Although I grew up in the South, I’d never heard of chocolate gravy until I traveled to Indiana to visit relatives one summer in the early 1990s. Apparently, it’s a Southern tradition to smother your flaky biscuits in creamy chocolate gravy, but it took a Northerner to introduce me to this decadent morning meal.

I was only a pre-teen back then, so I wasn’t so interested in learning the recipe myself. However, I do remember requesting that my mom find out the secret and bring it back to Arkansas for our breakfasts.

Ever the recipe collector, my mom did just that. She passed the recipe on to me when I was putting together my soon-to-be-published Southern vegan cookbook, Cookin’ Crunk: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South.

With one minor substitution, the recipe was easily veganized. Whip up some whole wheat biscuits and a batch of this gravy for a scrumptious brunch treat.

Chocolate Gravy Ingredients:

• 1 cup plant milk (soy, almond, hemp, coconut)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
• 2 Tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. soy margarine

Preparation:

1. Stir together the milk and vanilla in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine the evaporated cane juice, flour, and cocoa powder. Mix well. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until the cocoa lumps are dissolved.
3. Melt the margarine in a small saucepan on medium heat. Pour in cocoa-milk mixture and stir continuously until sauce begins to thicken. When the mixture has reached a gravy-like consistency, turn off heat.