Cheesy Shrimp and Grits
Cheesy Shrimp and Grits are the ultimate southern meal! Cheesy grits, spicy shrimp, crispy bacon and fresh green onions are perfect comfort food!
Every once in a while, you just need comfort food. The kind that soothes your soul and makes the world feel right again. For me, that’s Shrimp and Grits. I’ve loved this dish as long as I can remember, and after years of living (and cooking) here in Tennessee, I’ve learned that no two bowls are ever quite the same. But this one feels like home.
The shrimp are plump and perfectly seasoned, the grits rich and creamy from a mix of cheddar and cream cheese. It’s simple food, made with care, and every bite takes me back to what I love most about Southern cooking: comfort, family, and food that’s meant to be shared. I may spend most of my time keeping our family meals on the lighter side, but this dish is one I’ll never give up. It’s comfort in its purest form.
Ingredients For Shrimp and Cheese Grits
To make the spiced shrimp and cheese grits, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Shrimp
- Olive oil
- Spices: Old Bay seasoning, Italian seasoning, Garlic powder, Smoked paprika
- Chicken broth
- Yellow corn grits
- Cream cheese
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Green onions
- Bacon
How to Make Southern Shrimp and Grits
This Southern shrimp and grits is so easy to make! The creamy, cheesy grits are cooked first since they take longer than the shrimp does. Here’s an overview of the cooking process:
- In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove to a plate and crumble. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add in the grits and cook until the liquid is absorbed.
- To the grits, add the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper.
- Season the shrimp, then cook in the same skillet you fried the bacon in.
- Spoon the creamy grits into bowls, top with shrimp, and garnish with green onion.
Can I Use Quick Cooking Grits?
No, I recommend using regular grits to make this shrimp grits recipe.
Tips For Making Shrimp & Grits
- After cooking the bacon, wipe the skillet clean. It’s okay if there’s a little fat left in it, but you don’t want too much.
- Be sure to buy raw shrimp for this recipe. If the shrimp are frozen, defrost before cooking.
- For the best texture, buy a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself.
How to Serve Southern Shrimp and Grits
Serve your grits in a shallow bowl, then top with shrimp and the sauce. You can garnish with chopped green onions and crunchy bacon. Some people like a squeeze of lemon juice, a dash of hot sauce, or chopped parsley. While this recipe is quite filling, you can round out the meal with a few dishes. Start with a salad or fried green tomatoes. Add a side of green beans, collard greens, or okra. A serving of cornbread waffles or biscuits would be great, too!
Storing Leftover Shrimp & Grits
Once your shrimp and grits have cooled, you can place them in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. For the easiest reheating, I recommend storing the shrimp separate from the grits. When you are ready to reheat, microwave the grits in 1-minute increments at 50% power, stirring between blasts. You may need to add a drizzle of milk, water, heavy cream, or melted butter to help thin the grits back to their original consistency. Shrimp can be reheated over low heat in a skillet with a bit of water or broth until warmed through.
More Easy Shrimp Recipes:
Get the Recipe: Shrimp & Grits Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2-3/4 pound deveined and shelled shrimp
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup yellow corn grits
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 green onion stalks, chopped
- 2 slices bacon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet cook two slices of bacon over medium heat until crisp, remove bacon from skillet, roughly chop. Wipe skillet clean and set aside to use later for the shrimp.
- In a medium to large sauce pan bring chicken broth to a boil, add grits and reduce heat to low. Cover and let grits simmer for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When grits have absorbed the liquid add cream cheese, shredded cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir mixture well, cover and remove from heat.
- Place shrimp in a large plastic bag or mixing bowl, add Old Bay, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and smoked paprika and toss until shrimp is coated.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes on each side or until shrimp is pink and tender.
- To assemble the shrimp and grits add a heaping serving of grits to two shallow bowls. Top with shrimp, chopped green onions, chopped bacon and additional pepper.
This looks divine- definitely my kind of food! Love the idea!
Thank you Jessica!
I don’t think I have ever eaten shrimp and grits before, but this recipe makes me really wish that I had some right now! I didn’t try shrimp until a few years ago and I finally realized what I had been missing all those years, these shrimp with those seasonings look amazing! I’m also a sucker for anything with cheese in it, so sign me up for some cheesy grits!!
Oh you have to try this! I really don’t eat shrimp very often, the texture kind of gets me sometimes. But my husband LOVES it so I try to have it every now and then, but I could eat a boatload of this stuff!
The best shrimp and cheesy grits 😋. Tonight we shared them with friends.
This looks AMAZING! This is going to sound nuts, but I’ve never had grits before. AHH! I know. Horrible. I should really eat more southern foods. I am going to have to make this immediately!
Thank you Natalie! I hope you enjoy! It is definitely one of our favorites!
That does look amazing! I love cheesey grits (for any meal of the day!), will have to try this variation sometime! 🙂
Cheesy grits are the best!! 🙂
You were just saying on my blog that you’d never tried rhubarb, Annie. Well, guess what? I’ve never tried grits!! No, never. In fact, I am about to go and google them because I don’t even know what they are! What were you saying about the food blogging community? 😉
So … thanks for introducing these to me! The flavours in them sound absolutely amazing – I love shrimp and all of those spices you’ve used.
Yes! I love it, I love the community! It is so cool that we can all come up with our own little creations and share them. I am going to try rhubarb and you have to try grits! 🙂
I’ve never had grits in my life but I need to! I’ve also never had Old Bay seasoning -I think it’s an American spice? I need to mail order some of that stuff! This looks so delicious!!!
I am pretty much addicted to Old Bay, it is like an all purpose spice mix but mainly used for seafood. It is sooo good! It is perfect with these grits!
Not to sound like a broken record here, but I’ve never had grits before either! Yours look like something I could definitely get on board with! Bacon and cream cheese and cheddar? Yes please!
I know! It is pretty much the ultimate flavor combo!
Comfort food at its finest! Pinning to try soon!
Thanks Krystle! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 🙂
I can almost taste the spice on those shrimp. They look divine! Shrimp and grits is one of my favorite comfort foods!
I totally agree! It doesn’t get much better than that! 🙂
Phenomenal…even without the bacon. Dinner on the table in 15 minutes!
Yayyy!!! I am so glad you liked it!! It is absolutely one of our most favorites! 🙂
This was awesome! I added pepper jack cheese and red bell pepper and it was super pretty!
Jen! This makes my day! I love the additions you made, red bell pepper would go so well with this! I am going to try that next time! I am so glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Chicken broth? It isn’t in the ingredients but it is in the instructions.
Hi Kerry! The chicken broth is used in step 2 🙂
I fixed your recipe for Shrimp and Creamy Cheesy Grits . This is a wonderful and simple recipe. This was the first tom I did shrimp and grits and everybody wants the recipe. The mixture for the shrimp give them a great taste. Instead of using olive oil I found a garlic /herb butter and cooked the shrimp in this and it added to the flavor. I had to double the recipe to feed the family and it turned out fabulous. Great recipe.
Hi Wayne! Thank you so much!! We LOVE this recipe, it is hard to beat a good shrimp and grit dish, isn’t it? I love your idea for the garlic herb butter, I am going to try that next time! 🙂
I was all “ham” and no “burger”, but I put the shrimp and cheese grits principle to task and my Kentucky hubby is so in love with his Jersey wife!
Lawwwwwd, he scraped the bowl and rook the rest to work the next day!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Maebell!!! XOXOXOXO
hahahaha!!! Michelle I love this!! The best way to a man’s heart is through a bowl of shrimp and grits, right?! 😉 Thank you for your kind words! I am so glad you loved this!!
This was the best easy meal in the world and it was delicious!!!!! There was no leftovers and I will be making it over and over again.
Eulonda you made my day!! 🙂 Thank you for your kind words! I am so glad you enjoyed this, it is one of my all time favorites!
Just made this tonight and it was a smashing hit! Will be adding this to our go to menu.
If using bag shrimp from Local store would you recommend the cooked bag of shrimp or the raw bag for this recipe?
Hey Kaitlyn, I always buy the raw shrimp for this recipe. I hope you enjoy, it is one of our favorites!
Do you use quick cooking or regular grits?
Hi Dee, I use regular grits.
Delicious! Easy to make and very quick!
its delicious, thank you for the recipe. Great source of protein.
This is delicious! Based on the sodium level, though, I left out the salt; there is salt in Old Bay (first ingredient) and the bacon is salty. We didn’t meiss it at all.
This recipe is so simple, delicious, and the perfect comfort food! The only change I made was using Old Bay Blackened Seasoning instead of Original Old Bay. This has gone into cozy food night rotation. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Maebell, This is the BEST Shrimp & Creamy Cheesy Grits! Thank you!
This turned out really really good. Like really good my kids and I were happy and full with scrambled eggs of course. Very good flavored grits even though I used old fashioned white grits
Best recipe. Just made it. Delicious
How do I reheat the grits. Thank you
Grits are best reheated slowly, stirring occasionally, with a little extra milk or cream to prevent them from drying out. You can do this in the microwave or on the stovetop. Thanks so much for trying it out and leaving a review!