This Cajun shrimp and grits with bacon is creamy, spicy, and full of bold Southern flavor. Perfect for brunch, dinner, or entertaining!
Cajun Shrimp and Grits
Bring the flavors of your favorite Southern restaurant straight into your own kitchen with this Cajun shrimp and grits with bacon.
Creamy, comforting grits topped with perfectly seasoned shrimp and crispy bacon come together in one restaurant-style dish that’s surprisingly easy to make at home.
It has all the bold, indulgent flavor you’d expect when dining out, without the wait, the bill, or leaving the house. You can't beat that!
For more tasty seafood recipes, try these shrimp tacos and these yummy seafood boil recipes.
Ingredients for Cajun Shrimp and Grits
You will need the following ingredients listed below to make this amazing shrimp and grits recipe (the exact measurements, nutrition information and full recipe are all in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post).
For the Grits:
- Water
- Milk
- Yellow Cornmeal
For the Shrimp:
- Red Bell Pepper
- Red Onion
- Smoked Bacon, cooked
- Garlic
- Cajun Seasoning
- Smoked Paprika
- Salt and Pepper
- Shrimp
- Parsley
Instructions
For the grits:
In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Be sure to add in 2-3 tablespoon of salt to the water.
Stir in 1 cup of yellow cornmeal to the boiling water, add cup of milk and stir. Turn heat to low and cover for 15-20 minutes until the grits have thickened.
For the Cajun shrimp mixture:
Add olive oil to a skillet along with red bell pepper and onion.
Saute for 3-5 minutes until translucent then add in the bacon and garlic, allow to heat for 1-2 minutes.
Next, in a medium sized bowl, add shrimp, olive oil, cajun
seasoning, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
Stir to combine and add to the skillet. Cook until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.
Shrimp are naturally a little sweet, and when cooked with bacon, the sweetness is intensified.
This dish is savory, smoky, spicy, and just a little sweet, with crispy bacon bits and juicy, tender shrimp—rich-tasting but not overwhelming.
Spoon warm grits into serving bowls and ladle the Cajun shrimp right over the top.
SAVE FOR LATER BY PINNING THE BELOW IMAGE
Cajun Shrimp and Grits
Author: Recipe Idea Shop
Equipment
- Skillet
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 3 cups Water
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
For the Shrimp
- 1.5 lbs Shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail off
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
- ½ Red Onion, diced
- 4 strips Smoked Bacon, chopped and cooked
- 3 tablespoon Garlic, minced
- 1 ½ tablespoon Cajun Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parsley to garnish
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Be sure to add in 2-3 tablespoon of salt to the water.
- Stir in 1 cup of yellow cornmeal to the boiling water, add cup of milk and stir. Turn heat to low and cover for 15-20 minutes until the grits have thickened.
- If using cooked bacon, add olive oil to the pan along with red bell pepper and onion.
- Saute for 3-5 minutes until translucent. Next, add in the bacon and garlic, allow to heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Next, in a medium sized bowl, add shrimp, olive oil, cajunseasoning, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine. To the skillet, add in your shrimp and cook until pink and cooked through.
- If you are not using cooked bacon and need to cook the bacon, be sure to do that step first.
- Remove the bacon, allow to cool and chop.
- Use the oil from the bacon to saute the onion and pepper. Then proceed with the directions.
