I fell in love with Shrimp and Grits when I visited my aunt in Nashville for the first time. I wanted to experience a taste of southern cooking and Nashville’s specialities. Some of the most popular are fried pickles, hot fried chicken, fried catfish, biscuits and gravy, and corn bread. That all sounds absolutely delicious, right? There was just one problem- all of those dishes are full of gluten. So being gluten- intolerant I of course couldn’t try any of them. But all hope wasn’t lost. I learned that shrimp and grits are also one of Nashville’s specialities… and most of them are gluten free!
The first restaurant we went to was an adorable, totally southern, small town kind of restaurant. I knew this was the perfect place to give shrimp and grits a try. And boy, was I right. They were AMAZING! I wanted to lick my bowl clean;) The next night we went to another popular restaurant, and guess what I ordered? Yep, shrimp and grits! I think I had them at least 3 times during my visit!
When I came home I made it my mission to make this dish for myself. I started looking up recipes to get ideas and found that many of them are loaded with tons fat and sodium due to being made with lots of butter, cream, cheese, and bacon. No wonder I loved it so much in Nashville!
Splurging while on vacation was great but I wanted to make a healthier version that I could make at home regularly without feeling guilty. So I decided to eliminate the bacon and grease, add some additional veggies, and cut back on the butter and cream. This is the recipe I came up with. I love that it gives me the satisfaction of the Nashville specialty without the added calories. I hope you’ll love it too!
Shrimp and Grits
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 C grits
- 1.5 T olive oil
- 2 T butter
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ½ yellow or green bell pepper, diced
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- ½ C. mushrooms, diced
- 20 large shrimp, no tails and deveined
- ¼ C. fresh tomatoes, diced
- ½ - 1 C. heavy cream (depending on desired creaminess)
- ¼ C. Asiago or Parmesan cheese
- Green onions for garnish
Instructions
Cook grits according to package instructions. Set aside.
Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Add shrimp, garlic, bell peppers, onion, mushrooms and tomatoes. Sauté until shrimp are cooked through and bell peppers/ onion are softened.
Add cream; simmer over low heat until slightly thickened.
Pour mixture over grits, top with cheese and green onions.
