This delicious recipe for Creole Shrimp and Grits is southern cooking at it's finest. Perfect for brunch, lunch, dinner... any time you feel like eating some good old fashioned comfort food, this is the recipe for that. Creamy Shrimp and Grits, with bacon, butter and cheese, packed with Creole Seasonings it will have you crying for more.
Next time try my Stuffed Crab recipe, it's famous around here, a treat that everyone loves! Or my copycat Texas Roadhouse Grilled Shrimp.
When I first came to Louisiana I heard this dish referenced many times, but I never stuck my neck out to try it until years later. I ate it after a friend whipped it up one night - and never looked back. Holy moly - this stuff is good. Next time you hear someone's making Shrimp and Cheese Grits you better go running with your plate ready.
If you like this recipe, you should check out my Seafood Gumbo recipe, or my Boom Boom Shrimp.
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🧅 Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
🥣 Instructions
- Step One: Make Grits according to instructions (in recipe card below) then stir in cheese until melted.
- Step Two: In a large skillet, cook the bacon on a medium heat then remove. Cook the shrimp in that bacon grease and Creole Seasoning. Cook 3 minutes then remove the shrimp. Add the onions, garlic, flour and broth and cook a few minutes longer.
- Step Three: Add all ingredients back to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Step Four: Pour shrimp and bacon over the cheesy grits recipe and enjoy.
- See full recipe instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Hint: Use a good quality bacon. If your bacon is very thick only use 6 slices. Using a good quality bacon mean everything to this dish.
🔄 Substitutions & Variations
- Seasonings - If you don't have Creole Seasoning feel free to use something like Seasonall or your favorite seasoning blend - Cajun seasoning.
- Cheese - Feel free to use your favorite cheese in the grits too. Even though I use Cheddar, as I feel this works best, if you have a preference (e.g. Gruyere) go ahead.
- Shrimp - I used #16-20 size for this recipe. If you prefer smaller shrimp that's ok.
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes while cooking to imbue heat into the dish
- Shrimp and Grits Kids - some kids just love this dish, like my own. When I know they're eating though I make sure that I make the onions really fine so that they just melt into the dish and leave off the green onions at the end.
- No cheese - You'll sometimes see this dish being served with plain Grits. It's still good.
🍤 Other Shrimp Recipes
- Shrimp Alfredo Bake
- Smoked Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
- Texas Roadhouse Grilled Shrimp
- Bang Bang Shrimp
- Shrimp Etouffee
- Shrimp Boil Foil Packets
- Butterfly Shrimp Recipe
See this List of Favorite Grilled Shrimp Recipes on my website!
🧊 Storage
I recommend making enough of this recipe where you know there will not be any leftovers. I don't think shrimp hold up well to being reheated and dry out.
💡 Top tip
If you're short on time buy the shrimp that has already been peeled and deveined. It can cut a serious amount of time from this recipe.
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section below, how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers!
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Creole Shrimp and Grits
This easy creamy shrimp and grits recipe is rich and savory yet so simple to put together. The smokiness of the bacon and shrimp paired with the cheesiness of the corn grits really hits the right spot for a taste of the South!
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Quick cook Grits
- 8 Cups Water
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Cups Cheddar cheese
- 8 Slices Bacon, chopped (6 if the bacon is thick)
- 3lb Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 Tablespoon Creole Seasoning
- 1 Cup Onion, chopped
- 4 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- 2 Cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 4 Green Onions, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, chopped
- 1-½ Sticks Butter, unsalted
- 1 Cup Cream, heavy whipping
- Juice of 1 Lemon
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil then add the grits and salt. Stir, cover and allow to simmer on low for 5 minutes.
- After the grits have simmered, add the grated cheddar and whisk together with ¼ stick of butter. Cover and put aside.
- Cook the bacon in a skillet until crispy. Remove the bacon and put aside. Keep the grease from the bacon in the skillet.
- Add the shrimp and the Creole Seasoning and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Remove the shrimp promptly and put aside.
- Add the onions to the grease and cook on a medium heat until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the flour and cook together for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Slowly start to add the chicken broth, stirring constantly with the whisk.
- Add the Parsley and Green onions
- Add the bacon and the shrimp back to the pan. Stir for a minute or so then add the cream.
- At this point you can do a taste test, some people prefer a spicier flavor and so more creole seasoning can be added to taste.
- Serve on top of a bed of cheesy grits and eat right away.
Notes
Depending on the thickness of the sauce the extra butter remaining can be added if you like the sauce to be a little runnier.
Buy the peeled and deveined shrimp to save time.
Use a good quality bacon to add the best flavor to this dish.
Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 762Total Fat 52gSaturated Fat 29gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 18gCholesterol 495mgSodium 2519mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 54g
Sam Welch says
Do you have a Shrimp and Grits that was a reddish sauce?
Melanie Cagle says
Hi, sorry Sam, I don't at this time.
KP says
So...1st I'm a horrible cook..I'm just being 100% honest. Since the pandemic I've been trying to learn. This recipe...AMAZING...after checking twice if I had everything I started to cook and didnt have flour.sheesh..but I used the flour I fry fish in..so yum...and it had alot if flavor so I made sure not to over season everything else. Thank you for this recipe I'm excited about how easy it was and it came out SO GOOOD!!!
Melanie Cagle says
I'm so glad KP, thanks for trying it! I appreciate you taking the time to write a message!
Lucy G says
HI
Same here, fell in love with this after eating Shrimp and Grits in North Carolina for the first time! Want to prepare your recipe for friends who don't eat meat. Bacon adds such a deep flavor profile that I just can't imagine S&G without it but I have to try. Any thoughts on what I can add to still develop those deep flavors?
PS: I love your site and recipes without all the ads and pop-ups that are now so common and make it very difficult to read!
Melanie Cagle says
Hi Lucy, I'm glad you got to enjoy this in N.C.
About the bacon, I bet you could add this seasoning to substitute for the flavor? I've heard it's very good and comes close.
Thanks for the kudos on the ad-free experience, but it won't stay that way forever, unfortunately. Us bloggers have to pay the bills too 😉
If you do try the seasoning, please let me know how it went?