|

Goat Cheese Grits

Goat Cheese Grits are the creamy southern staple that is good any time of the day, but best served with people around your table!

this post contains affiliate links.
These goat cheese grits are a southern staple comfort food.

Growing up, when I was sick, my darling grandmother would come over and make cheese grits.

For us, this is comfort food.

This is what we eat when we just need that little extra comfort in our life.

We’ve had a hard day, something didn’t go as planned, your feeling blue, GRITS are the answer.

Grits are a staple here in the south.

We serve them as Bubba Gump talks about shrimp… Every which way and more! We have a wonderful restaurant in town called Tupelo Honey Cafe, and many have heard of it now that it is a chain and all over the southeast.

They serve delicious goat cheese grits, and this recipe is similar. Their Goat Cheese Grits recipe is in their original cookbook — in high school I loved going to the ‘original’ Tupelo Honey Cafe, and sitting at the bar so I could watch the working kitchen. One evening I was sitting there, and Brian, the head chef offered to show me how to make grits.

What a happy memory!

If you’re looking for a Creamy Shrimp and Grits Recipe, definitely give this one a try! You’ll need the recipe card below for these Goat Cheese Grits though!

How to Make Grits

This is my favorite way to prepare them — with creamy goat cheese stirred in and smokey bacon crumbled on top.

For me, this is a meal in itself, any time of the day.

How to Make Goat Cheese Grits

My recipe starts with slow-cooking stone-ground grits.

Now, get ready… this isn’t a quick thing.

Even when you buy the “quick cook” grits from Quaker, you still need to give it wayyyy more time than you think. {Like, those quick grits that say they are ready in 5-7 minutes… Not really… try 20-30 minutes!}

Most people who say they don’t like grits have never had GOOD grits.

And once you have the real deal, cooked all the way stone-ground grits, you’ll know what you’ve been missing.

While most recipes call for water, I use a combo of both water and milk.

The addition of creamy milk helps give you even creamier grits, leaving that unctuous feeling in your mouth.

These goat cheese grits are a southern staple comfort food.

You’ll need to stand at your stove for a while, so hunker down.

This is a dish prepared with loving tender care — babied, and stirred more than most will ever know.

It’s a lot like making a roux — take your phone off the hook {Which for millennials means putting it on silent and removing your Apple watch.} and wear some comfy shoes. You’re going to be standing and stirring for a long while.

If you’ve ever made fudge, and the whole stir for 7 minutes bothers you, get ready for an arm workout!

These goat cheese grits are a southern staple comfort food.

Steps to Making Grits

Begin with a large dutch oven, like this one, bring you water and milk to a rolling boil.

Not sure what a rolling boil looks like? The water will literally be rolling. If you just see bubbles coming up to the top, it’s not rolling yet! Wait.

Be careful though! The addition of milk makes the boiling process bubble up very quickly, out of no where! Keep a close eye, and have your pot holders ready!

Once you’ve got the boil rolling violently, SLOWLY pour in your grits, while you whisk rapidly.

You want to coat each grain with the liquid, so the slower you pour and the better you whisk, the better your grits will taste.

Now, turn your stove down to simmer—and every 3 minutes, remove the lid and stir, stir, stir!

If you notice your grits becoming thick, but they don’t look (or taste!) creamy, add a splash of cream or milk. (Half and half works well, too!)

Grits are done when they’re silky and creamy.

Nothing gritty should be going on!

Each grain has taken on enough water!

Then, stir in butter, cream, goat cheese, and several grinds from the pepper mill.

Finally, turn the heat off, ladling bowls full of this creamy goodness, and top with the Best Bacon you will ever eat!

A Cheesy Onion Pie is a deliciously hearty main dish to any side of grits!

Serve this with a slice of Crustless Cheesy Ham Quiche!

What can I mix with grits?

You can really top your grits with anything! ((People even add brown sugar on top of theirs!)

I recommend bacon, but Shrimp is lovely!

You could even create a Grits Bar and set out baked potato toppings, and allow people to top their own.

For Christmas Brunch every year we have Schoolhouse Breakfast Casserole with our grits.

What are grits?

Grits are made from dried corn that’s been crushed.

What is the liquid to grits ratio?

While grits are similar to rice, they often need a lot more liquid.

My personal ratio is 4 cups of liquid to 1 cup of stone ground grits.

For quick-cooking grits, you can use 3 cups of liquid to 1 cup of grits.

I start with 4-6 cups of liquid. As the grits cool, they’ll thicken, so if you’re serving these at a grits bar, make them soupier than if you’re making them for breakfast and eating right away.

The great thing about grits is you can always add more liquid. If you think your grits aren’t done, and they need more liquid, add some more! Half a cup at a time.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Goat Cheese Grits

5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Ashley @ Sweetpea Lifestyle
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 50

Description

The creamiest grits you will ever eat!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 cup of whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1.5 cups of white stone ground grits
  • 1 stick salted butter (divided in half)
  • 1/32/3 cup heavy cream or half and half (you can also use milk here, if you’d prefer)
  • 8 ounces goat cheese
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • cooked bacon for garnish


Instructions

  1. In a large dutch oven, bring water, milk, and salt to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Add in your half stick of butter and let it melt in the boiling liquid. {Because we are using milk + water, you’ll want to keep your heat lower than expected.}
  2. Once you have a full rolling boil, SLOWLY pour in your grits while stirring constantly, with a wooden spoon. Don’t stir too crazy, just gently create a cyclone with the water + milk.
  3. Keep stirring for a few minutes — trust me here. Grits are like pasta, you want each grain coated, so you’ll need to stir for a while.
  4. Once the pot is bubbling nicely, and your grits are stirred well, lower the heat to simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Every few minutes, come and stir them so they don’t stick to the bottom. Set a timer, and really stir every three minutes.
  5. After half an hour, stir in your remaining half stick of butter, cream, and goat cheese and several turns of your pepper mill. Garnish with fresh bacon crumbled on top.

Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes
These goat cheese grits are a southern staple comfort food.

I love bringing the pot to the table and ladling bowls of grits to everyone.

Cooking is how I show love to people, and how I connect. I love the humble act of serving others and hearing the silence of a good meal.

Does your family make grits?? I would love to hear what your mama made when you weren’t feeling well!

 

Similar Posts

15 Comments

  1. I’m really picky about my grits – I can’t eat Quick grits at all, it’s got to be slow cooked. LOL I love a good recipe for creamy grits, and I have never tried eating them with goat cheese, but I love goat cheese too. I am printing this recipe to try. #HomeMattersParty

  2. I’ve never tried goats cheese grits before, but I’m a sucker for goats cheese so I’ll definitely be giving this recipe a go! Thanks for sharing 🙂






Comments are closed.