You Only Need 5 Ingredients To Make This Classic Creamed Chipped Beef Recipe!

Okay, OK, let’s be real for a minute — have you ever tasted a plateful of Classic  on toast? If your answer is yes, you — well, you’re likely already nodding along: steamy plate of

saly beef  swimming in creamy gravy on top of a hunk of fatty toast or a warm biscuit. If you answered no … well, buddy, break out your culinary time machine.

This Classic Creamed Chipped Beef dish? It’s pure comfort food. It tastes like Saturday mornings at Grandma’s — strong coffee and your grandparents telling you back in my day stories while you enjoyed a warm plate of the good stuff with a pat of butter melting on top. And it’s been a menu feature in military mess halls and diners since way back — like, over-a-century-back. And sure, it’s occasionally burdened with the unfair nickname “S.O.S” (you know the one), but don’t let that scare you away.

What Is Classic Creamed Chipped Beef, Anyway?

In brief, it’s dried beef — generally the kind that comes in those tiny glass jars — chopped, browned and then simmered in a white cream gravy. That’s it. Nothing fancy. Only five items, ten minutes, and some stinkin’ love (and sodium, let’s get real).

It’s salty. It’s creamy. It sticks to your ribs. And it makes me feel as if I’m wrapped in a flannel blanket, even if I’m just eating this classic dish straight from the pan at 2 p.m. in my sweats. (Don’t judge.)

My “There’s-Nothing-Special-About-It” Creamed Chipped Beef

So here’s how I do it — nothing fancy, nothing fussy. Just how I remember creating the classic dish.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz jar dried beef (you can pick it up near the canned tuna— I promise)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

• 2 cups whole milk

• Salt and black pepper (and be generous with the pepper)

Optional flair if you’re in the mood: a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a sprinkle of garlic powder, perhaps even a pinch of cayenne if you feel like on… hallah!

Instructions:

1. Chop and brown the beef.

Throw the beef in a shallow skillet, and give it a minute or two over medium heat. Just to lightly brown the edges, while creating a Classic Creamed Chipped Beef flavor.

2. Make your roux.

Lift out the beef, then melt the butter in the same pan and whisk in the flour until it makes a smooth, golden paste. This is the foundation of your gravy — and yes, it smells incredible.

3. Pour in the milk.

Slowly whisk in your milk. No dumping it all at once! We want smooth and creamy here, not ropey weirdness. Keep going until it thickens — 3 to 5 minutes seems to be about right for a perfect Classic Creamed Chipped Beef sauce.

4. Bring the beef back.

Return the cooked beef to the sauce. Allow it to simmer another few minutes while you toast your toast (or biscuits or fried potatoes; you do need something to mop up that classic gravy).

5. Season and serve.

Taste, adjust if necessary for salt (the beef may be salty enough on its own), and pile in with the black pepper. I enjoy it so peppery that it bites back a bit, just how this Classic Creamed Chipped Beef should be enjoyed.

And there you have it. A hot and creamy and peppery plate of nostalgia.