Rich & Creamy Grits Recipe (and What Are Grits Anyway?) (2024)

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

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.

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• 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.

• 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.