My family likes grits. I am still learning to like grits. I grew up in Oregon where grits are a pretty foreign food. Or at least they are foreign in the small town that I grew up in. But after living in Oklahoma for fourteen years I am learning to enjoy grits. That is if they are cooked certain ways. I like my crockpot grits, which we eat often for breakfast. The other way I like grits is when they are loaded with cheese. Cheese makes everything taste better as far as I am concerned. I like to make this recipe for a quick and easy dinner. It contains sausage so it makes a nice meal served with some fruit or vegetables.
For this recipe you need to use old fashioned grits not the quick instant kind. We like these stone ground ones that Bob’s Red Mill makes.
Baked Cheese Grits
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grits (not the instant or quick grits)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 pound of sausage
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 11×7 pan. In a pan cook onion and sausage until sausage is done and onion is softened. Add water, cream, Tabasco, and salt and bring to a boil. Whisk in grits and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently until thick and creamy, about 12 minutes. Off the heat stir in cheese and eggs. Pour into greased pan and smooth top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let rest five minutes before serving.
Adapted from Cook’s Country
I am not sure of the exact cost of this meal but I think it is pretty frugal probably about $5. For more ideas see $5 dinners.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
this looks so good!! I grew up in Alabama, so grits have always been a staple in my life. I can’t wait to make these.
Those sound really yummy. Here in El Paso they make green chili grits that are pretty good. Being from the south, I’ll eat grits pretty much any way you cook them, but Shrimp and Grits is the all time fave at our house.
I have everything on the list to make this! So I think that is what I will do!
Thank you very much.
Roberta Anne
Ok, I’m an Oregon girl and I’m unfamiliar with grits. Are grits the same thing as polenta? By that I mean are they just a coarse ground cornmeal? Do they have anything added or are they milled in a certain way to make them different from polenta?
This recipe sounds really good and I have polenta on hand (from Bob’s Red Mill as luck would have it) but I’m not sure about substituting. Would it work?
Jill
Yes, Jill Bob’s Red Mill Polenta ( yellow grits) are what I use. They are basically old fashioned grits.
Hi Lynn,
Just wanted to thank you for your recipes. I cooked this one tonight and it was a hit and last night I made the Chicken Taco Soup which was also a hit!
Thanks for sharing!
Ashley
@Ashley, I am so glad that you liked it.