Homemade Cheddar Grits

The ultimate creamy cheddar grits that’s cooked to a smooth texture, making it the best dish to serve for breakfast or brunch. 

Southern style grits with buttery, cheesy flavor.  This cheddar cheese grits recipe is a southern style recipe that’s serves well with sea bass, scallops, or for breakfast, making it the ultimate comfort food. 

What Are Grits?

Dating back centuries, and deriving from the word “grytt”, this old English word translates to coarse meal.

Prepared from boiled cornmeal, then sifted into various sizes. They are typically not sweet, and they are prepared from different corn; however, dent corn is the most common. 

The processed in various ways to remove the dry grains and hull for several days. Once the grain is removed it is referred to as hominy. 

Grits has become a beloved dish in many southern homes. Grits dishes are often served for breakfast or brunch, however, other have enjoyed it for dinner with fish like sea bass, or catfish, making it a true southern dish. 

Grits can also be served sweet, with jam, or simply be enjoyed with salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese. 

Creamy cheese grits dishes originated with the Native American Muscogee tribe using a corn similar to hominy.  

Throughout time, American colonists learned to make the dish from the Native Americans, and the dish rapidly became an American staple dish.

Grits vs. Polenta 

Grits and polenta are very different. Although they may look similar at first glance, however, polenta is the Italian version of grits.

Polenta is made from cornmeal, but the flavor and texture is not the same. 

Grits Vs. Cornmeal

When it comes to cornmeal, there are various ways Haitians prepare cornmeal dishes. From plain Haitian cornmeal to mayis moulin with zepina (cornmeal with spinach), the choices and list goes on. 

The main similarities of grits vs cornmeal is that they are both are made from corn products. 

However, cornmeal is finely ground dried corn. Whereas grits is made from dried and ground corn but are usually a coarser grind.

Cornmeal and cornstarch should not be used the same way, although cornmeal resembles corn flour due to the fine grind. Cornmeal is used to make porridges and is used to bake your delicious jalapeño cornbread, and grits is not used the same way. Grits are most often served seasoned and are often served with cheddar cheese. 

Grits are typically topped with sausage or bacon, chicken, and sometimes seafood. 

What Does It Taste Like? 

Grits is very bland and take on the flavor that is added. Therefore, you can opt in for a sweet or savory style grits. See options below.

Cooking Methods

There are various ways to prepare grits and if you are looking for a quick and simple way to enjoy grits for breakfast or brunch, we’ve got you covered with this cheddar cheese grits recipe. 

Instead of using stone ground grits, in this recipe we opt in for quick grits, making it an affordable but delicious meal. 

Stone ground grits can take about 45 minutes to cook. Quick grits will take about 5-10 minutes to cook. Both are as equally delicious but the cooking process with quick is less work. 

Ingredients to make this cheddar cheesy grits recipe:

Quick Grits: Far less cooking time than stone ground grits and is easy to manage and work with. This is a great option for someone who is new to making grits. 

Water And Vegetable Broth: Do not skip the vegetable broth. It will take your grits ordinary to extraordinary. 

Salt And Pepper: Used to season the dish. 

Cheddar Cheese: We used sharp cheddar cheese. The cheese makes the grits rich and creamy. 

Milk and Butter: Are used to make the grits rich and adds a little fat while keeping it silky smooth. 

Cooking Method: 

Step-by-step guide is included in the recipe card below.

Start by adding water and vegetable broth to a pan. Bring the liquid to boil over medium heat. 

Once the liquid starts to boil, slowly add in the grits to the liquid and begin stirring in a circular motion. Reduce the heat slightly to avoid large splashes. Stirring will also prevent the grits from clumping up. 

Season with salt and pepper. Stir. Cover the grits and allow to cook for about 5 minutes on low heat. Then add in the milk, butter, and add in the cheese. 

Continue stirring as each ingredient is added. Lower the heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. 

When ready to serve, top your grits with butter and more cheese as well as other toppings of your choice. Enjoy. 

Want To Make It Sweet

If you would prefer your grits on the sweet side, here are some options. Consider adding in the following ingredients to turn your cheddar cheesy grits from savory into delicious sweetness. 

• Honey
• Fruits
• Maple Syrup
• Brown Sugar
• Nuts And Seeds
• Cinnamon

Toppings For Savory Style Grits

Here are some of our favorite toppings for this grits dish with cheddar cheese.

• We absolutely love it with Turkey bacon as we do not eat pork. 
• Consider adding in cheddar cheese or American cheese. Pepper Jack cheese will also work and will add a hint of spiciness. 
• Grits are great with scrambled eggs
• We love it turkey or beef sausage
• Pair with this air fryer Sausage potatoes
• Or pair it with this breakfast potatoes

Where to Buy Grits 

Grits are sold at the local grocery store or at the farmer’s market. At the store, you will find hominy as well as white and yellow corn options.

 Quick grits very simple to make. They also make a satisfying side dish option for dinner.

You may run into some challenges if you are looking for Stone-ground grits at the local grocery store. This is where online retailers like Amazon make purchasing stone-ground grits easy.  

Grits Substitute Options

If you are unable to find or eat grits, polenta, risotto, and cornmeal make a great substitute for grits. 

For a healthier option, consider oatmeal, porridges, chia pudding, and healthy muffins.  

How To Store

Store any leftover cheesy grits in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days. When ready to eat, simply warm the grits in the microwave until heated through or over the stove.  

Recipe Tips

To save time when making this cheddar cheese grits, use quick grits instead of Stone ground grits, as stone-ground grits may take up to 45 minutes to cook. 

Adjust the flavor as desired and based on the time of day the grits are prepared. 

Cook your grits on low heat to avoid splashes and burn. 

Stir your grits often so they do not stick to the bottom of the pan. 

If cooking stone-ground grits, we highly recommend you soak your grits for a about 10-15 minutes first to help soften them up. This will also help with the cooking process. 

Adding milk to your grits is completely optional. Creamer will also work and will help provide a creamy texture. 

More Breakfast Recipes To Enjoy

If you loved this cheddar cheese grits recipe, try one of these breakfast choices next. 

Lemon poppy seed pancakes

Blueberry milkshake

Scrambled eggs in air fryer

Strawberry pancakes 

Haitian patties

Dutch Baby Pancakes

Healthy blueberry smoothie with almond milk

Brioche French Toast

Dinner Choices Pairing Options

If you loved this cheddar cheese grits recipe, we would love for you to try one of these recipes next to pair them for dinner.

Sausage Potato Green Beans Casserole

Air Fryer Green Beans

Tofu Stir Fry With Green Beans

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