The Best Thick and Creamy Grits Recipe - caramel and cashews (2024)

FAQs

What make grits thick? ›

The key to cooking old-fashioned grits is going low and slow—use a low heat so the grits simmer and slowly release their starches, which creates a decadent, silky texture. Whisking constantly during the first couple of minutes, and frequently throughout the rest of the cooking process, will prevent lumps from forming.

Deciding when your grits are done is a personal choice, and will determine your total cooking time. Some people like their grits more on the runny side with a little gritty texture still remaining, others want them creamy and thick but flowing, and some want them so stiff they're able to hold their shape when dolloped.

Southern Living Test Kitchen Director Robby Melvin prefers to cook grits in a mixture of water and heavy cream. "I use mostly water with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cream. The water does the trick to tenderize the grits, and the cream adds an obvious richness and creaminess to the finished product," he says.

Similar to the rice in tamago kake gohan, the hot grits gently “cook” the egg, turning the slippery white and runny yolk into a creamy, emulsifying sauce.

Add Cheese to Your Grits

One of our test kitchen professionals says she makes sure her grits have cheese in them every time. But look beyond the classic sharp cheddar. Parmesan and smoked gouda make for tasty alternatives.

Grits are kinda bland in their natural state. Butter, salt, and pepper wakes them up and bring out that wonderful light corn flavor. Adding cheddar cheese, hot sauce, bacon bits, garlic, and other spices is also great!

Grits, especially in their whole-grain form, hold on to many of these helpful plant compounds, even when you boil them. Grits, as whole grains or enriched varieties, also contain folate, which helps prevent birth defects and may also lower your risk of heart disease and cancer.

Even if you buy 5-minute grits, don't cook your grits for only five minutes. Part of what makes the grits all creamy is the time they get to soak in the water.

The small bits won't suffer from a longer simmer. See, grits won't get mushy like grains—they'll just get creamier. So just do what you did. Keep the party going on low heat and keep on whisking.

Is milk better than water for grits? ›

No matter which variety, yellow or white, the beauty of grits is their versatility and ability to take on most flavors paired with them, although they are always best when cooked with milk instead of water. The flavor and consistency difference is truly amazing.

Baking soda breaks through the structure of the grains of corn, encouraging gelatinization of the grits' starches so that they absorb liquid, thicken up, and get creamy in no time.

Before turning on the stove, artisan grain producer Anson Mills recommends soaking the grits overnight for a “superior” texture. This step also reduces the cooking time by about 50 percent, which can take from about 20 minutes to 1 hour or more, depending on the type of grits and desired consistency.

Most people associate grits with butter but grits are also delicious and creamy when made with olive oil. Depending on who you ask, grits are similar or identical to Italian polenta. Both are made from ground cornmeal slow cooked over a low flame. Here is a recipe that we adapted from the Courier Journal.

First, you should make sure that the grits are, in fact, too runny. If you've never cooked grits before, you may not realize that, like polenta, they tend to set up once you take them off the stove, especially if you've added a lot of butter. Another option is to recook the grits.

Bring the milk to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat, stir so it doesn't scorch. Whisk in grits, salt and pepper into the milk and cook, stirring rapidly, for 4 minutes or until the grits thicken.

The first thing to know is this: cornstarch is not your friend in this scenario. Foods Guy notes that cornstarch doesn't actually thicken grits but instead highlights and intensifies the bland, starchy flavor. Overpowering the earthy corn aura is not what you want, so consider several other thickening options.