Cheese Grits with Smothered Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 cup Stone-ground grits
• 3 cups Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 4 oz Sharp cheddar, sharp, grated
• 2 tbsp Unsalted butter
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 5 cups Cremini mushrooms, sliced thick
• 2 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 Lemon
• 1 tsp Louisiana-style hot sauce
• 4 Scallions (green onions), sliced

Method

1. Whisk the grits into the broth and milk in a heavy pan and bring to a bare simmer. Cook 40 minutes, whisking every five, adding hot water whenever they get stiff. Instant grits take five minutes and taste like paste; this is the whole reason to buy stone-ground.
2. Off the heat, beat in the cheddar, butter and salt.
3. Meanwhile, brown the mushrooms in the oil over high heat, undisturbed for the first 4 minutes, until deeply colored. Add the onion, cook 5 minutes, then the garlic, paprika and cayenne for 1.
4. Add 1/2 cup water and scrape everything off the bottom of the pan. Simmer 3 minutes until it becomes a loose, glossy sauce.
5. Finish the mushrooms with lemon juice and hot sauce. Spoon the grits into shallow bowls, make a well, and pile the mushrooms in with their sauce. Scallions on top.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

A well in the grits, mushrooms in the middle, and the pan sauce poured around rather than over.

🧒 For the kids

Cheese grits with no cayenne is essentially polenta and most children eat it happily. Keep their mushrooms on the side.

🥡 Leftovers

Grits set solid in the fridge. Cut the block into slabs and fry them in butter — that is breakfast the next day and it is better than the first night.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.