Instant Pot Cheese Grits, the perfect comfort food. And it just got more perfect because I’m sharing how to make it in the Instant Pot. No standing over the stove stirring, no waiting for the perfect level of done before stirring in the cheese, just 15 minutes in inactive time while the Instant Pot does the work for you. How great is that?!?
We eat grits often at our house. I like grits just as they are, no cheese, with a bit of almond milk, coconut oil, salt and pepper. Or for a sweet preparation I stir in a bit of coconut milk and maple syrup. But most often, we eat cheese grits as the base to a savory dinner.
The most popular way to eat cheese grits in my kitchen: with chicken fried tofu, garlic kale and a drizzle of pepper jam over the top. I use a sharp cheddar cheese in this dish.
Recently I decided to mix it up a bit and serve this with chicken fried cauliflower. Dare I say I like the cauliflower better than tofu! I roasted the cauliflower steaks in the oven for a bit and then breaded and pan fried them. I’ll tell you all about that soon, as I know you’ll want the recipe.
Another favorite here is veggie chorizo (I use Trader Joe’s brand) sauteed with onions and peppers, a few heirloom tomatoes, a slice of avocado and chives over cheese grits. So many possibilities!
Not that any of these wouldn’t make a perfect breakfast, but when I have cheese grits for breakfast, I put a fried egg with a perfectly runny yolk on top. Sometimes I stir in a few spoonfuls of pimentos to make pimento cheese grits.
Can we talk about grits for a minute? Grits, like oats, are naturally gluten-free. Nothing but corn. But here’s the rub: the way they are grown, transported, processed and packaged exposes them to gluten cross-contamination. You don’t need that in your life, so choose your grits carefully. I use only Anson Mills grits. My favorites are Coarse White Grits and Coarse Yellow Grits. Both take 50-90 minutes to cook on the stovetop, but have no fear, the Instant Pot is here! Fifteen minutes of cook time and you’ll have hot grits ready to eat.
Click below for the recipe and the low-down on the quickest way to make grits:
I may need to get one of those InstaPots!
You should! I hope we see more of the great sales on Amazon closer to the holidays. Today I made a soup with sweet potatoes and apples in the Instant Pot, based off of a 6 hour crockpot recipe. It took one hour! I’m sure enjoying this.
I just got an InstantPot–doesn’t this recipe take almost the same length of time once you do 15 min to reach pressure, 15 to cook, then around 15 min to manually release? Seems like some recipes I’m finding aren’t any quicker in the Instant Pot so I’m a little disappointed. Also, if I don’t have a bowl that fits inside will this recipe still work?
Hi Erin! Thanks for stopping by.
I think the “Instant” part of Instant Pot is misleading to many people. Many times, it isn’t that it is any quicker to cook a dish, it is that it doesn’t require you to tend the dish. This is the case with grits. Where before I would have stood over the stove for 45 minutes stirring the grits and making sure they didn’t stick, I no longer have to do that. So it frees up more time, but it isn’t “instant” by any means. The same is true for baking things like banana bread in the Instant Pot, not any quicker but the texture is amazing. And making beans from dried or rice? It’s pretty incredible. Soup in under 15 minutes? I’m sold.
No, this recipe won’t work if you don’t have a bowl that first inside the liner of the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. This is a pan-in-pan recipe. This Old Gal has a cheese grits recipe that is made directly in the pan. I’ve not tried it, but have heard great things. Here it is: http://thisoldgal.com/pressure-cooker-southern-style-cheesy-grits/
I hope you’ll stick with the Instant Pot for a bit and try out a few more things before throwing the towel in. It took many months for me to be convinced and now I use it nearly every day. Good luck!
Another plus for the Instant Pot is that many more nutrients are retained during cooking!
I’ve been following lots of conversations around this topic for awhile now. It’s sure a great consideration!
I think my glass Pyrex bowls will work. They can be used in the oven. I would love that soup recipe with sweet potatoes. Thanks for posting.
I bet a Pyrex bowl would work well! I used a Pyrex-style baking dish to make a crustless quiche and it was fine. 🙂
I would like your crustless quiche recipe for the instant pot, please
Hi Bobbie! I’m working on an Instant Pot cookbook and will be including the crustless quiche recipe in it. Thanks for your patience!
I am cooking this recipe right now! I am using one of my corning ware casserole dishes, no lid. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Freeing up my time and not needing to stand at the stove is THE #1 reason I wanted my Instant Pot. I suffer from chronic back pain so it has been a lifesaver!
Anxious to hear how it worked out. Corningware seems like a reasonable plan since it’s oven safe.
It works perfectly using corningware!
That is terrific to hear! Thank you so much!!
Did you ever end up making a recipe for the chicken fried cauliflower? that sounds so yum! Thank you!
I have been making it often at home and really must share a recipe soon! Thank you for the nudge.