This week is full of family visits and birthday celebrations, my son’s preschool Christmas performance (it really is the cutest thing ever), and tons of delicious food and drinks. Tis the season! Speaking of food, let’s get right to it. I must be a good Southern girl if I’ve got a grits casserole in my repertoire. Right y’all? ❤️ This overnight cheesy grits casserole is my mom’s recipe and it’s a classic in our family. That being said, it would probably be frowned upon in the fancy culinary circles. It does not require the more upscale stone ground grits that are oh so popular right now. (Did I just use the word upscale to describe grits?) Don’t get me wrong, I love the trendy Anson Mills grits that buy in Charleston, S.C. (Did I use the word trendy to describe grits? We are still talking about ground corn, yes?) This recipe uses plain ole regular grits. Tried and true. Honestly, I think it makes the dish more authentic, more down-to-earth. This is what real people have been using all along. We always had this overnight cheesy grits casserole at our Christmas brunch with some of my mom’s side of the family when I was growing up. My cousin’s grandmother particularly loved it. She would gush over all of the food, in her magnificent Southern lady drawl, but you could always tell the grits were her favorite. She was a good Southern girl too. She passed away a few years ago, but I will always think of her when I make this dish. Don’t you just love how food can connect us that way? OK, let’s get cooking. Now, I’ve got some notes and substitutions coming up on how to make grits casserole. Just tryin’ to be helpful. If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Recipe Notes:
Grits: Regular grits are fine to use here, as are stone-ground grits — just follow the package directions. I don’t recommend quick or instant grits. Casserole: If you taste the grits after you cook them and add the butter and cheese, you may be tempted to stop there. And that would be OK. But this dish only gets more magnificent if you add the remaining ingredients and bake it off the next day. Eggs: You’ll need to temper the eggs by adding a small amount of the hot cooked grits to your bowl of beaten eggs. This helps increase the temperature of the eggs slowly so you can add them to the grits and incorporate the without them cooking. Scrambled eggs and grits are good, but this is not that dish. Make ahead: We’ve always made this and let it sit overnight but you can also bake it off right away if you want to fix it the morning of your brunch. (I’ve done that too and it works great.)
Need to round out your menu? I’ve got you. We frequently serve this overnight cheesy grits casserole with my make ahead healthy sausage breakfast casserole. It’d be great with this hash brown breakfast casserole, too. And since those can all be prepped the night before, it makes Christmas morning — or whenever you’re serving a group brunch — way more stress-free. Gotta love that. Oh, and don’t forget to add a brunch salad for some veggies and maybe some bubbly mimosas for some fun. Last thing, let’s talk about what to do with any leftovers. Leftover cheesy grits casserole, once cooled, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave until hot. There you have it! I hope you find a way to work in some Southern grits goodness for your holiday plans - or just your next brunch party! Enjoy! XO, Kathryn Grits: Regular grits are fine to use here, as are stone-ground grits — just follow the package directions for cooking them. I don’t recommend quick or instant grits. Baking: We’ve always made this and let it sit overnight but you can also bake it off right away if you want to fix it the morning of your brunch.
