Cheese Grits

Name: Cheese Grits
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 200 g white corn grits; 700 ml water; 300 ml whole milk; 150 g grated cheddar; 40 g butter; 1½ tsp salt; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 pinch cayenne

White corn grits cooked into a creamy porridge and enriched with cheddar, breakfast across the American South.

Published on 10 August 2026·Updated on 10 September 2026

Gluten-free#corn#cheddar#porridge#breakfast#southern

Photo: Neil Conway , CC BY 2.0

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 50 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

Tip the grits into a bowl of cold water and stir. Skim off the hulls that float to the top.
Drain, then bring the water and milk to a bare simmer in a heavy-based pan.
Rain the grits in while whisking, which stops the meal from clumping on the base.
Add the salt, drop the heat to its lowest setting and cover. Stir every 5 minutes for 40 minutes.
The porridge is ready when it coats the spoon and no grain crunches between your teeth.
Take the pan off the heat, stir in the butter and then the cheddar, until the mass turns glossy.
Add the pepper and cayenne. Serve at once, since grits stiffen as they cool.

Grits descend from the corn porridge of the Muscogee peoples, taken up by Carolina settlers. The long gentle cook dissolves starch out of the grain, which is where the creaminess comes from without any cream.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

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Nutrition per serving

Calories: 457 kcal
Protein: 15.6 g
Fat: 23.7 g
Carbohydrate: 45.2 g
Fibre: 1 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

What is the point of rinsing the grits at the start?

The lighter hulls float to the top of the cold water and can be skimmed off. They never soften during cooking and would leave hard flecks in a porridge that is meant to be completely smooth.

Why are my grits still gritty after all that cooking?

Either the heat was too high or the time too short. The starch needs a full forty minutes at the barest simmer to dissolve. The test is simple: no grain should crunch between your teeth before the butter and cheese go in.

Why add the cheese off the heat?

Over direct heat, cheddar splits and leaks oily strands. Stirred into the pan once it is off the heat, until the mixture turns glossy, it stays emulsified. Serve straight away, as grits set firm as they cool.

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