Creamy Chipped Beef on Toast
Beef,  Breakfast,  Kids,  Nueske's,  Sauce

Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast

Creamed chipped beef on toast is never going to look pretty, either on the plate in front of you, or in a photo. Well, I think my photo looks pretty darn good. But let’s face it, creamed chipped beef on toast is so, so good. It actually reminds me a lot of the classic biscuits and gravy, and what’s not to love about that one?

Recently I was honored to have Nueske’s deliver some of their delicious products. Everything from sausages, to bacon, and their smoked beef slices. I was floored because I have never seen the Nueske’s smoked beef slices at any grocery store, so I was super excited to give it a try. Grocery stores take note. Order and stock this stuff because it is awesome!

I immediately opened the sliced beef and fell in love with it, as did my kids, and coworkers. It was that great Nueske’s smoke, and just has you wanting more. As I continued to eat another slice, my coworker came up with the idea to make creamed chipped beef on toast. What better could this be but to add some of this great smoked beef flavor to a classic dish.

Creamed Chip Beef on Toast Recipe
Creamed Chip Beef on Toast Recipe

Let’s get started.

  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup Nueske’s beef slices, chopped
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 slices of Texas Toast, toasted
  • cracked black pepper, to taste

That’s it. Pretty darn simple.

Start by melting the butter in a skillet on medium heat. Once it begins to melt, toss in the chopped beef slices. Stir, and get the beef a bit crispy along the edges. Once you have that complete then toss in the flour, and continue to stir to incorporate all of the flour and cook it at the same time, about a minute or so.

Ingredients for making Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast
Ingredients for making Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast

Next, pour in the milk, and continue to stir for a few minutes. The sauce will now thicken. Add some cracked pepper. Continue to cook for a few minutes, then you are ready to pour over the toast.

Stack the toast, and pour everything over the toast.

Creamy Chipped Beef on Toast
Creamy Chipped Beef on Toast

This is a stick to your ribs kind of breakfast for sure. The creamy gravy softens the toast, and when cutting into it and swiping up the gravy, well you kind of close your eyes and fall in love. The smokiness of the sliced beef, just lightly caramelized, adds the perfect balance to this recipe. Thanks Nueske’s for inspiring me to make this great recipe! Hope you enjoy!

76 Comments

  • Cheryl DeMorrow

    Love this – my family use to make it all the time when I was growing up, except we called it Shit on the Shingles. Either way it is a good dish either for breakfast or supper, which is when we make it. Thanks

  • Dan

    OR
    Brown 1/2 lb lean ground beef or pork sausage in 1 tbsp. butter or oil.
    Add 2 tbsp. flour and stir on low until all is damp, brown flour if desired.
    Increase heat to med and stir in add 1 cup milk until gravy consistency.
    salt and pepper to taste.
    Spoon over any toasted bread, English muffins, or biscuits.

  • Charles Jones

    Now 85 years old, and counting, I was introduced to Creamed Chipped Beef and Biscuits/Toast in my childhood, Depression years in which my father worked two shifts at The Full House chili restaurant in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, and spent his day shift lunch time selling pencils on the corner by the County Courthouse. Of course, to a child, the warm, steamy biscuits ladled with chipped beef gravy was a special treat, not to be demeaned by vulgar titles. My mother sometimes cozied a poached egg on the plate as well. It is a week-end breakfast meal that I most associate with my early childhood, fondly. . . almost reverently. Thanks for the memory-trip back to a gentler time.

    • LEWIS H WALKER

      Thanks for your memories. Mine don’t include the crass title either, and I have friends and relatives from KS and CA who never heard or used the title–just creamed chipped beef on biscuits.

      • John Witzell

        The SOS name came from GIs eating it in mess halls. My Mom fixed it for us all of the time as my Dad loved it from his military years. During my time we called it SOS but it was made from ground beef. I still make both and love it over toast!

  • Roland

    My parents were raised in the Great Depression. This was a special treat, usually on Saturday mornings, for breakfast. Sometimes it was served with “oleo” since that was the spread of the 1950’s on either toast or homemade biscuits. I still like it today. I can usually find a different brand than the one you use, but I still like my “bread” dripping with BUTTER underneath the gravy. SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD!

  • Louise

    I attended a very upscale private all girls school in Simsbury CT and they served it for lunch! It was and still is one of my favorite meal memories!

  • Katie

    I grew up eating this as well. Growing up with just my mother, my dad passed away when I was little. It was a quick and easy meal. We would sometimes have it for dinner as well. On the really good days we would have it with fresh tomatoe slices. Thanks for reminding me of this. Sounds good and I may make some this weekend.

  • Allan Leeth

    I still have it using Armour dried beef in the jar just the way Mother made it when i was young. Sometimes tuna and gravy with peas on toast for dinner. I’m a texan. White gravy rocks!

    • Andrea

      We had it as kids too. With a large family and little money well you know what I mean. We loved it. I remember using the glass jars the meat came in for juice at breakfast. I saw one in the store my mouth started watering! I got one made it at home. It was almost to salty to eat. Was I supposed to rinse the meat off first? Buy it wasn’t like mom made.

    • Little General

      My Husband (USMC) and i are kids of depression era. To have SOS any time was a great meal. Unlike people today
      Food was not as plentiful and we were very appreciative of what was put on the table.
      Society today has fast food of every ethnicity at their fingertips/drive through windows. Lets hope that they can survive on what we had in the 40’s.

  • Kenneth Alford

    Creamed chipped beef on toast was my favorite lunch when I was growing up. For special treat my mom topped it with finely shredded cheese. As a grown up I love creamed chipped beef over fluffed baked potato. I always keep a jar of dried beef in my pantry for an “emergency” what-to-have-for-dinner, along with a vegetable.

  • Rosie Thorne

    My mother made this when I was a kid and I loved it. I make it now and have for years. Only, yes only, I make mine with sausage! The sausage gives it a very different flavor that I and my family love. Oddly I made it when my mother in law was with us during her final illness. She loved it and kept asking me what it was. So odd that a person who was around during WWll didnt know what it was.

  • Perry

    Had it for breakfast almost everyday while in the Army in Viet Nam. Read the recipe first appeared in the first Army cookbook ever published in 1910 by an Army General

    • Bruce Dahms

      I had it frequently (actually, not frequently enough) as well when I was in Vietnam. Our mess sergeant made it with ground beef and chopped onion. I still make it, usually for my lunch now that I’m retired, very often.

  • Connie

    I have made this often. I always boil my beef in water first drain it, and then add a little butter, ans floor to make a rue and put meat back in. Put a little milk and cook till thick. I like to put mine on freshly made biscuts.

    • jean

      absolutely love both the chipped beef and sausage gravy. only problem i have i cannot seem to make good gravies. my mother was good at all,even meat gravies with our roasted meats. even made many creamed vegetables. just love it!

      • Donna

        If using sausage – real easy to make good gravy! Fry the sausage, don’t drain the fat! After sausage is cooked, sprinkle flour over the meat/fat in the pan. I use enough flour to generously coat the meat and soak up the fat. Cook for a few minutes until just starting to brown. Then add milk. Start with about cup – then as it starts to warm and thicken, just add until it gets to the consistency you want. I always add some black pepper as well. I’ve never had any problems making the sausage gravy this way! 🌺

      • Nancy

        The easiest way to remember how to make gravy is use the same amounts of fat (butter, lard, fried sausage/beef fat) to flour.
        For example use 4 Tbsp butter to 4 Tbsp flour.

        For white gravy: Over medium-low heat melt 4 Tbsp butter, with a whisk stir in 4 Tbsp flour to make a roux. Cook for 3-5 minutes to cook the flour to golden color then slowly, a little at a time, add 2 Cup milk while whisking constantly to keep smooth and from scorching. Whisk in 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Continue cooking ans stirring until gravy is thickened to your desired consistency, 3-5 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper.

  • Wanda

    Oh what a great breakfast my grandparents cook for me on Saturday mornings and sometimes I have a craving for it not many people know about cream chipped beef

  • Sharon Quick

    I have eaten this for breakfast since I was old enough to have adult food and still do to this day. We call it Chipped Beef on toast. I also make sausage gravy from the same basic recipe but substitute loose breakfast sausage and serve it on biscuits instead of toast. And cooking the chopped dried beef isn’t necessary. You can skip that step and make your thickening agent with melted butter and flour, then add the chopped dried beef and then the milk. As the gravy thickens you can add milk until it is the consistency you wish. If making sausage gravy you do need to cook the sausage prior to adding it to your thickening agent. Also for those who are not aware Stouffers sells a frozen Chipped Beef meal.

  • Marie Jose Rosa

    Why would Gourmanize say this dish is bizzare? I think cream chipped beef on toast would be great for dinner! I may prefer the cream chipped beef on toast over the chicken a la king. Give me for dinner the cream chipped beef on toast. I would love it!

  • Janet

    Yes this was good. We use Hamburger meat instead on the toast and of course make the white gravy to go on top! Try it and see how you like it!

  • David

    Big difference between creamed dried beef and biscuits and gravy. Both favorites of mine. Creamed dried beef over toast for breakfast, But, try it over mashed potatoes for lunch or dinner.
    So many options and so little time. Sausage gravy and biscuits should have a monument.

  • Jana Fuentes

    My mother made this all the time when I was a kid, sometimes subbed canned tuna for the chipped beef; it is definitely my favorite comfort food. I found that you can buy it in frozen foods, and it’s not as good as hers was, but it’s close. I never knew that any of the foods she cooked were things she learned to make growing up in the Depression Era, I just loved them. And I think we were likely the only family that didn’t call it Shit on a Shingle, because my parents never said anything like that. We loved Biscuits & Gravy, too; she was from Kentucky and my granny made biscuits and gravy a lot.

  • Mike Rhein

    This was called Chipped beef on Toast by Mom. Dad, was in WWII and Korea, in the Navy – He quietly called it Shit on the Shingle., and laughed.
    We made it with dried beef in a bottle and later used Buddig Dried beef slices that came in a bag. Sometime Momo would add Peas.
    Nice Warm and Creamy. Real Good on Cold Winter Nights, back in the 50’s and 60’s.

  • Kathy Smith

    I loved this dish and never heard it called SOS. My father would never eat anything referred to as SOS.
    We learned from him before you left the table you thanked Mom for dinner and let her know how good it was, each night! And it was good !
    Think I will try for breakfast when my sister and 2 brothers come for a visit at the Lake. Sounds perfect for a fall breakfast. Thank you for the recipe.

  • Margi

    My stepfather was served this in the Army during WWII. We had it often growing up. and yest he still referred to it as shit on a shingle and on DDD on food network Guy featured a restaurant where the chef still served this on the original mess trays. Big seller. And biscuits and gravy is a Whole different food.

  • Joe Carrigan

    Creamed chipped beef on toast or biscuits is an ancient meal.
    Pioneers moving west from Pennsylvania in Conestoga wagons
    stopped in Amish country and bought a full tenderloin filet that had been
    smoked, dried and salted. It was as hard as a baseball bat. With that meat
    and sacks of flour they just needed to find a campsight each night
    with water. Then, using a Bowie knife they would chip off small pieces
    from a 20 pound filet and cook the chips of beef in the flour gravy.

  • Jane Turnbow

    Before covering the toast with the delicious creamed beef; try sliced vine ripe tomato under it all. Then the gravy. Awesome! We use Hormel Dried Beef in a jar..

  • John Witzell

    This is a great and simple recipe. My Mom made it for us all of the time. My Dad was Army Air Corps/Air Force and he loved it from his early military days. During my own Air Force service it was made from ground beef and still a great breakfast that was very popular with the troops. We called it SOS without wholly defining the original GI name! My Mom made ours from the Armour dried beef. She diced it up and soaked it in the milk for an hour or so to soften the beef. Flour cooked in butter then add the milk/beef and stir until it thickens. Very easy. You only need pepper as the beef is salted enough. I still make it this way and with ground beef and love either one. I would also mention that in my day when eating it at the mess hall we would get a bowl of SOS and several slices of toast. We would shred the toast on our plates and cover it with SOS. THis made me hungry for some so I am making it tonight!

  • Aunt Shelly

    My dad always made this for us. He was career Air Force, and served in Vietnam. He too called it SOS. Thanks for the recipe. I had forgotten about this meal. Seeing it posted brought back fond memories of my dad. Thank you.

  • Richard

    Instead of using the Armour beef in a jar, you can also use Buddig beef in the lunch meat section of the meat department. It has been around forever and it it is less expensive than Armour. If you are on a budget, this is the way to go. A 2 ounce pack of Buddig will run around .75 or so depening on where you live. At its cheapest, you might get about the same amount of Armour for bout $2.58 (talking walmart online here). We are talking about almost four times cheaper!

  • Mugah

    I haven’t thought about this recipe in years……. but reading all the different versions of the creamed gravy over toast, bisquets, English muffins or even a bagel brought back many memories of my folks and my family who are either gone or moved out of my home. Thanks…..

  • Tiny Coyne

    All of you out there. THANIK YOU for the wonderful replies. I, too, grew up in a military family and delicious SOS was a part of our lives from early on. The terrific current recipe and suggestions (i.e. additions of boiled eggs) were well received and reminded me of more great additions we utilized way back when. To those who think the name SOS is ‘vulgar’….camon, relax a little. This is an old American recipe that goes back to pioneers….call it what you like….I still use the name my chief petty officer dad called it….shit on a shingle. Yesssssssssssssssssssss.

  • Carole McLaughlin

    Just this last year my husband and I searched the local stores for chipped beef. We grew up in different parts of the country, he in Wyoming, me in California – both recall having Chipped Beef on Toast and decided we wanted to have it again – but no luck. VERY happy to learn what to look for and am searching online as I write this.

  • Sandra

    Grew up in Illinois eating this for breakfast on weekends and it was referred to as SOS as my dad was from Tennessee and that’s what they called it when he was growing up in the depression. Joined the Air Force and was grateful that it was the one food that I recognized and would eat since I am a picky eater.

  • Dora

    My mother made Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast all the time. 5 kids in the family. Very economical.
    My husband was in viet Nam and had it. He called it SOS of course. He just asked me to make it a couple
    weeks ago. It does sound good. I made it when the kids were growing up for supper and added pea’s.
    The kids loved it. I guess it is time to work it into my weekly menu.
    Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

  • Joe Miller

    Growing up in a Catholic family we rotated meals on the old Meatless Fridays and at least once a month we had Tuna on Toast. I never heard of SOS until 1969 in the Navy. Basic White sauce of butter, flour, salt, pepper and milk. When I got married and started cooking some I used Tuna or Buddig sliced beef to make it for a quick easy dinner. then realized that Buddig also had sliced Turkey and Chicken. I normally make the sauce with 1/4 cup of butter, 2 Tbl Spoons of flour, salt and pepper to taste and add garlic powder also to taste. Once melted and combined use 2 cans of Albacore Tuna, of 2 packages of Buddig Beef, Turkey or Chicken cut into small pieces and cook together. Add and add more until you achieve desired thickness of the sauce. Wonderful quick meal with less than 10 minutes prep. 2 slices of toast per serving and enough for 3 – 4 servings. Same basic recipe makes great sauce for biscuts and gravy.

  • Janet

    I make this frequently, I sometimes use rye bread toasted with butter, then top with homemade chipped beef and diced red onions and bit of fresh nutmeg and fresh cracked black pepper. Goes down goooood!

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