Stick with me, kid, and you’ll never need to fight off the weekend brunch crowds again. As I’ve mentioned before, I love doing a special breakfast at home on the weekend instead of waiting in long lines at overcrowded bunch hotspots. These Cheddar Grits Breakfast Bowls are totally restaurant worthy brunch grub that you can make at home, in your pajamas, while rocking out to your favorite tunes.
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Customize Your Cheddar Grits Breakfast Bowls
Don’t have three friends to share your at-home brunch with? No prob. This recipe scales up OR down effortlessly. If you’re looking for a little more vegetable goodness in your breakfast, I think some sautéed zucchini and corn would make an excellent topper for these Cheddar Grits Breakfast Bowls. You can even season them up with a pinch of chili powder while they’re sautéing for even more southwest flare. As always, these bowls are totally customizable, so have fun with them!
Cheddar Grits Breakfast Bowls
Servings 4Ingredients
- 4 cups water ($0.00)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 cup quick cooking yellow grits* ($0.27)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.22)
- 1/2 cup whole milk ($0.15)
- 4 oz medium cheddar, grated ($0.75)
- 4 large eggs ($1.08)
- 1 cup salsa ($1.67)
- 4 green onions, sliced ($0.23)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
Instructions
- Add the water and salt to a medium sauce pot. Place a lid on top, turn the heat on to high, and bring the water up to a rolling boil. Once boiling, stir in the grits. Turn the heat down to low, replace the lid, and let simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until thickened.*
- Add the butter and milk to the grits and stir until the butter has melted and the grits are smooth. Stir in the grated cheddar, one handful at a time, until fully melted in and smooth. Leave the lid on the pot with the burner turned off to keep the grits warm.
- Cook four eggs using your favorite method (fried, scrambled, soft boiled, etc.). Slice the green onions.
- To build the bowls, place one cup of the cheddar grits in a bowl, top with one egg, 1/4 cup salsa, some freshly cracked pepper, and a sprinkle of sliced green onions.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Cheddar Grits Breakfast Bowls – Step by Step Photos
Just like oats, grits come in different forms, like stone-ground, quick-cooking, or instant. These are the grits that I used. While they don’t say “quick cooking” I can tell by the instructions on the back which indicate cooking for 5-7 minutes. Instant grits will cook in about one minute, like instant oatmeal.
So no matter which type of grits you use, make sure to check the cooking instructions on the back and follow that. You’ll need about 3-4 cups of cooked grits.
For my grits, I added 1 tsp salt to four cups of water. I brought the pot of salted water to a rolling boil over high heat, then stirred in one cup of grits, turned the heat down to low, replaced the lid, and let it simmer until thickened (5-7 minutes).
Once the grits are thick, add 2 Tbsp butter and 1/2 cup whole milk. Stir the milk and butter in until melted and smooth.
Oh yeah, and while waiting for the water to boil, shred 4oz. medium cheddar cheese.
Stir the shredded cheddar into the grits until melted, one handful at a time.
And then you have some awesomely delicious cheddar grits! All you have to do now is cook four eggs to your liking. You can fry them, scramble them, soft boil them, or just do whatever you want to them.
Then building the bowl takes seconds. Start with about a cup of the cheddar grits, top with your egg, about 1/4 cup salsa, some freshly cracked pepper, and a sprinkle of sliced green onion.
And I’m tellin’ you… these Cheddar Grits Breakfast Bowls are NO JOKE.
Can I haz more?
melt butter stir in grits till all the butter is absorbed add milk , stock or both, cook till it smooth and well cooked add more butter if you like, seasonings you prefer ( i did mine with cajun ) savory or sweet add some fresh herbs to finish it up..Serve while it is hot. Thanks for your recipe, reminds me of homestead!
Love this! This is in my regular recipe rotation. It cooks up so quick and is sooo delicious. Actually, I just made it again last night ha!
Hooray!
So, this looked delish to me this am but I had very few of the ingredients. I used polenta instead of grits and sautéed some sliced yellow squash and made a quick Italian tomato sauce w some red pepper flakes for extra flavor. I used grated Parmesan instead of the cheddar. It was awesome. I realize anything this altered isn’t exactly a review of the actual recipe, but my point is – this really is a very flexible recipe base. Grits or polenta plus sauce plus egg. Yum. Many more versions will be made at our house!!!
What a great recipe! Made this on Sunday for breakfast for me and my boyfriend. Delish!
Easy and tasty, I will be making this again for sure.
I have to comment because I make this all the time! I’ve never had grits before I found this recipe, but it looked soo yummy I just had to try it. I crave it all the time now! Thanks for yet another delicious, quick, and frugal recipe! Many of our go to recipes are from your site, my family loves them all!
My mom always served grits and eggs with canned salmon—and she was from the South, so I suppose it’s authentic. I was just craving it this week, and oh I do love your bowl meals. Thanks!
Hi Beth
Can these bowls be frozen and reheated later? If so what is the best approach (thought of that egg and a microwave scares me …:)
Hmm, I’ve never tried to freeze grits before, so I’m not sure. Either way, I’d definitely cook a fresh egg for each reheated portion.
cooked grits freeze well in my experience… but here’s a tip from another source:
https://www.leaf.tv/articles/can-you-freeze-grits/
Oh man, this was so good. Definitely making this again very soon!!
Just got done having this for lunch… wowzers! This is good stuff! Thanks!
This looks fantastic, but I don’t like in the United States; would polenta be a suitable replacement for grits? (I’ve never fully understood what makes them different!)
Yes, you can definitely use polenta instead. :)
I basically lived on this recipe all weekend!!! YUMMMMMMM.
This is awesome, I made this twice in the last week for dinner.
Thank you!
I’m with you, would sometimes rather make a lovely breakfast special at home, though my husband offers to take me out. That grits bowl looks terrific!
Wow, did this hit the spot after a night of tequila. Savory and extra quick because I had microwaveable grits. I added a few crumbles of leftover bacon and hot sauce. I think I’ll add one more sunny-side up egg and call it a hangover cure. Thanks so much for sharing.
My husband and I were so excited to try this. It came together easily and was a stellar breakfast recipe! Thanks!
This is probably the dumbest question ever, but how do you get your fried eggs looking so perfect? Whenever I try to fry them without flipping there’s a bunch of white in the middle that’s still raw by the time the bottom is done. Putting a lid on as the egg fries cooks the top, but the yolk becomes white taking away some of that visual appeal. Do I just have to cook the egg on low or something? Again, sorry for the beginner question!
Hahah, it’s not a dumb question at all! I’m an egg-aholic, so I’ve cooked thousands of eggs in my time. ;) I do usually cook it on a lower setting (just below medium for me, but it will depend on your burner and your skillet) so that the heat has time to travel through and warm up the thicker areas before the bottom and edges get TOO crispy. It just takes practice! :)
oh my does that look good, printing and making this weekend. another keeper I’m sure!
You can also cook stone ground or quick cooking grits in the microwave. I do it all the time! It’s best to cook it on half power and stir once in awhile, but it’s nice because you can use the bowl you’re going to eat out of if you’re doing a small batch. Then just add the extras at the end, and heat a bit more if you need to!
YUM! Can’t wait to try this. Echoing your note about checking the instructions on how long to cook your grits, as they’re all different, and don’t be afraid to let them cook longer (on very low heat) if you aren’t satisfied with the texture. I like thick, creamy grits so I generally cook 10+ minutes more than what the package (in my case, Quaker) calls for. Thanks for another great recipe!
I like to save on pans and cook the egg(s) right in the grits. I just cook the grits until almost done, then turn down the temp and drop a raw egg into a well in the grits. Cover and let it cook for another couple minutes. Yum, and only one pan!
My great grandma always made her grits that way, and she also added crumbled bacon. Breakfast in a single sauce pan! Man, now I need to find some grits up here in PA.
This is an old southern fav. Sooooooooooo where can I get these grits? I’ve been using the “Quaker”
First time making grits. (I live in the Pacific NW!) Not bad. Fast, easy, filling. I will make this again!
Your receipt is looking very nice and delicious, I have never thought to eat local grits in the morning due to lots of butter, but yours seems less fatty, I will try your receipt next Sunday morning!
By the way, I think your receipt is very similar to Turkish Muhlama, which is made generally at northern east side of the Turkey.
Was that a lion king reference at the start of the blog post!?! Love it! And love all of your meals. You should sell t-shirts if you don’t already. I tell EVERYONE about your site because I love your affordable healthy recipes with great photos and instructions. keep up the great work!
Hahaha, no, it wasn’t. :) I didn’t know they said that in that movie!
Making this tomorrow morning!
I’d prepare the entire amount of grits, because leftovers, refrigerated for a bit, then sliced into thick slices and lightly browned in just a little butter, are amazing as a side dish. It’s polenta by any other name, right?
Could you tell me what brand of salsa that you use?
It was just the generic store brand. :P Best Choice, I think?
“No self-respecting southerner would EVER use instant grits!” Name the fantastic 80s movie starring Joe Pesci :)
My Cousin Vinny. Great movie!
Yummy!!!! I LOVE grits. Looking forward to having breakfast for dinner soon. :-)
What’s the difference between yellow and white grits? Does it matter?
I don’t think there’s a huge difference, but the yellow are definitely more attractive for this recipe. :)
Yes, the way they’re processed.
I always thought white grits were simply made from white corn and yellow from yellow. Same with corn tortillas and tortilla chips. I looove savory grits or polenta dishes.