Shrimp and Grits

Ain’t nothing like some cozy Southern Shrimp and Grits y’all. It sticks to your ribs with each bite feeling like a warm hug. We spoon a super flavorful and aromatic shrimp gravy over creamy, buttery, seafood stock infused grits with crispy pancetta as a garnish for additional texture. The two together are a legit match made in heaven. If you wanna truly find a shrimp and grits recipe that won’t disappoint, you have come to the right place.

Disclosure: I partnered with COLUMBUS® Craft Meats for this recipe post, but all opinions expressed here are my own. I am grateful for authentic partnerships like this.

When I want to just chill at home on the couch with some good ole fashioned comfort food, I make this shrimp and grits recipe. It just makes me feel so so good. Grits are already one of my fave foods ever. They are simple, no fuss and down right delish.

They are a reminder that you don’t need a whole lot to make something taste good. But boy oh boy, when you spoon a rich savory plump shrimp sauce over a bowl, that’s some bomb eating. Let’s get into it.

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The Lowdown on This Shrimp and Grits Recipe

Cuisine Inspiration: Southern comfort

Primary Cooking Method: Sautéing and Simmering

Dietary Info: Can be made gluten-free with ingredient swaps

Key Flavor: Hearty creamy grits with savory, rich shrimp

Skill Level: Easy y’all (No Sweat Fam!)

Classic OG Combo

There’s a reason why this Southern dish is such a hit. Those down-home flavors are beyond satisfying and always hit the spot.

Easy Breezy

Making this dish ain’t hard at all boos. Whether you make it for a no-fuss weeknight dinner or serve it up to impress dinner party guests, the straightforward instructions make it easy peasy to pull off.

Flavors on Flavors

Listen, we build flavors in so many ways from creating our own fast shrimp stock to infuse our grits with additional depth to adding pancetta instead of bacon to our shrimp sauce to up the flavor.

Ingredients you’ll need to make the best shrimp and grits

• Stock & Grits Base: Shrimp shells, pancetta, green onions, and water come together to create a poppin stock foundation for the grits.
• Old-Fashioned Grits: Go for the real deal like a self-respecting Southerner—no playing around with instant grits around these parts. We want the ultimate creamy texture.
• Butter: This brings the undeniable richness and indulgence to our grits and shrimp gravy.
• Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper: This helps season our food to perfection boos.
• More Pancetta: Bacon is the usual go to but trust me with this swap. We elevate the savory flavor with some delish COLUMBUS® Craft Meats pancetta. The quality is undefeated. You can really taste the bold smoky unique flavor when you crisp it up and add to the shrimp sauce.
• Onion, Celery, and Green Bell Pepper: The Holy Trinity of Southern cooking. It provides the earthy notes and texture to our savory base.
• Garlic: We gotta mince some up for that aromatic punch.
• All-Purpose Flour: This thickens the sauce just right.
• Creole Seasoning: I grab no-salt so I can add a flavorful pop without the extra sodium.
• Reserved Shrimp Stock: We make it early in the recipe and use in the grits and also as a flavor foundation for our shrimp sauce.
• Large Shrimp: Deveined and peeled, these are ready to soak up all that flavor. Don’t forget to save the peels. They go in our stock boos!
• Roma Tomato: Diced for a fresh, bright note.
• Green Onion Tops: Sliced thinly for that final fresh garnish.

How to make shrimp and grits

Step 1: Make the Stock

1

Combine shrimp shells, pancetta, and green onions with water in a medium saucepan.

2

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.

3

Strain the stock into a heat-safe container. Make sure you press on all the solids to get as much liquid out as possible. Discard the remaining solids.

4

Reserve some of your stock for your shrimp sauce. You will use the rest for the grits.

Step 2: Make the Grits

5

Bring 4 cups of the stock to a boil. Whisk in grits, 1 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper. Whisk consistently for the first 30 seconds. Once it comes back to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 12 minutes, whisking occasionally.

6

Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter.

7

Grits will thicken up as they cool.

Step 3: Let’s Cook the Shrimp

8

In a large nonstick skillet, add COLUMBUS® Craft Meats pancetta and cook over medium heat until lightly crispy and fat is rendered, about 3 minutes. Set aside 2 tablespoons cooked pancetta.

9

Add butter to the skillet.

10

Once melted, add onion, celery, and bell pepper.

11

Cook until the veggies are softened, about 6-7 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.

12

Whisk in flour and Creole seasoning and cook for 1 minute.

13

Whisk as you slowly pour in 1 ½ cups stock. Let mixture simmer vigorously, continuing to whisk as it thickens.

14

Stir in shrimp and tomatoes plus a little salt.

15

Cook until the shrimp go from translucent to opaque, about 4 minutes, flipping halfway through. Simmer until mixture continues to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.

16

Remove from heat and serve immediately over grits. Garnish with dark parts of green onions and reserved pancetta.

What to serve with New Orleans Shrimp and Grits

• Family Style Southern Brunch: If you have company over, add your girts to a platter with the shrimp sauce piled high on top. And don’t forget to add this biscuits and gravy casserole and these homemade cinnamon rolls.
• Coastal Comfort Supper: This simple shrimp with grits is perfect to serve along with blackened salmon, creamed spinach and fried corn.
• Seafood Buffet: Fry up some fried catfish and hush puppies, make this crab stuffed salmon to serve with your grits and shrimp and serve up smothered potatoes.

Menu Option: New Orleans Inspired Feast with Shrimp and Grits

Red beans and rice are a delish main to serve along with this grits and shrimp.

Shrimp Etouffee is a great way to use up more of that shrimp for your NOLA feast.

These NOLA Beignets are the perfect way to end this wonderful meal.

Hurricanes are the ultimate drinks to serve during your feast.

Recipe Substitutions

• Homemade shrimp stock: To cut down on the work, you can sub in seafood stock or chicken stock.
• Grits: If you gotta cut down on the time, use quick grits which are ready in about 5 minutes. Polenta also works.
• Shrimp: Go with something fun like scallops or even lobster for a sophisticated twist.
• Creole seasoning: You can swap in Old Bay seasoning or even cajun seasoning here. Make sure it is low sodium or no salt so you can build in as much salt as you want.

Recipe Variations and Additions

• Cheese Up Those Grits: Swap out these shrimp stock infused grits for super creamy melty cheese grits instead.
• Get Super Cajun: Substitute Creole seasoning with some Cajun seasoning blend and add andouille sausage to the sauce. That’s good eatin boos!
• Get Into Sweet Potatoes: Replace the grits with these sweet potato grits for a unique sweet and creamy option.
• Add some veggies: Adding some spinach to the shrimp sauce is a fun way to get more veggies into the mix.

Expert Tips and Tricks for making the best Southern shrimp and grits recipe

1. Go Quality: Go with the good high-quality shrimp boos. They will taste so juicy and flavorful if you do.
2. Don’t Skip The Homemade Stock: We add the homemade shrimp stock to this recipe because it makes the flavors pop even more in those grits and the gravy.
3. Don’t Overcook: Shrimp cooks quickly y’all. You wanna cook them until they just turn pink and opaque. If you overcook them, they will taste super tough and rubbery.
4. Taste and Adjust: I keep the sodium down because I want you to flavor both the grits and the shrimp sauce to your liking and preference. Do you boo!
5. Serve Immediately: You wanna serve the shrimp while hot and tender and not overcooked. And you wanna serve those grits when they are nice and creamy before they get too thick in texture.

How to store & reheat grits and shrimp

I like to store the leftovers separately in airtight containers in the fridge. You can also add to freezer bags if you want. When you want to reheat, pour the grits into a small pot and add some additional milk or broth to loosen them and return them to a creamy texture. For the shrimp sauce, you gotta heat on low heat so they don’t overcook.

How long will shrimp and grits last in the fridge?

They will last in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze grits and shrimp?

Boos you can but I don’t recommend it. The freezing and reheating of the shrimp can make them super rubbery. The grit texture will also change.

Frequently asked questions

The best shrimp and grits recipe you will ever taste is right here y’all. The flavors are popping. The grits are insanely creamy and buttery. The shrimp sauce is downright delish with so many flavors and textures. Put them together and get ready for a bomb match made in heaven.

More Shrimp recipes

• Fried Shrimp
• Shrimp Creole
• Shrimp Scampi Pasta
• Easy Shrimp Scampi and Grits
• Keto Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp and grits

A delicious Southern shrimp and grits made with a perfectly flavorful juicy shrimp gravy served over shrimp stock infused creamy buttery grits.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

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Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

Course: Main Course

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• Saucepan Set

Ingredients

For the Stock and Grits

• ▢ shells from 1 pound of large shrimp*
• ▢ 2 tbsp COLUMBUS® Craft Meats pancetta
• ▢ 3 green onions white parts only, but reserve green parts for garnish
• ▢ 6 cups water
• ▢ 1 cup old-fashioned grits
• ▢ 4 tbsp unsalted butter divided
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• ▢ 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the Shrimp

• ▢ 3 oz COLUMBUS® Craft Meats pancetta
• ▢ 6 tbsp unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 small onion diced small, about 3/4 cup
• ▢ 1/2 cup celery ribs diced small, about 2 ribs
• ▢ 1/2 cup green bell pepper diced small, about 1/2 a green bell pepper
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp no-salt Creole seasoning
• ▢ 1 1/2 cup reserved stock
• ▢ 1 lb large deveined EZ-peel shrimp*
• ▢ 1 small Roma tomato diced
• ▢ 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• ▢ reserved dark green parts of green onions sliced thinly

Instructions

For the Stock and Grits

• To make a flavorful stock for grits, combine shrimp shells, pancetta, and green onions along with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
• Strain stock into heat-safe container, pressing on all the solids to get as much water out as possible. Discard solids.
• Reserve 1 ½ cups stock for shrimp. Set aside.
• In the same saucepan, bring 4 cups stock to a boil. Whisk in grits, 2 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper. Whisk consistently for the first 30 seconds. Once it comes back to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 12 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Grits will thicken up as they cool.

For the Shrimp

• In a large nonstick skillet, add pancetta and cook over medium heat until lightly crispy and fat is rendered, about 3 minutes. Set aside 2 tablespoons cooked pancetta.
• Add butter to skillet and once melted, add onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook until vegetables are softened and just beginning to get color around the edges, about 6-7 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
• Whisk in flour and Creole seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Whisk as you slowly pour in 1 ½ cups stock. Let mixture simmer vigorously, continuing to whisk as it thickens.
• Stir in shrimp and tomatoes, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook until shrimp go from translucent to opaque, about 4 minutes, flipping halfway through. Simmer until mixture continues to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and serve immediately over grits. Garnish with dark parts of green onions and reserved pancetta.

Notes

*When shopping for shrimp, you want to make sure the shells are still on because they will help us make a super flavorful stock. However, you still want to make life easy, so purchase the EZ peel kind, where the shell is still on, but the shrimp have been deveined and cut, so it’s much easier to remove the shell.

How to store & reheat grits and shrimp

I like to store the leftovers separately in airtight containers in the fridge. You can also add to freezer bags if you want. When you want to reheat, add the grits to a small pot and add some additional milk or broth to loosen them and return them to a creamy texture. For the shrimp sauce, you gotta heat on low heat so they don’t overcook.

How long will shrimp and grits last in the fridge?

They will last in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze grits and shrimp?

Boos you can but I don’t recommend it. The freezing and reheating of the shrimp can make them super rubbery. The grit texture will also change.

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