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Keto Shrimp and Grits Recipe

This isn’t your average grits recipe. It’s a tropical twist on a traditional Southern breakfast staple that makes for a great meal anytime you’re hungry.

History of Grits

Head to the Southern U.S. and grits are a proud staple. It’s a traditional food that dates way back to pre-colonial days.

Native Americans enjoyed eating soft, mashed and boiled corn, and the cooking technique was passed to the new settlers. Corn, or maize, was readily available, which helped it spread like wildfire.

Along the coast, an evolution in grits added shrimp to the mix. The fairly bland corn porridge got a pop of protein and flavor with the shrimp thrown in. The combination remains popular today.

Grits vs. Polenta

Recap: Grits are a porridge made from ground corn. Loosely defined, we’re talking about mushy corn. Polenta, as it turns out, is boiled cornmeal, sometimes baked into a loaf, but other times eaten as porridge.

You can see how the two could be confused. A key difference, however, is the type of corn that is used. Grits are usually made using white corn, while polenta is made from ground yellow corn.

The difference in corn varieties creates distinct textures between the two. Grits are finer, while polenta is more coarse.

Your keto shrimp and grits won’t include white or yellow corn. Instead, you’ll make a unique coconut cream porridge with shredded coconut bits for the “grits” part of the dish.

Keto Shrimp and Grits Recipe

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• Author: Louise Hendon
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) of olive oil, to cook with
• 4 slices of bacon, diced
• 10 white button mushrooms (100 g), quartered
• 1 green onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 lb (225 g) of shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) of lemon juice
• 1 cup (240 ml) of coconut cream
• 3/4 cup (60 g) of shredded coconut
• 2 Tablespoons (2 g) of fresh parsley, finely chopped for garnish
• Salt and pepper, to taste

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Instructions

1. Add olive oil to a pan and fry the diced bacon until crispy.
2. Leave the fat in the pan and cook the mushrooms and onions in the pan until caramelized, adding the garlic halfway through. Remove from the pan and set aside to keep warm.
3. Add the shrimp to the same pan (you may need to add another drizzle olive oil) and fry the shrimp until they are pink and cooked.  Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Then add the cooked shrimp to the mushroom mixture.
4. In a small pan, heat up the coconut cream and then add in the shredded coconut.  Cook to form a thick porridge-like consistency.
5. Divide the coconut ‘grits’ into four small bowls.  Scoop the shrimp mixture on top, scatter the crispy bacon bits on it and then garnish with finely chopped parsley.

Notes

All nutritional data are estimated and based on per serving amounts.

Net Carbs: 4 g

Nutrition

• Calories: 473
• Sugar: 3 g
• Fat: 42 g
• Carbohydrates: 7 g
• Fiber: 3 g
• Protein: 16 g