How To Make Grits

How To Make Grits served as a finished dish.

» Side Dishes » Grains » How To Make Grits

If you want to know how to make grits the right way , I’ve got you! Growing up, I had Southern-style grits on the regular, and now I’m bringing those family secrets to you. Making the best homemade creamy grits from stone-ground grits is easier than you think, and I’m here to show you how it’s done.

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Video Tutorial

How to Make Grits Like A Southerner

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Step 1: Add the half and half and water to a large pot.

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Step 2: Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until it boils. Add some salt to the liquid.

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Step 3: Add the grits, briskly stirring as you add them.

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Step 4: Turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid. Cook for the time on the package and be sure to stir at least twice during the cooking time to maintain their smoothness.

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Step 5: Cook until your grits are completely tender and thick.

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Step 6: Stir in the butter and heavy cream, and be sure to taste and season with more salt to taste.

I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!

What to Serve With Grits

You can serve this grits recipe for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, or even for a snack. Here are some ideas for a bit of inspiration!

  • Great with heavily sauced dishes! Enjoy them as shrimp and grits or with short ribs . The sauces and gravies mingle with the grits and create something quite magical.
  • Add them to a Southern dinner menu. Along with other favorites such as baked mac and cheese , fried chicken , fried okra , fried green tomatoes , and Southern cornbread .
  • Top your grits with gravy. Try out this chicken gravy , white gravy , or my sawmill gravy .
  • Enjoy grits for breakfast or brunch. They go with a wide variety of breakfast dishes such as homemade hash browns , sweet potato biscuits , and southern fried chicken biscuits .

More Traditional Southern Recipes

  • Southern Rice and Gravy
  • Southern Green Beans
  • Southern Corn Pudding
  • Southern Spaghetti Sauce
  • Southern Black Eyed Peas
  • Smothered Pork Chops

*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!* Post a photo of how your version of the recipe came out on Instagram (using #grandbabycakes)!!

Comments

  1. Great! Great! Grits! I made this recipe for breakfast this morning and I’m so happy that I decided to try it. I’m a southern girl who had grits at least twice a week growing up. No disrespect to my grandma but these grits get the award. So smooth, creamy, tasty and easy to make. Thanks Jocelyn! This recipe is a keeper! Reply
  2. I chose this recipe because of the picture. I’m glad I did! Beautiful pic and the most delicious grits we’ve ever had! My husband said they were better than the grits (shrimp and grits) he’d had in Charleston, SC. Thank you and I’m now a follower. Reply
  3. So good! Move over Waffle House cheesy grits, I’m making my own! Thank you for the awesome recipe. I made your shrimp scampi grits recipe, and forgot to add butter to the grits! I did add cheese, bit I honestly didn’t miss the butter. They were super creamy and even my husband who said he doesn’t care for grits, ate 2 servings. Now we need to get our 6 year old on board. Sigh, she doesn’t know good food yet lol. Reply
  4. A trick I learned as a scientist is that you can avoid the lumping of starches by adding them to cold water. So for polenta (or grits) add corn meal to cold water, stir and heat. Voila! no lumps. Reply
  5. Oh MY AGOH SO GOOD MMMMM Reply
  6. We really like grits but your recipe takes them to a whole new level. We love this grits recipe! I’ll never go back to non-stone ground grits and any other recipe. I cooked The Pioneer Woman’s Braised Short Ribs and laid them on top of these grits tonight. So delicious! Thanks so much! Reply
  7. I’ve tried this to get authentic My Cousin Vinny grits 🙂 The consistency came out great I just couldn’t eat it at all because for me personally it was a lot of butter. The next time I will start with just a quarter and then build it slowly according to taste. Thank you for this recipe! Reply
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I’m Jocelyn!

I love taking my family’s cherished soul food recipes and adding my unique twist for new generations. Come on in and stay awhile!

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Print

Grits Recipe

This Southern-style grits recipe is made with stone-ground grits cooked down until creamy and buttery.

  • Author: Maya Collins
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Method: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups Half and half
  • 1 cup chicken broth, stock or even water
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup Stone ground grits
  • ½ cup Unsalted Butter
  • 2 – 4 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream (if you want them extra creamy / check notes)
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Add half and half and broth (or stock or water) and water to a large pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Add some salt to liquid.
  2. Once liquid starts boiling, briskly stir in grits and bring heat down to low and cover with lid. Cook according to instructions on back of package stirring twice during this time to maintain smoothness. They should be completely tender and thick.
  3. Once ready, stir in butter, heavy cream (if using/ this will make them super creamy but check notes for tips) and season with salt to taste.

Nutrition

  • Calories: 556 kcal
  • Sodium: 65 mg
  • Fat: 42 g
  • Saturated Fat: 26 g
  • Carbohydrates: 36 g
  • Protein: 7 g
  • Cholesterol: 126 mg

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