Cajun Shrimp and Grits (Cheesy Grits)
Amazingly flavorful creamy Cajun shrimp and grits is a great southern classic recipe. This comforting dish features cheesy grits topped with sauteed Cajun shrimp, crispy bacon, and smooth, creamy Cajun sauce.
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Shrimp and grits is my absolute favorite Southern dish to make and I make it so much! I usually variate between my regular shrimp and grits recipe and this creamy Cajun version. This Cajun version is wonderful because:
- it’s creamy and well balanced with the spiciness of Cajun seasoning and jalapeno peppers.
- it’s an 30 minute recipe so perfect to week nights or weekends alike.
- you can easily add sausage to the recipe.
- the cheese grits is so delicious and easy, but you can play around with cheese option.
- there is bacon! Need I say more?
- you can technically make the grits ahead of time and then, the shrimp and sauce will only take 15 minutes.
Important Ingredient Tips and Substitutions
Shrimp – make sure to use cleaned shrimp, whether you peel and devein shrimp yourself or buy ones already are.
Jalapenos – to make the dish more spicy, leave the seeds in or use spicier chili pepper. To take away spice, make sure to use younger jalapenos and take out seeds and membrane.
Cajun seasoning – check the salt on your Cajun seasoning. Some varieties don’t include salt and in that case, you will need to add a little salt to the dish.
Heavy whipping cream – this provides the best creamy texture and thicker sauce. You can substitute half and half if needed.
How To Make Cajun Shrimp and Grits
- Marinate shrimp while preparing other ingredients.
- Combine grits ingredients in a pot and bring to simmer.
- Cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Finish with butter and cheese.
- Sauté bacon pieces until all fat is rendered. Take bacon out.
- Sauté the shrimp until opaque on both sides and set aside.
- Sauté veggies.
- Deglaze the pan with chicken broth, lower the heat, and finish with seasoning and cream.
- Assemble the shrimp and grits and serve.
Variations and Substitutions
- Add sausage – Andouille, Creole hot sausage, smoked pork sausage, or another pork sausage. (NOT breakfast sausage or Italians sausage.)
- Cheeses – play around with cheeses in the grits, try adding Parmesan cheese, Gouda cheese, gruyere, or pepper-jack cheese.
- Heavy whipping cream – heavy whipping cream is the best option for a rich cream sauce but if you have to, you can substitute half and half. Just note, it will be a little thinner sauce.
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Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Grits Recipe
Amazingly flavorful creamy Cajun shrimp and grits is a great southern classic recipe. This comforting dish features cheesy grits topped with sauteed Cajun shrimp, crispy bacon, and smooth, creamy Cajun sauce.
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Servings: 4
Calories: 848kcal
Ingredients
Cheesy Grits:
- 1 cup stone-ground grits
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups chicken stock or broth
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 oz cheddar cheese
- salt to taste
Cajun Shrimp:
- 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
- 1 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice about 1/2 lime
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp sweet paprika or regular
Cajun Cream Sauce:
- 1/2 lb raw bacon diced
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 2 jalapenos diced
- 2-3 garlic cloves pressed
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp coarse salt more or less to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped green onion as topping
Instructions
Marinate the Shrimp:
- Combine peeled and deveined shrimp in a mixing bowl and mix it with lime juice, oil, Cajun seasoning and paprika. Set aside and let the shrimp marinate while starting grits.(Note: most Cajun seasonings already include salt, so you may or may not need to add a little more salt.)
Cheesy Grits:
- Bring water and chicken broth to boil in a medium pot and season with salt. Stir in grits and lower heat to low heat.
- Cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes or so to prevent lumps from forming and make sure to get the bottom and edges of the pot.
- Once cooked, take off heat and stir in butter and grated cheddar cheese until melted and smooth.
Shrimp and Sauce:
- While grits is cooking, cook shrimp and sauce.
- Preheat the pan over medium heat and add butter and diced bacon pieces. Cook bacon until the fat is completely rendered.
- Take the bacon bits out and set them aside.
- Add shrimp to the pan with leftover bacon grease and sauté them until shrimp turn pink and opaque, flip each one and sauté until pink and opaque on that side. (It will take 2-3 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp.)
- Take the shrimp out and set them aside.
- Add diced onion and jalapenos to the pan and sauté until soft and browned. Stir in pressed garlic and sauté a few seconds, until fragrant.
- Slowly pour in the chicken broth and scrape the pan to deglaze it.
- Lower the heat and stir in the heavy whipping cream and seasoning. Cook for a couple more minutes, stir slowly. Take off heat.
- To assemble the shrimp and grits, divide the cheesy grits among the bowls, add shrimp on top, pour sauce over everything and top it off with crispy bacon and green onions.
Notes
- Add sausage – Andouille, Creole hot sausage, smoked pork sausage, or another pork sausage. (NOT breakfast sausage or Italians sausage.) Start cooking sausage a couple of minutes before the shrimp.
- Heavy whipping cream – heavy whipping cream is the best option for a rich cream sauce but if you have to, you can substitute half and half. Just note, it will be a little thinner sauce.
- Storing – store leftover shrimp grits in an airtight food storage container, in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Reheating – you can simply reheat individual portions in the microwave. Note that shrimp are very easy to overcook and they will be rubbery, so it’s important to reheat in short increments. Reheat in 30 second increments until just heated through, stir and flip the shrimp in between.
Nutrition
Calories: 848kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 65g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 150mg | Sodium: 1456mg | Potassium: 489mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2966IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 311mg | Iron: 2mg
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30 Minute Meals, Father's Day Recipe Ideas, Gluten Free Recipes, Mother's Day Recipe Ideas, Shrimp Dinner Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
