Crock-Pot Grits

Some recipes are convenient because they’re fast, but these Crock-Pot grits are exactly the opposite. They take literal hours to cook, but they’re still convenient because that isn’t hands-on time. You just load up your slow cooker, and walk away until mealtime.

Cooking grits in the Crock-Pot has other advantages too. Like polenta, grits appreciate a long, leisurely cooking time; it gives them ample opportunity to soak up moisture and become silky-soft. It also means you won’t be glued to your stovetop for 20 minutes or longer, stirring the grits to keep them from clumping.

Ingredients for Crock-Pot Grits

• Grits: Grits provide a creamy, understated base for the flavors in this side dish.
• Milk: Cooking the grits in a mixture of water and milk gives them a richer flavor than cooking them in water alone.
• Butter: The butter in this slow-cooker grits recipe helps make them richer, but it also provides a bit of lubrication to help prevent lumps from forming.
• Chicken bouillon: The chicken bouillon granules add an understated savory flavor to the grits.
• Cheddar and Parmesan cheese: The two cheeses add creaminess and a bold savory flavor to the finished grits.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the grits

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Combine everything except the two cheeses into a greased 3-quart slow cooker. Cook on the low setting, covered, for 2 hours and 30 minutes to 3 hours, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the grits are tender and creamy. Stir the grits at 45-minute intervals, so they cook evenly. Once the grits are cooked, stir in the cheeses until they’re melted, and serve immediately.

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Crock-Pot Grits Variations

• Add some cured pork: As a breakfast option, grits are frequently paired with bacon. Stirring in five or six strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled, is a good way to do that with this slow-cooker grits recipe. Adding bacon at the beginning would infuse its flavor into the grits, while adding it at the end keeps it crisp and adds that textural contrast (nothing says you can’t do both). Similarly, adding a cup or more of ham or cooked sausage will infuse the grits with extra flavor.
• Dial back on the cheese: A lot of variations on grits consist of adding or changing the cheese, but cheese (as wonderful as it is) can make the grits heavy. You could always leave out the cheese entirely, of course, but you’d also miss the flavor. To have the best of both worlds, halve the cheddar (or leave it out entirely) and just use the Parmesan. Parm has a really bold and assertive cheese flavor, so you’ll get the taste you’re looking for without the heaviness. Alternatively, a splash of buttermilk in the finished grits will give a cheese-like tang and keep things even lighter.
• Theme it up: The finished grits can easily be adapted to suit a range of meals, just by stirring in some well-chosen flavors or add-ins. The only limitation is your imagination. You could go with Mexicorn and chiles for a Latin-themed meal, or rosemary and garlic if you’re serving grits in place of polenta with an Italian-themed entree like osso buco.
• Make it a casserole: Having a ready-to-eat side dish waiting in your slow cooker when you get home is a great convenience. You can use it as-is, or take advantage of that head start to make a hearty grits casserole now that your grits are ready to go. Just stir in the appropriate add-ins, pour your grits into a greased pan, and pop the pan into your oven for 30 minutes or so while you prepare the rest of the meal. Taste Recipes has a number of grits casserole recipes for you to try. Some stick with predictable (but delicious) add-ins like bacon, ham or sausage, others range further afield with ingredients like curried chicken. There are even breakfast casseroles incorporating eggs, if you want to cook the grits overnight and use them in the morning.

How to Store Crock-Pot Grits

Slow-cooker grits should be treated like any other leftovers. First, transfer them from the slow cooker to food-safe storage containers as soon as possible. Slow cookers are designed to retain heat, but you want leftover food to cool quickly for food safety reasons. Once the grits have cooled somewhat, seal them airtight and refrigerate them as soon as possible.

How long will slow-cooker grits keep?

Grits containing cheese and other dairy products are best eaten within three days, as a rule. Plain grits made with water can keep for five to seven days without developing “off” flavors.

Can I freeze these Crock-Pot grits?

Yes, absolutely. Their storage life in the freezer depends largely on how well you’ve minimized their exposure to air. If you pack the grits tightly into a freezer container with a tight-fitting lid, and press parchment or another wrapping material directly to their surface, they’ll last for one to three months. Bagged in regular zipper-seal freezer bags, they’re best within a month or so. You can also cut the leftover grits into strips or slabs, freeze them on a sheet, then wrap them individually before bagging them or putting them in a container. Freezing the grits in a vacuum-sealed bag gives the best freezer life of all, reliably reaching three months and often longer.

Crock-Pot Grits Tips

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Can I make these slow-cooker grits in a bigger Crock-Pot?

This recipe calls for a 3-quart slow cooker, but most of us have models in the 5- to 6-quart range. That added surface area means that the small batch won’t cook quite the same way in your big slow cooker, because it will cook more quickly and lose moisture to evaporation. There are a few ways to work around this. You could increase the liquids by an extra 1/2 cup or more (depending how tightly your lid fits). Alternatively, you could find a 3-quart baking dish that fits into your slow cooker, put the ingredients in that, and cook it (lid on) inside your slow cooker.

Another option, because grits work so well as leftovers, is simply to scale the recipe to fit your slow cooker and plan to use up the bigger batch. You’ll also need to extend the cooking time by as much as an hour to account for the larger quantity.

Why do the grits call for both milk and water?

Grits need to cook in some form of liquid. Water is the simplest option, and it makes for light and neutral-tasting grits. Milk makes richer grits, but they’re more prone to clumping (and scorching, when cooked on the stovetop). A mixture of water and milk keeps the grits light, but the milk adds enough richness to make them lush and silky. Some recipes also include broth, which is light like water but adds flavor.

Can I skip the bouillon and substitute chicken broth?

Absolutely. Replacing half or all the water with chicken broth, and leaving out the bouillon, still adds the subtle savory flavor you’re looking for in this recipe.