It doesn't get better than homemade Shrimp and Grits and this recipe is the real deal, with perfectly creamy and flavorful grits topped with fresh shrimp and a delicious gravy.
The Shrimp and Grits I obsess over.
The Shrimp and Grits I obsess over.I've loved Southern cooking since I was a kid; ironic since I'm not from the South, but my mom made several favorites, like Gumbo, often when I was growing up. There's no better comfort food than shrimp and grits! Absolute heaven! I hope you love my version as much as I do.
And if you love Southern recipes, try my Crawfish Etouffee, Dirty Rice, Shrimp Creole, Pimento Cheese Dip, Tomato Pie, Crab Cakes or Skillet Cornbread.
How to make Shrimp and Grits:
Cook Grits: Bring broth to a boil then slowly pour in the grits, whisking the entire time to prevent clumping. Bring back to a boil then stir, reducing heat to low. Cover with a lid and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring every few minutes to make sure they aren't sticking to the bottom, until broth is absorbed. They should be thickened and tender, but soft and smooth (you don't want them overly thick/pasty). Stir in butter then add cheese or heavy cream. Season with salt, to taste.
Cook Bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy, then remove to plate. Turn the heat to medium high and add shrimp. Cook for 1-2 minutes, on each side then remove and cover to keep warm.
Make Sauce: Reduce heat to medium then add butter. Once melted add chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Whisk in flour, stirring for 1 minute. Slowly pour in 1 ½ cups chicken broth, stirring constantly. Add cajun seasoning, Old Bay seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Cook sauce until it has thickened to a gravy consistency. Taste, adding any salt or other seasonings to taste, if needed. Remove from heat and stir in shrimp.
Serve: Scoop a large spoonful of grits (about ¾ cup) onto plate, smoothing into an even layer. Top with a spoonful of shrimp then some gravy. Top with green onions, fresh parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice on top.
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Recipe
Shrimp and Grits
Ingredients
Grits:
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (948g)
- 1 cup stone ground grits (173g)
- 3 Tablespoons butter , room temperature
- 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese (113g), optional, or 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- Kosher salt , to taste
Shrimp and Sauce:
- 9 slices bacon , chopped
- 1 1/5 lb large shrimp , peeled and deveined
- 3 Tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup chopped onion (40g)
- ½ green bell pepper , chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (355g), or shrimp broth
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper , or more, to taste
- Kosher salt , to taste
Garnish:
- 3 green onions , chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley (20g)
- fresh-squeezed lemon juice , from half a lemon
Instructions
- Cook Grits: Bring broth to a boil. Once boiling, whisk the broth as you slowly pour the grits in, to prevent clumping. Return to a boil, then stir, reduce heat to low, cover with a lid then cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring every few minutes to make sure they’re not sticking to the bottom of the pot, until water is absorbed. They will be thickened and tender, but should be soft, smooth and not overly thick/pasty.4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 1 cup stone ground grits
- Season Grits: Stir in butter until melted. Stir in cheese, or heavy cream. Taste and season with salt, if needed.3 Tablespoons butter, 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese, Kosher salt
- Cook Bacon: While grits are cooking, add bacon slices to a skillet. Turn heat to medium and cook for several minutes, stirring often, until fat is rendered and bacon is crispy. Remove bacon to a plate.9 slices bacon
- Cook Shrimp: Turn heat to medium high and add shrimp to the pan with bacon grease. Cook for 1-2 minutes, just until the bottoms start to turn pink, then flip to the other side and cook an additional 1-2 minutes (don’t overcook the shrimp). Remove shrimp to a plate and cover to keep warm.1 ⅕ lb large shrimp
- Cook Gravy Sauce: Reduce heat to medium. Add butter to the pan. Once butter is melted, add chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes, until tender. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Slowly stir in 1 ½ cups chicken broth. Add Cajun seasoning, old bay seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Cook until sauce is thickened to gravy consistency. Taste and add salt or other seasonings if needed, to taste.¼ cup chopped onion, ½ green bell pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth, 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, Kosher salt, 3 Tablespoon butter
- Remove from heat and add shrimp and bacon back to the pan.
- Serve: Place a large spoonful of grits (about ¾ cup) onto a plate, smoothing into an even layer. Add a spoonful of shrimp and gravy on top. Garnish with green onions, fresh parsley, and squeeze a little lemon juice on top.3 green onions, ⅓ cup fresh chopped parsley, fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- Store leftover grits in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy leftover shrimp within 2 days.
Notes
- Stone Ground Grits are the best for making southern grits. They're less processed, richer flavor, and take slightly longer to cook. If not at our local store, buy them on Amazon.
- Hominy Grits (Regular Grits) are the most common grits at nationwide supermarkets. They will work for this recipe but the flavor won't be as rich since the outer shell was removed in processing. They're ground finer and will cook quicker.
- Instant Grits I don't recommend for shrimp and grits (they've been pre-cooked and dehydrated and have a weak flavor.
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe September 2022. Updated April 2025.
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Delicious. First time making Shrimp and grits. I used grits from a local mill. I prepped everything ahead which made it easy. I added the cheese and also some cream. I mean you can never have too much cheese or cream😂. A friend who ate with us said “these are gourmet” This may be my next entree for our dinner club. Thanks for the recipe
Loved this. Made Shrimp and grits for the first time. I prepared everything ahead and used grits from a local mill. Delicious. I added cheese and a small amount of cream because you can never have too much cream, cheese or butter
I did not care for this recipe at all! It may have been the bacon or the green pepper or the Cajun seasoning or maybe all of the above—those things I definitively enjoy, but many not together? Or, it could have been more about how I’ve never had a traditional Shrimp & Grits?
I usually make the grits the same, and a Mexican-influenced tomato-based sauce. I think I’ll stick with that, at least for now!
But the instructions were good & clear and I did like the fresh lemon juice at the end… I don’t think it was a bad recipe, I just didn’t care for the taste of the sauce.
The shrimp part. Easy and your recipe is great. GRITS? HOLY CRAP. Nobody agrees on anything. Not the ratio of fluid to grits. Not the fluid itself. And then there are 5 kinds or types of grits and DONT YOU DARE USE XXXX TYPE. Fluid? Milk, water, 2% milk, chicken stock, vegetable stock, fish stock. Cream? Yes, No, Maybe. But don’t use xxxx.
I made this tonight and I received RAVE reviews. My husband Loves shrimp and grits, and I have never been able to make them as good as the ones he had while living in Louisiana until now. This recipe is a keeper. So yummy.
I stumbled across this website when I was looking for a good german chocolate cake recipe and the one on this site was so highly recommended I tried it. Well it was amazing and since that one recipe I have made so many more from this site. I go on every Sunday and pick new recipes to try and my family just LOVES every one of them. I just got the book from amazon and I have decided to gift it to everyone for Christmas this year, that is how much we just love Lauren’s recipes. Thank you so much for posting all these wonderful recipes!!
Thank you so much Kim–your amazing feedback truly made my day today. There’s no better compliment than your enjoying recipes motivating you to continue to come back! An I hope everyone loves the cookbook! Thank you again <3
What do you do with the bacon fat after you fry the shrimp in it?
“Turn heat to medium high and add shrimp to the pan with bacon grease.”
I totally agree with you! Lauren’s recipes are the best. I make her German Chocolate cake recipe twice a year, and my husband loves it! Her short ribs are the bomb. I also bought her book, it’s the best!