I’ve been on a big breakfast kick for a while now. Almost everyday I eat eggs and avocado toast. I’m a basic millennial, I know. And I do not care. But if I’m being honest, I’m ready for a change. So I’ve tried a few different things. Leftovers made into a frittata, leftovers made into a hash, breakfast pizza in the oven, breakfast tacos, breakfast pizza in a skillet, pancakes, pancake tacos (IYKYK). But then I remembered this casserole that my mom would make when I was growing up – a grits casserole!
Now, I know there is a lot of controversy over how one eats their grits. Some are team sweet and some are team savory. I am 100% team savory. With hot sauce of course. So once I remembered my mom’s grits breakfast casserole, I had to remake it. My Cheesy Grits Casserole is not fancy. But it is REALLY good. I mean, its covered in cheese. How could it be bad.
This casserole is a great make ahead recipe. Make it on Sunday and have an entire casserole dish worth of breakfasts for the week! You could also change it up every time you make it! Try it with different cheeses, use up some of the veggies in your fridge, sausage/no sausage. You can really make it however you like! I personally like hot breakfast sausage, cheddar and then a lot of hot sauce (obvi). Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Cheesy Grits Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb breakfast sausage of choice
- 1 1/2 cups grits
- 4 /12 cups water
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cups diced pimentos
- 12 eggs
- 1/4 plain Greek yogurt
- 2/3 cup milk
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a skillet, brown the breakfast sausage with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the pimentos and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, milk, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.
- Bring water with a large pinch of salt to a boil.
- Add grits and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let sit for 5-7 minutes until the water has been absorbed.
- Stir in butter, 1 cup of cheese, sausage and pimentos.
- Grease a large oven-safe skillet or glass baking dish (9x13in) with butter or oil.
- If your grits are still hot, may need to temper your eggs a bit before fully combining them. Start by adding one spoon of grits at a time, to bring the eggs up in temperature. Then you can mix everything together and pour into your prepared baking dish.
- Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes, until the middle of the casserole is set (not jiggly, a toothpick comes out clean).
- Top with the rest of the cheese and bake for another 5 minutes until it is melted.
- Remove from the oven and let the casserole rest for 5 minutes.
- Enjoy!
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