Although the recipe for shrimp and grits is extremely straightforward, be sure everything is prepared before you begin cooking the shrimp. You don’t have time to run and chop scallions or squeeze a lemon because they simply need to sauté for a little while. Once everything is put together, making this recipe is simple. Making the grits ahead of time will make things much simpler because they keep their heat for a very long period.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white grits
- ½ cup shredded white Cheddar cheese
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced green onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until almost crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer bacon to a dish, leaving drippings in the skillet.
- Whisk 1/4 cup water, cream, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl.
- Stir 4 cups water, butter, and 1 teaspoon salt together in a pot; bring to a boil. Whisk grits into pot, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook until grits are creamy, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir white Cheddar cheese into grits.
- Place shrimp in a large bowl and season with Cajun seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Heat skillet with bacon drippings over high heat. Cook shrimp in hot bacon fat in a single layer for 1 minute. Turn shrimp and add jalapeno; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir cream mixture, bacon, green onion, and garlic to shrimp mixture; cook and stir, adding water as necessary to thin the sauce, until shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.
- Ladle grits into a bowl and top with shrimp and sauce.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 434 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 33 g |
| Cholesterol | 226 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 1499 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 20 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I first had shrimp and grits when I moved to Charleston SC. I found the Chef John recipe on food wishes. This is the best recipe ever. I add andouille or kielbasas sausage as well.
It is very good! I doubled the sauce because… yum! I used cilantro instead of parsley. You must try this recipe! I love Chef John’s recipes, and this is no exception.
This is a great recipe .
LOVE IT!
The right amount of spicy and creamy and cheesy. The first time I made it I got the “look”. Now I get, “we need to have this more. ” I usually double the cream sauce because I do love it so.
This recipe was super easy and super quick. I wouldn’t change a thing! It was spicey and creamy and just delicious. We loved it.
Delish as written!
I didn’t have white cheddar on hand; I used smoked gouda. I got a happy smile from everyone! I’ll definitely make this again!
This is a recipe where I’m confused why more people haven’t saved it. It’s
We made this tonight and it was AMAZING!!!!!! Love chef John!
Thanks for the recipe Chef John. I followed your recipe except that I added a few TB of diced onions and used half and half. I was out of cream. Your videos are always helpful and interesting.
Excellent recipe. Everyone loves it!
This was awesome! I made it more Mexican with green chilies & picante. I can’t eat salt so I skipped the bacon. I highly recommend!
Wonderful recipe
Yummo! Doubled the sauce and thickened with a bit of flour and left out the jalapeño. Used Tony Chachere creole seasoning. Very good recipe
Awesome! I have made several of Chef John’s recipe’s. I feel this is one of his best that he’s placed on this site. Seem’s that all the ingredients were spot on. Very full of flavor to the pallet. Thanks so much for sharing.
loved it and simple to make
Followed recipe, except doubled everything. Little tricky to get all the shrimp in the pan in one layer. Flavor was amazing. Will make again, and again. Thank you, Chef John!
wife loved it
This was great. I made it exactly as written. Next time I would increase the amount of shrimp, at least double(maybe triple) the amount of cajun seasoning and 4x the sauce. There is only about 1/8 cup of sauce after it coats the shrimp. we wanted more to eat with our grits. Will definitely make again with the adjustments
So good!