Creamy Grits

Ingredients for Creamy Grits

Wondering what ingredients you’ll need for our grits recipe? Just a few simple ingredients are necessary for fast, creamy grits.

Cream: While standard quick grits are prepared with water, we’ve added heavy whipping cream as well for a super rich, decadent recipe that comes together in a snap.

Salt: All you need to season these simple, creamy grits is salt. Other seasonings can be added after cooking, if desired.

Quick-Cooking Grits: Quick-cooking grits or “quick grits” are finely-ground grits that haven’t been precooked like instant grits. They’re the best of both worlds, delivering a freshness and flavor that instant grits lack, without the long cook time of stone-ground grits.

Butter: There’s nothing like the richness of butter. Stirring in the butter at the end ensures the grits are cooked to perfection before being cloaked in a rich coating of melted butter.

Ingredients for Grits Variations

Our recipe brings the best creamy grits to your table, and fast, but if you’re looking to take it to the next level, we’ve got your back. Make it your own by trying out these fun and flavorful variations.

Different Liquids: Swap in chicken or beef broth for the water. This will produce a richer flavor, but wait until the end and taste first before adding any salt, since most broths contain sodium.

Cheese: Instead of the butter, add 2 ounces of your favorite shredded melty cheese, such as cheddar or pepper Jack.

Savory Seasonings: Instead of salt, opt for Cajun or Creole seasoning, or stir in garlic powder or chopped bacon. Check out our Bacon, Ranch and Cheddar Grits Casserole for a fun take on classic savory grits.

Sweet Seasonings: Drizzle with honey and top with fresh berries for a sweet riff on classic grits.

How to Cook Grits

How do you cook grits? We’ve got your simple, stress-free run-down right here.

Bring the Liquids to a Boil

For best results, bring the water and cream to a boil before adding the grits.

Stir in Grits

Stir in the grits slowly to prevent the mixture from clumping and help avoid boil-overs. If it looks like the water mixture is about to boil over, reduce heat or even briefly remove from heat if necessary.

Just Keep Stirring

After reducing the heat and covering the grits, be sure to stir occasionally. Keep stirring until the mixture has thickened to avoid sticking and clumping. If you forget to stir you may end up with lumpy grits!

Add That Butter

Stir in butter at the end of cooking. This will give your grits a rich, creamy, decadent final coating. For other finishing options, check out our serving suggestions below.

How to Serve Grits

Now that you know how to make grits, you’ll need to know what to serve with them. Whether you serve them for breakfast, dinner, or as a snack, we’ve got plenty of ideas to plus-up your creamy, dreamy grits.

Pork: As an essential breakfast component, grits are often served with bacon, breakfast sausage, or ham steak. To up the ante, turn that sausage into sausage gravy or make coffee-spiked redeye gravy with the drippings from a skillet-fried ham steak. A little gravy drizzled over grits turns an ordinary breakfast into an extraordinary one!

Shrimp: The traditional New Orleans topping for grits? Shrimp. Hands down. Whether lemon peppered, blackened, barbecued, or grilled, shrimp make a perfect topping for creamy grits. One of our Pillsbury Bake-Off™ finalists agreed: Check out her recipe for Smoky Shrimp with Creamy Grits. As they say on the bayou, “It’s so good, it’ll make your tongue slap yo’ brains out!”

Grits Cakes: Try upcycling leftover grits to make pan-fried cakes. Spray a cup with cooking spray, and add the warm leftover grits. Cover and refrigerate until cold, or up to one day. When ready to use, run a small metal spatula around the edge of the cup and turn the cup over onto a cutting board. Slice the cold grits into thin slabs (at least 1/2 inch thick). Cook in melted butter in a skillet, carefully turning once, to make delicious grits cakes. Top with fried eggs, braised meats or greens, or cheese and hot sauce.