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Creamy Shrimp and Grits

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This Creamy Shrimp and Grits recipe is the perfect meal if you want to serve an impressive dish that is ace elementary to throw together and packed with season. The rich bacon and shrimp sauce is served on a bed of creamy, smooth grits and topped with slice green onions and hot sauce. Plus, it ’ south quick in 30 minutes or less ! It ’ s a full New Orleans culinary experience in the comfort of your own dwelling .
This recipe is sincerely a meal in itself, but you can take it up a notch by serving with some homemade biscuits and a fresh salad .

How To Make the Best Homemade Shrimp and Grits

Homemade Creamy Shrimp and Grits Recipe

This shrimp and grits recipe is surprisingly dim-witted and a lot easier to make than it looks. The lemon, ashen wine, and chives keep the dish fresh and light. Shrimp and grits can sometimes be besides heavy and saturated with butter. Using herb and citrus gives the smasher flavor without packing on the calories.

Reading: Creamy Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp and grits is a popular Creole dish served in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast, but it is actually believed to have originated in the Gullah region and low Country of Charleston, South Carolina, more than 70 years ago when fresh, local, belittled, peel off shrimp were fried in bacon grease with onions and green peppers and served aboard grits at breakfast. While it got its start as a pauper ’ sulfur smasher ,
This dish can be served as breakfast, brunch, or dinner, and is elementary adequate to make on a busy weeknight or as a late-morning daintiness on the weekends. It ’ mho delightful all on it ’ s own, but you can complete the meal with a side salad and some homemade biscuits .

What’s the Difference Between Grits and Polenta

Making my prawn and grits got me thinking what is the true difference between grits and polenta ?
From my research, I found it very just depends on who you ask. Southerners refer to it as grits, whereas the italian interpretation is known as polenta. Both are made from stone-ground cornmeal, which is corn whiskey that is dried and then flat coat into a modest granulate. Grits are typically made from hominy, whereas polenta is made from a corn called flint. Sound confusing ? It ’ s not. If your wandering around the grocery store store aisle hera is what to look for : if you can ’ thymine find something tag grits or polenta grab the stone grind cornmeal. The differences between grits and polenta are pretty slender. I would suggest giving them both a hear to see which you prefer !

Key Ingredients for Shrimp and Grits

It ’ sulfur crucial that for this recipe your prawn with bacon sauce and grits are flavored well on their own sol that they work well together. The last thing you want is plain grits with under-seasoned shrimp .
For the creamy grits, you’ll need: 2 cups milk, 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup promptly cook grits, 1/2 teaspoon salt ( or more to taste ), 1/4 teaspoon impertinently ground pepper ( or more to taste ), 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, and 1 cup shredded abrupt cheddar cheese. The milk, butter, and cheese help make these grits super creamy, while the chicken broth and dry seasonings make them super flavorful, but not indeed much so that they would overpower the sauce .

For the shrimp and bacon sauce, you’ll need the following ingredients: 4 slices of bacon ( I like thick-cut, but use whatever you prefer ), 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, 20 medium runt ( deveined and shells removed, except for the tail ), 1 teaspoon cajun season ( or more to taste ), 2 minced cloves garlic, 1/4 cup egg white wine, and 1/2 juiced gamboge. The best character of this shrimp and bacon sauce is that the flavors are built on top of each other, getting better with each ingredient. The foundation is built on the bacon and bacon grease, which gives the shrimp a rich, piquant spirit profile. then the garlic, butter, white wine, and gamboge juice are added to deglaze the pan and blend with the prawn and pork flavors. Simply put, this sauce is divine and pairs perfectly with the creamy, mellow grits .

Serve the shrimp and bacon sauce on a bed of the grits, then garnishee with slit green onions and a few dashes of hot sauce. Perfection!

How To Make the Best Homemade Shrimp and Grits Recipe

Cook the Grits: First, bring the milk and chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Slowly add in grits while whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Over medium heat, cook grits for about 4 to 5 minutes, until they’re thick.
Remove from heat and stir in the salt, pepper, 2 tbsp butter, and cheese. Whisk until smooth and incorporated. Cover and turn the heat to low until you are ready to serve.
Cook the Bacon: Once your grits is made, add the bacon to a large skillet, and cook until golden brown and crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan, and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. When the bacon is completely cooled, crumble or chop it into smaller bite size pieces. Do not drain the bacon grease or wash that pan!
Cook the Shrimp: Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the same pan the bacon was cooked in withe the leftover bacon grease. Heat over medium-high heat until melted, and add the peeled, deveined shrimp. Sauté until pink and no longer opaque, 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic, and cook for an additional minute, until aromatic.
Prepare the Sauce: Remove the shrimp from the pan, and set aside on a plate. Add in the white wine, and scrape the brown bites off the bottom of the pan. Stir in the lemon juice, and add the shrimp and crumbled bacon back to the pan.
Serve: Spoon grits in individual bowls and top with the shrimp mixture. Drizzle each bowl with extra sauce from the bottom of the pan. Serve with green onions and hot sauce, if desired. Enjoy!

PRO TIP: Grits will thicken up the longer they cook. If you have them on low heat for a while, you may need to add extra milk or broth to thin them out before serving. )

Variations on Traditional Shrimp and Grits

Craving some spice? Add some diced jalapeños, crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or dice poblanos to the bacon sauce.
Not a fan of cheese grits? Leave out the shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Just keep in mind you may need to add more butter, milk, and/or broth to compensate.
Looking for more protein? Add some sliced or diced smoked sausage like Connecuh or even turkey sausage.
Swap crawfish or scallops for the shrimp! Just be prepared to adjust the cooking time.
Change up the cheese in your grits! Pepper jack, gouda, or white cheddar (or a combo of any of these) would be delicious!
Add more vegetables! In addition to the garlic, you could use shallot, onion, diced bell or sweet peppers, or even minced mushrooms to pack in more veggies.
Swap the bacon for diced pancetta for an even richer pork flavor!

How To Store, Freeze, and Reheat Shrimp and Grits

To Store: Allow leftover grits and shrimp to cool completely, then store in separate airtight containers. The grits will keep for 4-5 days, and the shrimp with keep for up to two days in the fridge.
To Freeze: We did not test freezing this recipe, but cooked shrimp tends to have a weird texture when frozen and then thawed. So, if you’re making this ahead of time and plan to freeze, you could try making the shrimp and bacon sauce and freezing all together, but we would recommend just making the bacon sauce without the shrimp, then preparing the shrimp on the day you plan to serve the dish. Do not freeze grits; just make on the day you plan to serve.
To Reheat: Allow frozen sauce to thaw in the fridge overnight, then heat it in a saucepan over medium heat until it’s simmering, then add thawed shrimp and cook until pink, 3-4 minutes. Prepare the grits as instructed above. If reheating from the fridge, simply plate the grits with the sauce and shrimp, then microwave for 1-2 minutes until warmed through.

More Recipes To Try

If you enjoyed this Homemade Shrimp and Grits recipe, then you ’ ll love these other simple, savory dishes :

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Creamy Shrimp & Grits

from

votes

Prep Time:

minutes

Cook Time:

minutes

Total Time:

minutes

Servings:

Does homemade shrimp and grits sound intimidating ? It should n’t ! This recipe is ace simple and is ready in 30 minutes. It ‘s the perfect brunch or dinner ! Save RecipeSaved!

Ingredients

Creamy Grits

2
cups
milk
2
cups
wimp broth
1
cup
quick cook grits
1/2
tsp
salt, or to taste
1/4
tsp
pepper, or to taste
2
tbsp
unsalted butter
1
cup
shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Shrimp and bacon sauce

4
slices
bacon
1
tbsp
unsalted butter
20
medium shrimp ( 12 ounces )
deveined and shells removed except for the dock
1
tsp
cajun seasoning

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2
cloves
garlic, minced
1/4
cup
white wine
1/2
lemon, juiced
green onions for garnish, if desired
hot sauce for serving, if desired

Instructions

Images:

Bring the milk and chicken broth to a boil. Slowly add in grits while whisking continuously. Over medium heat, cook grits for about 4 to 5 minutes until they thicken up.
Take off of the heat and add in salt, pepper, 2 tbsp butter and cheese. Whisk until smooth and lump free. Turn the heat to low until you are ready to serve. (Note: grits will thicken up the longer they cook. If you have them on low heat for a while you may need to add additional butter or milk to thin out the grits).
Meanwhile add bacon to a large skillet and cook until golden brown and crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. When the bacon is cool crumble or chop it into smaller bite size pieces. Do not drain the bacon grease!
Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the same pan the bacon was cooked in. Heat over medium high heat and add in shrimp. Saute until fully cooked and no longer opaque, 3-4 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute.
Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside on a plate. Add in the wine and scrape the brown bites off the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the lemon juice and add the shrimp and crumbled bacon back to the pan.
To serve place grits in individual bowls and top with the shrimp mixture. Drizzle each bowl with extra sauce from the bottom of the pan. Serve with green onions and hot sauce, if desired.