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
Step 1: Add the half and half and water to a large pot.
Step 2: Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until it boils. Add some salt to the liquid.
Step 3: Add the grits, briskly stirring as you add them.
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.
Step 5: Cook until your grits are completely tender and thick.
Step 6: Stir in the butter and heavy cream, and be sure to taste and season with more salt to taste.
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Grits Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 cups Half and half
- 2 cups 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
- Add half and half and water to a large pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Add some salt to liquid.
- 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 (about 20 for stone ground) stirring twice during this time to maintain smoothness. They should be completely tender and thick.
- 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.
Video
Notes
- No Lumpy Grits! Be sure to whisk the grits into the boiling liquid as soon as you add them. One thing I absolutely hate is lumpy grits so this helps to make sure the grits stay smooth.
- Don’t Skip the Heavy Cream. This is what makes this recipe the BEST grits! They are ultra rich and creamy, making them the ultimate comfort food. If you feel like your grits are super creamy after adding the butter you can omit the heavy cream and add 1 tablespoon at a time until you have reached your desired consistency and creaminess for the grits.
- Don’t Skimp on the Salt. Or add other seasoning as desired. But like potatoes, grits need salt to really enhance their flavor. If you’re worried about over salting them, add it small amounts to achieve a flavor you enjoy.
- Cook on Low. You want the grits to cook slowly and also prevent them boiling them over. It can create quite a mess when that happens!
- Serve Hot. Grits are best served hot and tend to thicken as they cool. If they become too thick, you can add a little more liquid to adjust the consistency.
Nutrition
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)!!
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Thank you!! My husband and I both grew up eating instant grits – like from the paper packets. This is a thousand times better!! The RIGHT way to make grits! Can’t wait to show him what grits ought to really taste like.
Delicious! Takes me back to North Carolina. ❤️
These are the best grits I’ve ever made and I’ve made a lot of grits. Thank you for this recipe. I’ve been doing it wrong for years!
Would this be what is used for Fried Corn Mush??? I used to be able to find it in a loaf of sorts, but now I only see Polenta. I’ve been craving fried mush for years!
If you are going to make grits, how come one of the ingredients is “stone ground grits”?
The stone-ground grits are what you bring home from the store. This recipe tells how to prepare them. It’s like if you were to look at a recipe for spaghetti bolognese; somewhere on the list of ingredients you will find a store-bought box of spaghetti.
Jocelyn,
Grits look very similar to the Mexican “atole de masa” also used with the adjective “champurrado” that means something like more creamy.
The maize grains are boiled and peeled in alkaline water (with “cal apagada”, a calcium compound less strong than calcium hydroxide) in a process called “nixtamal”, then rinsed several times the grains and milled to produce “masa”, dough, used to prepare “tortillas, tamales” and “atole de masa”.
The boiled and peeled whole grain is used to prepare a tasty kind of soup seasoned with not spicy chiles, oregano and other spices with some meat called “pozole”.
In Mexico the “atoles” are prepared either with water or milk, but it is more a beverage served in a cup.
A good atole is creamy, and may be flavored with cinnamon, anise, strawberries, guava, etc.
If one lets it cool it became thick, I think that it is very, very similar to grit, although grit has more cream from milk and looks a little more thicker.
I would love to try it, but today in Mexico is almost impossible to buy authentic good quality cream of milk, and there is nothing like ‘half and half’.
Other similar meal, are the sweet almond “tamales”, which are prepared with “masa”, butter, grinded almonds, sugar, and baking power, spread in the hydrated corn leafs, steam cooked for about 1 hour. They are very tasty, those are a luxury kind of sweet tamales, which are usually prepared with lard, oil or shortening instead of butter, and either currants, diced pineapple or strawberries, instead of almonds.
The “atole de masa” should not be confused with another kind of “atole” prepared with corn starch, it is also creamy but is not as tasty as the one made with “masa”, the grinded boiled maize.
Have you ever tried “atole de masa” or sweet almond “tamales”?
I liked your site, you have unveiled to me the meaning of this new word for me, ‘grits’. Thanks!
I KNOW I saw a recipe on your site for Creamy Dreamy Grits and it used Heavy Cream as well as Half and Half and the recipe I found here is NOT the same.
Can you help me here? They were the best grits I EVER ate and I need to be able to recreate those grits.
Thank you for all your help!
Mary Law
This article and recipe is very good
How does one keep either the grits or the pan from burning
You definitely need to make sure you have enough liquid in the pan for that.
Turn the fire down and use a kid after you pour in your grits(after the half & half starts to boil.)I use a wire whisk to stir, and I stir often almost continuously.
It looks and sounds delicious! Love that it’s so easy to make!