Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Shrimp & Grits
creek shrimp over slow-cooked, cheese-enriched stone-ground grits.
American (Lowcountry) · medium · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 45 min
~611 cal · 51g protein · 36g carbs · 28g fat · 1g fiber · 1g sugars · 14g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Shrimp and grits began as a humble fisherman's breakfast in the Gullah Geechee communities of the South Carolina Lowcountry, the descendants of enslaved West Africans whose culture endured along the coastal islands and tidal creeks. Shrimp netted from the creeks at dawn were cooked simply and spooned over grits, the ground corn that was a daily staple.
For most of its life it was exactly that: a plain, sustaining plate of "breakfast shrimp" over stone-ground grits, eaten by the people who caught the shrimp. Only later did Charleston chefs discover and elevate it, enriching the grits with cheese and butter and dressing the shrimp with bacon, gravy, and spice.
Even in its fancier restaurant form, the soul of the dish is still that dockside breakfast, the freshness of the shrimp and the creamy comfort of the corn. Rich, savoury, and rooted in place, shrimp and grits is one of the defining tastes of Lowcountry cooking.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, nut- and egg-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.25 lbs large shrimp, peeled
1 cup stone-ground grits (never instant or quick)
Hard to find? coarse polenta - a different corn but the same coarse grind; cook it the same slow way and it eats very nearly the same
5 cups chicken or vegetable
1/4 tsp each baking soda and cornstarch, to brine the shrimp
1 cup sharp cheddar, grated
3 tbsp butter
4 slices bacon, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon
4 , sliced
to taste hot sauce
Instructions
1
Toss the shrimp with a little salt, the baking soda and the cornstarch and leave them in the fridge for 30 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
A short dry brine keeps the shrimp plump and gives them a snappy bite instead of going mushy, and the cornstarch lightly thickens the pan sauce later.
2
Whisk the grits into 5 cups of simmering salted stock and cook at a bare simmer, stirring and scraping the bottom often, for about an hour, until they thicken into a spoonable porridge.
✎ Chef’s note
Five parts liquid to one part grits, not four, and stock rather than water. It will look alarmingly thin at first; hold your nerve and keep stirring, because the alternative is undercooked, gritty grits. Stone-ground only, never instant, and give them the full hour.
3
Off the heat, beat the cheese and butter into the grits, and keep warm.
4
Crisp the bacon (or bloom the paprika in oil), then set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
5
Sear the shrimp (or mushroom rounds) in that fat for 2 minutes a side, adding the garlic at the end.
6
Deglaze the pan with lemon juice and a splash of water, swirling it into a quick pan sauce.
7
Ladle grits into bowls and top with the shrimp, pan sauce, bacon, scallions, and hot sauce.
Gullah-Geechee Lowcountry tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Lowcountry (South Carolina). Carolina Gold is a named variety rather than a marketing phrase, a long pale grain that emerged around the time of the Revolution and was brought back from near extinction only in recent decades. Hoppin' John, rice cooked with field peas, may take its name from the French Creole pois pigeons rather than from anybody called John.
🗺️
United States. American barbecue is one tradition that split into many. It took shape in the slaveholding South, where enslaved cooks combined Indigenous, European and African fire techniques over trench pits, then travelled with people: whole hog and vinegar in the Carolinas, brisket and sausage in the Central Texas towns settled by German and Czech butchers, burnt ends in the Kansas City stockyards.
🌍
North America. Almost every regional cooking here records who arrived and on what terms. Enslaved West Africans brought rice, okra, black-eyed peas and the techniques behind Lowcountry and Creole food; Chinese railway labour and later Italian, Jewish, Mexican and Vietnamese arrivals built the way the cities eat; and Indigenous foodways sit underneath all of it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Thickens as it sits. Reheat with extra water or milk to loosen, and keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated.
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Shrimp & Grits?
creek shrimp over slow-cooked, cheese-enriched stone-ground grits.
Where does Shrimp & Grits come from?
Shrimp & Grits is a American (Lowcountry) dish from Lowcountry (South Carolina), United States.
Can Shrimp & Grits be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Shrimp & Grits recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Shrimp & Grits safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Shrimp & Grits take to make?
About 60 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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