Southern Shrimp and Cheesy Grits.
Okay, you had us at Grits. But Cheesy Grits? Um…Shrimp and Cheesy Grits? Oh, good heavens. This Southern Shrimp and Cheesy Grits recipe is so astoundingly good, you have to try it to believe it. Um, it bears repeating: Mercy, this is an amazing dish:
Watch us make this incredibly delicious Southern Shrimp and Cheesy Grits recipe! Get ready to have some fun and get hungry!
Shrimp & Grits is classic Southern U.S. cuisine. These grits are loaded with flavor…they are creamy, cheesy and buttery…and sinfully delicious.
We LOVE grits!
Oh, and did we mention cheese?
Yes, cheddar cheese, please.
Mmmmmm…cheese.
And of course, we couldn’t just stop there! You know what this dish needs? BACON!!
Bacon, bacon, bacon!!
We are getting so close to shrimp and grits perfection!
And then the Gulf shrimp is sautéed and is loaded with incredible flavor.
The smell alone is worth writing home about!
Look at that shrimp!
Topped off with sauteed gulf shrimp in garlic, scallions, parsley lemon juice, smoked paprika and a dash of hot sauce.
Well, this is Southern decadence at its very best. This dish is not low on calories, so you won’t want to make this every day…but on a special occasion, it is one of the tastiest dishes you’ll ever experience.
Other Southern favorite dishes are:
- Southern Chicken Fried Steak
- Southern Tomato Pie
- Farm Fresh Corn Chowder
- Best-Ever Fried Chicken
- Southern Hush Puppies
But in the meantime…let’s get it on with Southern Shrimp and Cheesy Grits!
And now the time has come to go and make this amazing recipe!
You will NOT be disappointed, that we can guarantee!
Southern Shrimp and Cheesy Grits
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken stock
- Pinch of Kosher salt
- 1 cup corn grits quick or regular...not instant
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 8 slices slab bacon cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces
- 1 lb shelled and deveined large shrimp
- Black pepper
- 2 - 3 garlic cloves minced (should be a heaping teaspoon)
- 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley chopped
- 4 scallions white and green parts, chopped (3 for cooking, 1 for garnish)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 or 3 good shakes of hot sauce ie, Tabasco
- 4 tsp fresh lemon juice usually the juice of 1 whole lemon
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil.
- Whisk in the grits and cook over moderately high heat, stirring vigorously at first to eliminate lumps (Continue to stir periodically until thickened and the grains are tender- about 4 - 5 minutes total. If using regular grits, they will take up to 45 minutes)
- Add the cream, butter and cheese and gently stir. Cover and remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crispy.
- Transfer cooked bacon to paper towel-lined plate.
- Pour out all but about 4 tablespoons of bacon fat in the skillet and re-heat.
- Sprinkle black pepper all over the shrimp and then add to the hot skillet and cook until curled and pink, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, parsley, scallions, paprika, Worcestershire, Tabasco and lemon juice.
- Meanwhile, crumble the bacon into slightly smaller pieces, set aside.
- Spoon the warm, cheesy grits into 4 shallow serving bowls and top each with a quarter of the shrimp mixture.
- Garnish with bacon and reserved scallions. Serve at once!
Nutrition
I made this for my son months ago and he loved it. This evening I wanted to prepare him something special for helping me out during the week and thought about this dish. It’s currently 110 degrees so we tend to eat salads and light foods to keep cool but when I mentioned the shrimp and grits, guess what he chose without hesitation!
Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe.
I have never left a recipe review before, but I just had to, here! I tried this recipe a few years ago, for my girl’s night. I printed it off at work. When I got back to work, our computers were replaced and I couldn’t remember where I got the recipe from and I had thrown away the paper, that night. It was so good, they went home bragging about it to their husbands. Anyway, my girls and their husbands had been badgering me to make shrimp and grits, again. That was the first time they had ever eaten it, and had been ordering it from restaurants, but they said nothing compares to the dish I made. Fortunately, I was able to find you guys again, and I am so excited to be making it for my girls again, this weekend. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe!
Hi Kelly!!! You have no idea how happy this makes us! We are THRILLED that you found us again and you can knock everyone’s socks off with the shrimp and grits!! So so so happy you’ve had such great success with the recipe and THANK YOU SO MUCH for letting us know! That means the world to us!! We truly hope you and your girls love the dish and have a wonderful time together!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
Made this for Father’s Day brunch and it was a hit! Thank you for sharing this scrumptious southern meal! Will definitely try other recipes from your collection!!
That is so wonderful!!! We hope you had a beautiful Father’s Day!!! And thank you so much for sharing and for the fantastic review! That means the world to us!!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
I multiplied this massively and made this recipe 3 years ago for my mother’s 90th for 48 people – and it was amazing!
Stev!! That is AMAZING and very impressive! So glad it was a huge success!!! And thank you for letting us know!! That is SO cool!!!! Kris & Wesley
Never left a recipe review before this. This recipe is FABULOUS!!! So. Good. Thank You.
Cortney! That honestly means the world to us! We are so so so happy you had such great success with our shrimp and grits, and thank you SO MUCH for letting us know and for the GREAT review! That truly means the world to us!! Stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Made this at the request of my daughter for her Mother’s Day lunch and wifie a little perturbed at me because wifie couldn’t get me to make a Mother’s Day breakfast for her; but like I told wifie you ain’t my mother but she is my daughter – LOL. Anyhow the flavors were immense and the dish superb. The only issue is how to create more liquid to floating the shrimp in the grits, without losing the culinary integrity and flavors of the dish?
You are a good father and husband!! We are so thrilled you all enjoyed our shrimp and grits. And we hear you on that sauce…it’s so good! You can easily double the sauce recipe if you want more. Other folks have done that with great success!! Thanks so much for letting us know your success with the dish and for the great review! That really means the world to us!! Stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
I’m wanting to make this but must ask a silly question.. do I unthaw the shrimp first?
Not a silly question at all!!!! We would recommend that you thaw the shrimp first. A quick way to thaw frozen shrimp is just to place them in a colander and then run cool tap water over them, moving them around every few minutes. They’ll defrost in about 10 minute, tops!! Hope this helps!! Let us know if you make shrimp and grits and what you think!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
I review maybe 1 out of every 20 dishes I make, but felt I would be doing everyone who scrolls reviews to decide if they’re going to make a dish a disservice by not sharing my two cents. This. Recipe. Is. Fantastic. As a southern girl, I know my way around some shrimp and grits and this recipe is restaurant worthy! I loved everything about it. The flavors, the texture of the grits, the sauce. It was divine. I sautéed a bell pepper and diced onion before I cooked the shrimp because I wanted a bit more crunchy veggies in the shrimp mixture. And I only used one small dash of Tabasco because the littlest family members don’t like a lot of heat. I also sprinkled some Old Bay seasoning on the shrimp before I sautéed them. Other than those small tweaks I made this exactly as written. I will probably never make shrimp and grits any other way ever again! #nailedit
We can’t even begin to explain how happy you have just made us! We are over the moon and overjoyed that you had such awesome success with our shrimp and grits recipe! We have to agree…it’s the bomb!! And your tweaks sound heavenly!! Thank you so much for letting us know and for the AWESOME review!! That means the world to us!!! Please stay in touch!!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Hello fellas!
I made this recipe this evening for my husband’s birthday. He said “if I ordered this in a restaurant in New Orleans I would be very happy!” This is coming from a guy who has had his fair share of shrimp & grits!
Delicious!
Hi Susan! Nothing makes us much happier than to hear these words! Congratulations on hitting it out of the park for your hubby’s birthday! We are so glad you both enjoyed our shrimp and grits and THANK YOU so much for letting us know and for the amazing review. That means so much to us!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Have made this so many time and it is absolutely one of the BEST, most flavorful of any recipe I’ve ever made! It’s literally a party in my mouth. I’ve made it for family and guests… all concur! I follow the recipe exactly, which is rare! The flavors rock. I do triple the sauce, as it’s such a hot and we can’t get enough. Thank k you die one of the most INCREDIBLE recipes of ALL time!
Hi Christine! We can’t even begin to express how happy this makes us to hear!! And we hear you on that sauce! Never such as a thing of too much of this sauce! We are beyond thrilled that you are enjoying our shrimp and grits recipe so much and can’t thank you enough for letting us know and for the awesome review. That truly means the world to us!! Stay in touch! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
This was so so SO freaking delicious! I am stuffed but I already want to make more.
Hi Chrissy!! So sorry for the delayed response…but…WOO HOO!!! SO SO SO happy you loved the shrimp and grits! That’s one of our all-time favs!! Thanks so much for letting us know and for the awesome review! That means the world to us!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
I made this today for dinner and it deserves 10 stars!!! Easy and quick to make and the flavors are AWESOME… THANK YOU Both for sharing this recipe.. I’m definatley a fan and look forward to following you for more delicious recipes!
Hi Tricia! You have no idea how happy you have just made us!! We are THRILLED you loved our shrimp and grits recipe. We’re crazy for it, too!! Thank you SO MUCH for letting us know and for the AWESOME review! That means the world to us! Stay in touch!!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
This was delicious! My husband raved – says good enough to be served in a restaurant. I used Charleston Stone Grits and ended up adding more stock and cream, only about 1 cup of cheese. I also used cayenne pepper instead of tabasco. Other than that followed recipe. Will definitely make again!
Hi Terri!! We are so thrilled to hear that you and your husband loved our shrimp and grits recipe!! Sounds like your tweaks worked out perfectly!!! Woo hoo!! And thank you so very much for letting us know and for the awesome review! That means the world to us!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
I made this last night.
I had a bunch of shrimp I had to use so was looking for a recipe.
I just happened on to you site.
Having deep roots in the South
This struck a cord with me.
Best shrimp grits I’ve ever made, or tasted!!!! Every bite was a thrill! My girlfriend, who has never eaten much southern food , exclaimed “this is beautiful and delicious!”
Thank you!!!!
This was amazing! I made it last week and my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The leftovers heated well and the Intensified flavor was welcome! Next, make it for our southern daughter-in-law. Thank you for sharing! BTW, I have tomatoes roasting for your Roasted Tomato Basil soup. I look forward to trying more of your recipes. Bring on Winter!
Hi Cindy!! YES!! We are so happy you and your hubby loved the shrimp and grits! It’s one of our favorites for years!!! We hope your daughter-in-law loves it, too!! And let us know how the soup turned out! Comfort food never tasted so good!!
This is quite exceptional. Thank you very much for the recipe. It’s often requested. Love your recipes.
Hi Leigh! That is so wonderful to hear!! Thank you so much and stay tuned…lots more on the way! And do stay in touch!! xoxo Kris & Wesley
I made this with red grits because I had them on hand. For what it is worth, red grits redefined my relationship and appreciation of grits. Luckily, it is available for me at a 250 year old stone ground mill in VA. The secret to grits (red or otherwise) is to cook them for a LONG time–two hours or so–stirring semi-frequently and adding liquid as needed. The result is a smooth, wonderful taste and texture. In this case, coupled with this outstanding recipe, one produces a memorable meal. A definite keeper. I will serve this to guests if we can get past the pandemic.
I made this recipe for Sunday brunch my husband, myself and kids loved every bite. Everyone wanted seconds back to the kitchen I go. This is a must try. Thank you for sharing.
Sunny
Hi Sunny! We are so thrilled you and the family loved our shrimp and grits recipe! That has been a favorite of ours for many years. Thank you so much for letting us know and for the wonderful review! Please stay in touch! All the very best, Kris & Wesley