthwise, and then crosswise into ¼” to ½” strips. 
3. Once butter is melted, add beef to the pan with melted butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp,  3-5 minutes. 
4. Reduce heat to low, and add flour gradually and stir to combine, making sure all flour is fully incorporated. Cook 3o seconds, stirring occasionally. 
5. Add milk a little at a time, stirring constantly until all milk is added. (Adding it gradually at first will help prevent a lumpy gravy). 
6. Add in black pepper and stir. 
7. Cook gravy, stirring occasionally until thickened, 2-3  minutes. 
8. While Creamed Chipped Beef thickens, prepare your toast. 
9. Spoon cream chipped beef over toast, and top with additional black pepper and fresh or dried chives, if desired. (see recipe card below for full instructions and ingredients list).

How to serve Creamed Chipped Beef

While creamed chipped beef is traditionally served over toast, it can also be served over bagels, English muffins, biscuits, or home fries.

This recipe also goes great alongside a side of bacon or fried eggs, or some hash browns!

A delicious, nostalgic breakfast recipe

Creamed Chipped Beef, or S.O.S., is a super nostalgic and simple breakfast recipe that I grew up eating, and looked forward to my mom making on Saturday mornings growing up! It's classic comfort food, and is right up there with sausage gravy on my list of favorite breakfast recipes for the weekend.

The earliest known recipe for creamed chipped beef on toast was in the 1910 Manual for Army Cooks, according to this article.

The dish became known as "SOS" during World War II, and the nickname is thought to have come from phrases like "Save Our Souls" or "Same Old Slop", or as my mother called it, "Shit on a Shingle".

What is chipped beef?

Creamed Chipped Beef is a dish made with dried beef, cooked in a creamy white sauce, or béchamel sauce (made from a simple roux) and traditionally served over toast. It also goes by S.O.S. (Shit on a Shingle) and was a popular meal served in the US military.

The dried chipped beef is typically made from a lean cut of beef, like beef round, that is brined, cured, and air-dried. When incorporated with the creamy sauce, the beef is rehydrated, and takes on a softer and more palatable texture.

Substitutions and Additions

This easy Creamed Chipped Beef is easily adapted to work with what's available in your local grocery store and your pantry and refrigerator. Here are some great substitutions and additions you can use to make this recipe your own.

• Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little heat!
• if you can't find Knauss brand dried beef,  Buddig brand beef is a good second option for chip beef. I do not recommend jarred dried beef. 
• if you're concerned about the salt content, be sure to use unsalted butter. This recipe does not call for any additional salt, as the salty beef is all you need.
• Add a pinch of garlic powder or onion powder for a little added flavor boost.
• If you want to try something other than a piece of toast, you can serve the creamed chipped beef over homemade biscuits, canned biscuits, english muffins, or even croissants!
• Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce to up the flavor.
  Top with thinly sliced green onions or chives for a little extra flavor and color. 

Storing and reheating

Leftovers (if you have any!) can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

To reheat the Creamed Chipped Beef, heat it over low heat in a medium saucepan until warmed through, adding a bit of milk as necessary to thin it out (it will become thicker when stored). I always like to add a little milk to start, then add more as needed so it doesn't come out too thin when reheated.

More great breakfast recipes

If you love this classic Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast recipe, you'll love these great breakfast recipes, too!

• Chorizo Sausage Gravy.
• Creamed Chipped Scrapple.
• Easy Hasbrown Breakfast Casserole.
• Huevos Rancheros Cast Iron Breakfast Skillet.

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