Cheese Grits Casserole Recipe

Grits are one of the most well-known foods from the American South. Once the humble fare of farmers and sharecroppers, they're now served at upscale restaurants. And, no, there's no such thing as a grit. It's alway grits, although the jury's still out on whether the word is singular or plural.

Grits range from stone-ground to instant, with a cooking time of up to 50 minutes for the former to one to two minutes for the latter. Although, as Mr. Tipton says in the classic movie "My Cousin Vinny": "No self-respecting southerner uses instant grits." Even regular grits can take 20 minutes, so you'll need patience for this dish, which Vinny Gambini makes clear by remarking: "Well, perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove! Were these magic grits?" when Mr. Tipton, a dubious witness, tries to claim his were done in five minutes, giving him time to witness the robbery at the center of the film's plot.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for a cheesy grits casserole, which is a popular way to serve grits. Plain grits are enhanced with milk, butter, and cheddar cheese, mixed with eggs for binding, and baked in the oven to firm up and develop a lovely, browned, and crispy surface thanks to the grated Parmesan sprinkled on top. Whether you're a grits enthusiast or a newcomer, this is a dish to try at least once.

For this recipe, you will need water and quick-cooking grits to make the plain grits that form the base of the recipe. You'll also need unsalted butter, milk, shredded cheddar cheese, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to flavor them. Make sure you have an egg to bind the mixture together. Finally, grab some grated Parmesan for sprinkling on top of the casserole before baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and slowly whisk in the grits.

Lower the heat to low and let the grits simmer for about 5 minutes, until thickened, whisking frequently so that lumps don't form. Remove from the heat.

Add the butter, milk, cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the grits, and stir well until the butter and cheese are completely melted.

Add the eggs and stir until well incorporated.

Lightly grease a 7x7-inch baking dish.

Pour the mixture into the dish and sprinkle the Parmesan on top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40–45 minutes. Uncover the casserole for the last 10 minutes of baking time so that the top becomes crispy and golden brown.

Let stand for 10 minutes to allow the casserole to continue to set before serving.

If you're unsure about the difference between grits and polenta, you're not alone. Polenta is a mixture of ground corn and water that comes from Northern Italy, particularly the region of Piemonte. The flour is cooked in salted water and either eaten right away while it retains a soft, porridge-like consistency or allowed to cool and set before it's cut into slices and fried or baked. Grits, popular in the American South, are also made from ground corn cooked in salted water to make a porridge.

While the two dishes are similar, there are subtle differences than can help you tell them apart. First, the kind of ground corn used is different. Polenta is made from flint corn, a firmer variety that gives the final dish an al dente consistency. Grits are made from dent corn, a softer variety that makes them a little mushier. The second difference is the color. Polenta mainly uses yellow cornmeal, although a kind of white polenta is popular in the Veneto region of Italy. While it's possible to find yellow grits, they're generally made from white cornmeal.

Polenta and grits are made the same way. One part cornmeal is slowly whisked into four parts water and cooked on low on the stovetop, with frequent whisking, for 10–50 minutes (depending on the coarseness of the cornmeal used). Instant cornmeal for both polenta and grits can reduce the cooking time to about one to five minutes, if desired.

Grits are made from ground corn, usually white, but the degree of coarseness and processing can vary. There are four main kinds to choose from according to your preferences. Stone-ground grits are the coarsest and most textured. While they take the longest to cook (30–50 minutes), many chefs prefer them, citing superior flavor and texture. Stone-ground grits are whole grain because the whole corn kernel, germ included, is ground, so they also have the highest nutritional content.

Regular grits are ground finer, to a medium grind, and cook in 10–20 minutes. Next comes quick-cooking grits. While some purists would never accept these, they can be convenient for busy home cooks because they can shave off up to 45 minutes of cooking time. With quick grits, the cornmeal has been ground finer and has also been precooked, so they cook in about five minutes.

Instant grits are quick-cooking grits that have been processed further. The precooked grits are dehydrated to shorten the cooking time even more. They take about two minutes on the stove or one minute in the microwave. These are certainly convenient for busy mornings, but keep in mind a few reasons you may want to avoid instant grits, namely that the extra processing significantly reduces nutritional content, flavor, and texture, with the final result often found to be excessively mushy.