Warm and creamy cheese grits are a delicious Southern favorite that can be served as a breakfast, side dish, or main entrée. The perfect combination of quick grits, butter and shredded gouda cheese create a comforting dish that’s simple to make and endlessly versatile.
Why you’ll love this recipe for Cheese Grits
- Customizeable – Add your favorite toppings, whether it’s crispy bacon, pulled bbq pork or caramelized onions.
- The perfect comfort food – Bring back those family memories in the kitchen, and make some new ones of your own!
- The best side dish – What doesn’t go good with cheese grits? This versitle dish pairs well with almost anything, when in doubt make cheese grits!
Grits vs cornmeal vs polenta
There is some confusion out there as to what the actual differences are between grits, cornmeal, and polenta. Let me tell you the key characteristics so you know exactly what you’re dealing with:
- Cornmeal: A general term for all types of cornmeal, but this usually refers to the fine-grain variety used in baking recipes like cornbread.
- Grits: Popular in the Southern United States. Grits are made from ground hominy and have a smooth, creamy texture with a porridge-like consistency. They’re often served as a side dish and flavored with butter, cheese, salt, and other seasonings.
- Polenta: A traditional Northern Italian dish made from coarse-ground yellow cornmeal, resulting in a thicker, more solid texture. Polenta can be baked, grilled, or fried, and it’s typically served as a main dish topped with meat, cheese, or other sauces.
Ingredients
Just a small amount of ingredients bring together this rich and savory dish of cheesy grits!
- Water
- Chicken broth – Use regular chicken broth, our homemade chicken stock, or a chicken stock concentrate.
- Quick grits – Quick grits over regular grits will provide the best texture and faster cooking time.
- Unsalted butter – Adds a lovely creamy texture and nutty flavor.
- Seasonings – Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder and a hint of sweetness from brown sugar.
- Canned coconut milk – Check to be sure it’s only coconut milk, and not coconut cream.
- Shredded gouda cheese – Gouda cheese adds such a rich, savory, complex cheesy flavor that is absoultley delicious!
How To Make Cheese Grits
In a medium saucepan, bring the water and chicken broth to a boil. Add the grits and butter, season with salt and pepper as desired, and stir to combine.
Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally until thickened. Once the grits begin to soak up the liquid, stir in the brown sugar and garlic powder.
When the grits are done, stir in the coconut milk and cheese in small increments. Add ¼ cup coconut milk and about ½ cup cheese and stir. Continue this until all the milk and cheese is mixed in. At this point you can also add more water to thin the grits to your liking. Season with salt as desired.
What to do with leftovers
Grits are great for leftovers and making ahead of time. Just follow these simple storage instructions:
- Fridge: Wait for your cheese grits to cool down to room temperature, then store them in an airtight container or sealed bag for up to 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: Just like the fridge, wait until your grits reach room temperature. Transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container, and they will last up to 3 months this way.
- Thaw: Thaw frozen cheese grits in the fridge overnight before you’re ready to heat them up again.
How to reheat grits
The best way to reheat your leftover grits is on the stovetop. Just add them to a saucepan over low heat, add a splash of broth or water, and stir them until creamy again.
Recipe variations
- Herbs: Experiment with different herbs like rosemary, thyme, or basil. You can also try something with a little heat like Cajun Seasoning.
- Sweet: Make a sweet take on grits by omitting the cheese, chicken broth, and garlic. Add in more sugar or maple syrup and serve it as a dessert.
- Spicy: Add some chopped jalapeño peppers or serrano peppers with the melted cheese for a spicy kick!
Expert Tips
- Choose the right grits: For a more traditional texture, opt for stone-ground grits. But if you want to save time, quick-cooking grits are such a great option!
- Use the proper water ratio: Make sure you measure the liquid exactly. It’s best to go with a 2:1 ratio for perfectly creamy grits. But, always double-check the package instructions on your specific brand to be sure.
- Cook slowly: Don’t rush the cooking process! Cook grits over a lower heat while stirring occasionally. This prevents them from burning and turning out lumpy.
Serving suggestions
There aren’t many dishes cheese grits don’t go well with, so I’ll leave you with a few ideas. But seriously, they enhance just about anything! Use them as a bed for Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs, Southern Smothered Pork Chops, or Fried Catfish to get super Southern with it!
Alternatively, serve them as part of a Southern breakfast spread with Brown Sugar Bacon, Hash Browns, Hoe Cakes, and Bacon Cheddar Biscuits. You’ve got options people!
More Delicious Recipes
If you enjoyed this cheese grits recipe, test out a few more of Grandbaby Cakes’ BEST recipes featuring grits:
Cheese Grits
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups Water plus more to thin out to your liking
- 2 cups Chicken broth
- 2 cups Quick grits
- 4 tablespoons Unsalted butter
- Kosher salt
- Cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 3/4 cup Canned coconut milk
- 2 cups Shredded gouda cheese
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water and chicken broth to a boil. Add the grits and butter, season with salt and pepper as desired, and stir to combine.
- Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally until thickened. Once the grits begin to soak up the liquid, stir in the brown sugar and garlic powder.
- When the grits are done, stir in the coconut milk and cheese in small increments. Add ¼ cup coconut milk and about ½ cup cheese and stir. Continue this until all the milk and cheese is mixed in. At this point, you can also add more water to thin the grits to your liking. Season with salt as desired.
Notes
- Choose the right grits: For a more traditional texture, opt for stone-ground grits. But if you want to save time, quick-cooking grits are such a great option!
- Use the proper water ratio: Make sure you measure the liquid exactly. It’s best to go with a 2:1 ratio for perfectly creamy grits. But, always double-check the package instructions on your specific brand to be sure.
- Cook slowly: Don’t rush the cooking process! Cook grits over a lower heat while stirring occasionally. This prevents them from burning and turning out lumpy.
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This is exactly how I make my savory grits (without the brown sugar). I also LOVE adding in bacon and jalapeño!
Who knew grits could be so tasty? This Cheese Grits recipe is a game changer! Creamy, cheesy, and oh so comforting. Now I can finally say I know what all the fuss is about. Yum!
Wow this dish looks delicious!! will make it for the family as we really like savory dishes. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
This is true comfort in a bowl! I would have never thought of cheese and grits together, but it tastes amazing.
Oh my goodness, these grits are SO tasty! Love the addition of creamy coconut milk, and the Gouda makes them sooo good-a! 🙂
These cheese grits look perfect! I have never had grits before, but someone told me to bring some to a potluck so I have been looking up alllll the recipes and this one sounds the best. So excited to make this!