Shrimp and Creamy Cheesy Grits + VIDEO
Cheesy Shrimp and Grits are the ultimate southern meal! Cheesy grits, spicy shrimp, crispy bacon and fresh green onions are perfect comfort food!
Heaven help. I do make a great effort to eat healthy, I hope that is at least semi obvious from this blog. I definitely enjoy the occasionally indulgence, but I really try to keep our little family on the right track. However, sometimes…well, sometimes you just need comfort food. Comfort food that soothes your soul, and eases your mind. On those rare occasions when I really need a meal like this I ignore any consideration for calories. Hey, you have to live a little!
One of our favorite comfort foods is this Shrimp and Grits. Oh my gahhhh this is so freaking good. I kid you not, this makes me a little weak in the knees.
For this recipe, plump shrimp are tossed in spices and perfectly sautéed. Grits are cooked in chicken broth then mixed with cream cheese, extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese to make the creamiest, cheesiest grits you have ever had! And if that doesn’t sound like enough, top it all with freshly chopped green onions, crisp bacon, and freshly ground black pepper.
If you are only going to try one recipe on this site, let it be this! It is better than any restaurant quality shrimp and grit dish I have ever had. And trust me, I’ve had more than a few.
If you have never made the leap and tried shrimp and grits before, this is the recipe that should push you over the edge. The grits do not have a distinctive taste on their own, instead they just soak up the flavor of the shredded cheddar, cream cheese, and chicken broth. Really, just give it a try! It is very simple, and comes together pretty quickly. Just take a good look, this is too good to resist!
Ingredients in Creamy Shrimp and Grits
To make the spiced shrimp and cheese grits, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Shrimp
- Olive oil
- Spices: Old Bay seasoning, Italian seasoning, Garlic powder, Smoked paprika
- Chicken broth
- Yellow corn grits
- Cream cheese
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Green onions
- Bacon
How to Make Shrimp and Grits
This Southern shrimp and grits is so easy to make! The creamy, cheesy grits are cooked first since they take longer than the shrimp does. Here’s an overview of the cooking process:
- In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove to a plate and crumble. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add in the grits and cook until the liquid is absorbed.
- To the grits, add the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper.
- Season the shrimp, then cook in the same skillet you fried the bacon in.
- Spoon the creamy grits into bowls, top with shrimp, and garnish with green onion.
Can I Use Quick Cooking Grits?
No, I recommend using regular grits to make this shrimp grits recipe.
Tips for the Best Shrimp and Grits
- After cooking the bacon, wipe the skillet clean. It’s okay if there’s a little fat left in it, but you don’t want too much.
- Be sure to buy raw shrimp for this recipe. If the shrimp are frozen, defrost before cooking.
- For the best texture, buy a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself.
More Easy Shrimp Recipes:
- Keto Shrimp and Grits
- Gouda Grits with Shrimp and Crispy Sprouts
- Andouille Sausage, Jerk Shrimp, & Cheddar Grits
- One-Pan Shrimp and Feta Pasta
- Sesame Shrimp Skewers
Get the Recipe: Shrimp and Creamy Cheesy Grits
Ingredients
- 1/2-3/4 pound deveined and shelled shrimp
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup yellow corn grits
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 green onion stalks, chopped
- 2 slices bacon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet cook two slices of bacon over medium heat until crisp, remove bacon from skillet, roughly chop. Wipe skillet clean and set aside to use later for the shrimp.
- In a medium to large sauce pan bring chicken broth to a boil, add grits and reduce heat to low. Cover and let grits simmer for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When grits have absorbed the liquid add cream cheese, shredded cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir mixture well, cover and remove from heat.
- Place shrimp in a large plastic bag or mixing bowl, add Old Bay, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and smoked paprika and toss until shrimp is coated.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes on each side or until shrimp is pink and tender.
- To assemble the shrimp and grits add a heaping serving of grits to two shallow bowls. Top with shrimp, chopped green onions, chopped bacon and additional pepper.
This looks divine- definitely my kind of food! Love the idea!
Thank you Jessica!
I don’t think I have ever eaten shrimp and grits before, but this recipe makes me really wish that I had some right now! I didn’t try shrimp until a few years ago and I finally realized what I had been missing all those years, these shrimp with those seasonings look amazing! I’m also a sucker for anything with cheese in it, so sign me up for some cheesy grits!!
Oh you have to try this! I really don’t eat shrimp very often, the texture kind of gets me sometimes. But my husband LOVES it so I try to have it every now and then, but I could eat a boatload of this stuff!
This looks AMAZING! This is going to sound nuts, but I’ve never had grits before. AHH! I know. Horrible. I should really eat more southern foods. I am going to have to make this immediately!
Thank you Natalie! I hope you enjoy! It is definitely one of our favorites!
That does look amazing! I love cheesey grits (for any meal of the day!), will have to try this variation sometime! 🙂
Cheesy grits are the best!! 🙂
You were just saying on my blog that you’d never tried rhubarb, Annie. Well, guess what? I’ve never tried grits!! No, never. In fact, I am about to go and google them because I don’t even know what they are! What were you saying about the food blogging community? 😉
So … thanks for introducing these to me! The flavours in them sound absolutely amazing – I love shrimp and all of those spices you’ve used.
Yes! I love it, I love the community! It is so cool that we can all come up with our own little creations and share them. I am going to try rhubarb and you have to try grits! 🙂
I’ve never had grits in my life but I need to! I’ve also never had Old Bay seasoning -I think it’s an American spice? I need to mail order some of that stuff! This looks so delicious!!!
I am pretty much addicted to Old Bay, it is like an all purpose spice mix but mainly used for seafood. It is sooo good! It is perfect with these grits!
Not to sound like a broken record here, but I’ve never had grits before either! Yours look like something I could definitely get on board with! Bacon and cream cheese and cheddar? Yes please!
I know! It is pretty much the ultimate flavor combo!
Comfort food at its finest! Pinning to try soon!
Thanks Krystle! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 🙂
I can almost taste the spice on those shrimp. They look divine! Shrimp and grits is one of my favorite comfort foods!
I totally agree! It doesn’t get much better than that! 🙂
Phenomenal…even without the bacon. Dinner on the table in 15 minutes!
Yayyy!!! I am so glad you liked it!! It is absolutely one of our most favorites! 🙂
This was awesome! I added pepper jack cheese and red bell pepper and it was super pretty!
Jen! This makes my day! I love the additions you made, red bell pepper would go so well with this! I am going to try that next time! I am so glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Chicken broth? It isn’t in the ingredients but it is in the instructions.
Hi Kerry! The chicken broth is used in step 2 🙂
I fixed your recipe for Shrimp and Creamy Cheesy Grits . This is a wonderful and simple recipe. This was the first tom I did shrimp and grits and everybody wants the recipe. The mixture for the shrimp give them a great taste. Instead of using olive oil I found a garlic /herb butter and cooked the shrimp in this and it added to the flavor. I had to double the recipe to feed the family and it turned out fabulous. Great recipe.
Hi Wayne! Thank you so much!! We LOVE this recipe, it is hard to beat a good shrimp and grit dish, isn’t it? I love your idea for the garlic herb butter, I am going to try that next time! 🙂
I was all “ham” and no “burger”, but I put the shrimp and cheese grits principle to task and my Kentucky hubby is so in love with his Jersey wife!
Lawwwwwd, he scraped the bowl and rook the rest to work the next day!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Maebell!!! XOXOXOXO
hahahaha!!! Michelle I love this!! The best way to a man’s heart is through a bowl of shrimp and grits, right?! 😉 Thank you for your kind words! I am so glad you loved this!!
This was the best easy meal in the world and it was delicious!!!!! There was no leftovers and I will be making it over and over again.
Eulonda you made my day!! 🙂 Thank you for your kind words! I am so glad you enjoyed this, it is one of my all time favorites!
Just made this tonight and it was a smashing hit! Will be adding this to our go to menu.
If using bag shrimp from Local store would you recommend the cooked bag of shrimp or the raw bag for this recipe?
Hey Kaitlyn, I always buy the raw shrimp for this recipe. I hope you enjoy, it is one of our favorites!
Do you use quick cooking or regular grits?
Hi Dee, I use regular grits.
Delicious! Easy to make and very quick!
its delicious, thank you for the recipe. Great source of protein.
This is delicious! Based on the sodium level, though, I left out the salt; there is salt in Old Bay (first ingredient) and the bacon is salty. We didn’t meiss it at all.
This recipe is so simple, delicious, and the perfect comfort food! The only change I made was using Old Bay Blackened Seasoning instead of Original Old Bay. This has gone into cozy food night rotation. Thank you for sharing this recipe!