5 from 9 votes
Rich & Creamy Grits Recipe
Prep:15 minutes minutes
Cook:15 minutes minutes
Total:30 minutes minutes
The creamiest and richest grits, perfect for breakfast, with shrimp, loaded with cheese or bacon, or even sweetened.
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4 servings
Ingredients
For Stone-Ground Grits
- 4 cups water
- ½ tablespoon salt plus more to taste
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 cup stone-ground grits
- ½ cup heavy cream or half and half; at room temperature, divided
For Quick Grits
- 4 cups water
- ½ tablespoon salt plus more to taste
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 cup quick grits
- ½ cup heavy cream or half and half; at room temperature, divided
Suggested Toppings (All Optional)
- butter for classic grits
- freshly ground black pepper for classic grits
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheese of choice for cheese grits
- cooked & crumbled bacon for cheese grits
- maple syrup for sweetened grits
- brown sugar or white sugar, for sweetened grits
Equipment
medium pot with lid
Large wooden spoon or whisk
Instructions
For Stone-Ground Grits
Fill pot with 4 cups of water. Add ½ tablespoon salt and stir to incorporate, then place pot on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and bring water to boil.
Once water begins to boil rapidly, add stone-ground grits and stir 30 seconds.
Partially cover pot with lid. Reduce heat to medium and simmer grits 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Note: if your stove runs hot, reduce heat to medium-low.
After 15 minutes, uncover pot. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and stir to incorporate.
While stirring, add 2 tablespoons room-temperature heavy cream and stir until cream is incorporated. Once incorporated, slowly add remaining cream in 2-tablespoon increments, incorporating each addition of cream fully before adding more.
Stir constantly until grits thicken and begin to "sputter", approximately 15 minutes.
Once grits are ready, remove pot from heat. Taste grits and stir in additional salt if necessary.
Divide grits into serving bowls, then add desired toppings and stir to incorporate. Serve warm.
For Quick Grits
Fill pot with 4 cups of water. Add ½ tablespoon salt and stir to incorporate, then place pot on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and bring water to boil.
Once water begins to boil rapidly, add quick grits and stir 30 seconds.
Partially cover pot with lid. Reduce heat to medium and simmer grits 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Note: if your stove runs hot, reduce heat to medium-low.
After 5 minutes, uncover pot. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and stir to incorporate.
While stirring, add 2 tablespoons room-temperature heavy cream and stir until cream is incorporated. Once incorporated, slowly add remaining cream in 2-tablespoon increments, incorporating each addition of cream fully before adding more.
Stir constantly until grits thicken and begin to "sputter", approximately 3 to 5 minutes.
Once grits are ready, remove pot from heat. Taste grits and stir in additional salt if necessary.
Divide grits into serving bowls, then add desired toppings and stir to incorporate. Serve warm.
Notes
- Water: Feel free to replace the water with low-sodium chicken broth for even more savory grits. I don’t recommend using chicken broth if you plan to sweeten your grits, though.
- Grits: Stone-ground grits are more coarse than quick grits. For the creamiest grits, use quick grits.
- Quick Grits: These are not the same as instant grits! I don’t recommend using instant grits with this recipe – they just won’t turn out well.
- Consistency: If your grits are too thick, you can add a little more heavy cream to thin them out. If you’ve added too much liquid and ended up with runny grits, let them simmer a little while, stirring frequently so they don’t stick or burn, until they’ve thickened up.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1serving, Calories: 346kcal, Protein: 4g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 64mg, Sodium: 1766mg, Potassium: 85mg, Total Carbs: 32g, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Net Carbs: 31g, Vitamin A: 871IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 32mg, Iron: 0.4mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
© Author: Cheryl Malik
