Creamed Chipped Beef Recipe

This classic Creamed Chipped Beef recipe is easy to make in just a matter of minutes for a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meal. Made with common kitchen ingredients, this is a recipe you can make on the fly.

Creamed Chipped Beef

Fast and easy meals are my mantra right now with school back in session. Even though we’re learning from home at the moment, I feel like the days are even more jam packed and hurried.

I’ve been making our favorite comfort foods to get us back into a rhythm of busy school days and this Creamed Chipped Beef on toast is on the menu for the rest of the year.

Ingredients

• Butter – Salted butter is used to create the roux. Mixed with flour, it helps thicken the cream sauce.
• Flour – A pantry staple, all-purpose flour helps tighten up the sauce.
• Milk – Whole milk, low-fat milk or half and half create a creamy sauce. Make it rich by substituting the milk with heavy cream and adding 4 ounces of cream cheese cut into cubes.
• Seasonings – Garlic Powder, salt, black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg make this recipe the best ever. You can add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a little spice, too.
• Chipped Beef – Also know as, dried beef, it can be sold in a package or a jar at your grocery store. If you can’t find chipped beef, you can make this with ground beef. Just be sure to brown the beef before making the sauce and drain the beef well on a plate lined with a paper towel. It’s not exactly the same but it’s still super tasty.

For the full ingredient list and instructions, see the recipe card below.

What is Creamed Chipped Beef?

Creamed Chipped Beef is a classic recipe made of a creamy white sauce that’s very much like a creamy Bechamel Sauce. It’s lightly seasoned and blankets pieces of dried beef, also known as chipped beef, that’s made of thin slices of pressed, salted meat.

Most often served over toast, it’s equally amazing served over eggs or a pile of mashed potatoes.

Creamed Chipped Beef is also known as SOS gravy or “shit on a shingle” because of it’s appearance and was popular in the mess halls of our military of World War II. It’s very much like sausage gravy but without the sausage, of course.

Now, we just like to enjoy it on a Sunday morning or for an easy weeknight dinner.

How To Make Creamed Chipped Beef

Creamed Chipped Beef on toast is really simple to make and only takes just a few minutes to whip up making it a great weeknight dinner option.

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Whisk the flour into the melted butter and cook until the flour turned golden brown.
3. Stir in the milk, garlic powder, nutmeg, salt and pepper, whisking constantly over medium-low heat, until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.
4. Add the chopped beef and stir to combine.
5. Toast the bread.
6. Spoon the chipped beef gravy over the toast and serve.

For a perfect toast recipe, add white bread to a toaster and toast for 3-4 minutes.

Tips for Perfect Gravy

I’ve been making SOS gravy for a REALLY long time and have a few tips to share so you can achieve the BEST Creamed Chipped Beef ever.

• Fresh chipped beef from your deli is best but you can find jars of chipped beef with your canned meats.
• If using shelf stable beef, you can soak your chipped beef for ten minutes in water to remove some of the saltiness. It’s not necessary but it will help keep your gravy from being overly sodium packed. Just be sure to pat the beef dry with a paper towel so it doesn’t water down the creamy sauce.
• To make your gravy extra creamy, we use Half and Half in place of the milk. It just gives it a richer flavor without going full tilt with heavy cream.
• To reheat leftovers, add a bit of milk to the gravy before heating on the stovetop over low heat.

You can round out the meal with a crisp green wedge salad or a pile of green beans to make it a little less heavy….I mean, it’s a lot of cream. It’s definitely not a healthy dinner but everything in moderation, right?

It’s a lot like this easy Sausage Gravy we make almost every week!

How to Serve Chipped Beef

While we do love it over toast, here are a few other things you can serve it on top of.

• The Best Mashed Potatoes
• How to Cook Jasmine Rice
• Buttermilk Biscuits
• Homemade Garlic Bread
• The Best Hash Browns

More Easy Beef Recipes

If you love this recipe, be sure to try this amazing and quick Beef Picadillo. It’s packed with Cuban flavor and the kids just love it.

We also love this easy Mulligan Stew which is a great way to use up leftovers or try this easy Beef Stroganoff….which is lighter than most stroganoff recipes!

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