Shrimp and Grits
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This easy shrimp and grits recipe incorporates bacon, which gives the dish a nice smoky undertone — and there’s plenty of silky gravy for spooning over the grits.
Shrimp and grits is a beloved Southern dish that originated as a humble and inexpensive meal for fishermen and their families. While traditionally a breakfast item, it has evolved into a popular dinner dish that can be found in all manner of restaurants, from casual seafood shacks to trendy hot spots. While the presence of shrimp and grits is a constant, there are many variations of the dish. Some recipes incorporate sausage or bacon, while others use different types of cheese or vegetables.
My version of shrimp and grits incorporates crispy bacon, which adds a delicious smoky flavor, and a generous amount of sauce for drizzling over the creamy grits. While I know it’s considered sacrilege by some, I use quick-cooking grits to save time (these grits can be prepared in just five minutes!). If you have more time, feel free to use traditional stone-ground grits for a more authentic version of the dish. To really take the dish up a notch, save the shrimp peels, simmer them in the chicken broth for 15 minutes, and then strain; this will infuse the broth with the taste of the sea and add depth and complexity to the sauce.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Shrimp and Grits
For the Shrimp
For the Grits
Step-by-Step instructions
Step 1: Make the Shrimp
To begin, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 7 minutes.
Add the shrimp to the skillet and sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning and salt. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are mostly pink but not quite cooked through, about 2 minutes.
Transfer the shrimp and bacon mixture to a bowl and set aside. Place the skillet back on the heat (do not wash) and melt the butter. Add the light green scallions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour.
Mix until well incorporated, then whisk in the chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
Step 2: Make the Grits
Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside while you make the grits. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the milk and salt. Bring to a boil and then, whisking constantly, slowly pour the grits into the bubbling broth.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking often, until the grits become thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir continuously to prevent sputtering. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese.
Taste and adjust the salt, if necessary. Remove the pan from the heat and cover with a lid to keep warm until ready to serve.
Step 3: Finish the Shrimp
Place the veggie/sauce mixture back on the stove. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Return the shrimp and bacon, along with any juices that collected in the bowl, to the skillet and mix well.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are cooked through, a few minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle a small handful of the dark green scallions over the shrimp (you may not need all of them).
Divide the grits among serving bowls. Spoon the shrimp and sauce over the grits and serve. Pass the hot sauce, if desired.
Video Tutorial
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Shrimp and Grits
This easy shrimp and grits recipe incorporates bacon, which gives the dish a nice smoky undertone — and there’s plenty of silky gravy for spooning over the grits.
Ingredients
For the Shrimp
- 4 slices bacon, cut into ½-in dice
- 1½ lbs jumbo (21/25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, such as Emeril's
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, light and dark green parts divided
- 1 large stalk celery, finely diced
- 1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
For the Grits
- 4 cups whole or 2% milk
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup quick-cooking grits
- ¾ cup (2 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Start the shrimp: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 7 minutes. Add the shrimp to the skillet and sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning and salt. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are mostly pink but not quite cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp and bacon mixture to a bowl and set aside; place the skillet back on the heat (do not wash).
- Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the light green scallions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and mix until incorporated. Whisk in the chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside while you make the grits.
- For the grits: In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk and salt to a boil. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the grits into the bubbling milk. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking often, until the grits become thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. (Stir continuously to prevent sputtering.) Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese. Taste and adjust the salt, if necessary. Remove the pan from the heat and cover with a lid to keep warm until ready to serve.
- Place the skillet with the vegetable/sauce mixture back on the stove and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Return the shrimp and bacon, along with any juices that collected in the bowl, to the skillet and mix well. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle a small handful of the dark green scallions over the shrimp (you may not need all of them).
- Divide the grits among serving bowls. Spoon the shrimp and sauce over the grits and serve. Pass the hot sauce, if desired.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 731
- Fat: 34 g
- Saturated fat: 16 g
- Carbohydrates: 59 g
- Sugar: 17 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 46 g
- Sodium: 1625 mg
- Cholesterol: 291 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn. I don’t eat red meat, and was wondering if thick cut turkey bacon would work in place of the bacon. If not, as it doesn’t render much fat, do you have any substitution tips?
Thank you! Mary
Sure, Mary, turkey bacon would work here. If you want to add a bit more fat, either butter or olive oil would be fine. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
I made the recipe and used thick cut turkey bacon, diced up pretty finely since it doesn’t cook as quickly as regular bacon. This stage took a little longer, and although this recipe is probably more flavorful with real bacon, my family and I loved it. It’s always nice to have a one-dish meal to go to that is a little different. Lots of flavor with not too many ingredients!
So much flavor and looks appealing! My husband and I loved it….made enough for 2 nights. Reheated in the steam oven and it tasted just as delicious as it was on the first night. I’m sending this recipe to my daughter-in-law and I don’t normally do that unless it’s a home-run!
Thank you Jen!
This is a 5-star recipe! While it did take some time to do all the dicing, it was so worth it, both for the shrimp sauce and the grits (Bob’s Red Mill). I kept saying to my husband that this dish is way more than the sum of its parts. I was skeptical it was going to come out tasting like the shrimp and grits I’ve had yet it sure did. Can’t wait to have another occasion to make it.
Amazing and delicious!!! I’m from the South and have tried many shrimp and grits dishes. This one is by far one of my favorites! It’s not too heavy and reheats well! We made cheddar grits to go along with it. Would make it next time with grit cakes! Thanks again for another wonderful recipe!
Wow. Delicious. My husband said it was better than the shrimp and grits at Sandra Bullock’s restaurant downtown. Thank you for this amazing recipe.
BTW – I doubled the recipe without any issues.
Delighted with this recipe! I’m a true southerner, raised in NC. I can attest that this tastes completely authentic and is simple to make. Easy to make adjustments, too. I didn’t have raw shrimp–only precooked–so I saved adding the shrimp until the last possible second just to warm it through, then served. Everyone loved it. Good news, too–the leftovers work the next day–mix everything together, shopping up any leftover shrimp–and served with two over-easy eggs on top of each bowl. Sprinkle with diced tomatoes and serve with hot sauce.
About the 5-minute grits vs. slow-cooking grits, I can say definitively that I never saw home cook go through the trouble of making the slow-cooking grits the entire 23 years I lived in the south. Some restaurants do–and slow-cooking grits do have a lovely texture and are more flavorful. But 5-minute grits work great. It’s the instant grits you want to avoid–those are lousy!
Also, on the polenta vs. grits topic, grits are more flavorful by far, probably because the dent corn from which they are made, a different variety of corn than polenta (which is made from flint corn), is tastier. Also, the dent corn is made into hominy by breaking it down with lye. (Yes, lye!) So the true essence of the corn shines through. Can you tell I love grits more than polenta? But polenta does work well for this dish–that’s what we had on hand, so that’s what I used. Cooking it with milk improves the flavor, as does the addition of cheese.
I made this recipe tonight, and it was delicious and easy to make. I used stone ground grits, and although it took a little longer to cook, it was worth it. I had the time, and the grits on hand. Thanks, Jenn, for another great recipe to add to my already list of great recipes from your site. If I want a great recipe, I always go to Once Upon A Chef first. You’re the best!
❤️
Hi Jenn! I can’t wait to try this Shrimp & Grits Recipe! Quick question on another one of your fabulous recipes, Chicken Marsala. I’m serving for a party of 5…should I just double ALL the ingredients? My guess is yes?! Thank you in advance for all your help and you are Simply The Best Chef Ever! Your recipes truly inspire me to always serve meals with love xoxo
Yes, I would double everything, Stacey — although you’ll have a lot leftover!☺️
I love this site and your recipes but I find it frustrating being from New Zealand that we don’t have ‘grits’ or “pumpkin pie filling” in a can and so on, and I do Google what it is but I’m still not sure what grits are so thought I’d just ask 🙂 – like Polenta?
Yes, grits are very similar to polenta; it’s perfectly fine to use polenta. 🙂
Oh, Man. Where have you been all my life? I just discovered shrimp and grits about a year ago (California Mom and Kansas Dad – that explains a lot) and was hooked. To find out I can make them is wonderful. I had everything in the pantry. I had home made chicken stock, home made Canadian bacon and all the veggies. It was alll there, just waiting to be turned into a wonderful meal. Is there a certain day that is Shrimp and Grits Day? Because I would note that on my calendar and celebrate every time. Thanks so much for sharing.