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This SOS creamed beef recipe is one of the easiest dishes. My dad always made it when I was growing up, and I still crave it today!
SOS stands for “shit on a shingle,” and growing up, I loved it when my dad made this for dinner.
I mostly loved it because I could say “shit” and not get in too much trouble.
This is one of those classic old-fashioned military meals nostalgic for many people. My family included!
Although SOS is traditionally made with chipped dried beef – a dried, smoked, and salted meat product – my family has always used ground beef. When you use chipped beef, you typically call it “creamed chipped beef.”
Either way, it’s tasty, but I find the ground beef to be a bit more filling and a lot less salty.
Texturally creamed hamburger gravy is similar to sausage white gravy. It’s great spooned over toast, soft white bread, or homemade biscuits.
SOS recipe ingredients
- Ground beef
- Yellow onion
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Whole milk
- Toasted bread
What is shit on a shingle?
Visually, it’s not the most colorful or beautiful dish but filling and comforting.
Sometimes, that cancels the old rule: “You eat with your eyes first.”
Plus, it’s like the dinner version of sausage gravy and biscuits, which you know means it’s going to be amazingly delicious! I like to make mine and serve it over toast, but I hear serving it over potatoes is also a great way to scarf down this deliciousness.
If you’re unfamiliar with this dish, you should know it’s comfort food. It’s super cheap to make and works perfectly when you have a big family to feed.
SOS can be made with either ground beef or chipped beef but for this recipe I used ground beef because that is what my family uses. Popular chipped beef brands Buddig beef or Hormel.
To keep things simple, season this SOS creamed beef recipe with salt and pepper, but sometimes, adding other spices like garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, or even fresh herbs is fun.
I like mine with a little sprinkling of crushed red pepper or a pinch of cayenne pepper because I always crave heat!
How to make creamed hamburger
The great thing about this easy recipe is that it doesn’t require a lot of extra energy in the kitchen. And it can be made relatively cheap!
- Add ground beef and onion in a large skillet and cook until the meat is browned.
- Drain the beef, remove it from the pan, and set aside.
- Melt butter in the same pan and add flour to create a roux to help thicken our gravy/cream sauce.
- Slowly stream in 2 cups milk and gently simmer until thickened.
- Add the ground beef and onions to the pan, stir, and simmer until warm.
- Serve over sliced toasted bread (Texas toast is fun!) or biscuits.
More ground beef recipes
- Are you looking to feed a crowd of people? Try my Ground beef tacos
- Do you love a one-pot recipe? Try my One pot ground beef stroganoff
- Craving a little heat? Try my Chipotle ground beef enchiladas
- Want to bust out the Instant Pot? Try my Instant Pot lasagna soup
SOS Creamed Beef Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- Bread, toasted
Instructions
- Set a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add ground beef and onion to the skillet and season lightly with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Break up the meat as it cooks and cook until it’s brown in color and no pink remains. Drain the meat and set aside.
- In the same pan as you used to brown the meat, set it over medium heat and add the butter.
- Melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour and whisk together until it forms a paste.
- Let it bubble slightly and cook for about a minute.
- Slowly stream in milk and whisk until thick. This might take a few minutes to get the gravy as thick as you like.
- Add cooked beef and onion to the white gravy mixture.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Feel free to add more flavor by sprinkling in crushed red pepper, garlic powder or fresh herbs.
- Serve over toast.
Notes
- If the gravy gets too thick you can thin it out with more milk.
- Do not skimp on adding the kosher salt and black pepper after cooking. If you don’t add enough seasoning the gravy will taste very bland.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yes, creamed browned hamburger on toast will fill you up and taste good, but it is not really a substitute for the chipped beef on toast. Totally different flavors. I stopped making the chipped beef dish because manufacturers put MSG in the chipped beef and I cannot tolerate it. The thing is, you can cream just about any protein and put it over toast and make a good meal. By the way, my addition to this one is a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg. And of course, a sprinkle of paprika on top of a serving gives it a bit of color.
When I was in the Navy this was always served in the mess hall for breakfast. Even though it had an unfortunate name, I scarfed it down every morning. I can’t wait to try this version.
My Dad always made this with the dried beef in the jar. He would soak it n water to remove some of the salt. So good…
We ate this in the US Army for years. Many cooks put their own spin on the recipe but this one is good albeit basic. Nanny’s recipe is very good. This is a great breakfast entrée for weekends when you have some military veterans over for a meal.
Making this very soon. Thanks for the recipe!!!! Marie
This is the best ever I make it with dried chipped venison
Make it and was so yummy!
I love this! I make mine like my mom did, with chipped beef and bacon grease. After frying about 4-6 pieces of bacon in my iron skillet, I take the bacon out to eat with the gravy. Using the grease left in the pan,add flour and stir to mix. Stirring, continue making your roux until it browns. Add the milk and slowly simmer while stirring until thickened. Add the salt and pepper to taste. She never used amounts, just to taste. We always had the day after she baked her delicious homemade yeast bread. Yum, yum!
My father was a retired army Sergeant. SOS was served at least once a week and sometimes on the weekend my father would make it with sausage. I came across your recipe and tried it and it was great. It brought back a lot of fun memories growing up traveling the world. Thank you so much I really enjoyed your recipe. This is what I would consider a comfort food.
This recipe is exactly how my Mom and myself make SOS. You must use lots of fresh cracked black pepper. We serve it over toast, biscuits, noodles or rice. It’s a quick easy and budget friendly meal we all love. By the way, Mom was in the Navy and Dad in the Army.
Hi Lynne – it’s such a cozy recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it too!