This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy + disclosures for details.
If there is a single dish Charleston, South Carolina and the surrounding Lowcountry is best known for, it’s shrimp and grits. This garlic butter shrimp with pimento cheese grits is a regional favorite. This is a showstopping, 30-minute dinner that can double as a fancy appetizer. It’s so creamy and flavorful that you’ll want to make it again and again!
If you can’t get enough of easy shrimp recipes, don’t miss these recipes for Charleston pickled spiced shrimp and citrus shrimp with Louis sauce.
Quick Look: Garlic Butter Shrimp with Pimento Cheese Grits Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 5 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 25 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 30 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 2 large or 4 small servings
- 🌽 Cuisine & Heritage: Southern American
- 🍽️Calories: 740 calories per serving (more nutritional info in recipe card)
- 🥦Dietary Info: can be made Gluten Free and/or Dairy Free
- 🟢 Difficulty: Easy
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Stovetop
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: creamy, velvety, hints of garlic and cheese with juicy shrimp.
- 🔑Top Tip: Peel, devein and butterfly shrimp up to 1 day in advance. Bag prepared shrimp and place bag in a large bowl over ice. Refrigerate until ready to use. Note that ice will still melt in the fridge, so use a big bowl with only ¼ ice.
- 🍷 Drink Pairings: The lemony quality of a good Chablis, a steel-aged Chardonnay, or a white sangria (particularly ones with pears or grapefruits) with this dish. Also, Abita beer with most shrimp dishes is hard to beat.
- ❄️ Storage: It’s best to enjoy this fresh, as leftovers don’t taste as good. However, if you have leftovers, refrigerate and enjoy within 24 hours. Reheat gently on the stovetop.
Summarize or share this post:
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Balanced, Restaurant-Quality Flavors: I flavor this with garlic, but also with a scant amount of honey. Not to make it sweet, rather to highlight the sharp cheddar in the pimento cheese grits. Yup, flavor profiles really do work that way…
- Simple Method, Ready in 30 Minutes: This is actually a two-part method for a meal that can be made and on your table in 30 minutes.
- Perfect for Brunches & Weekends: You’ll want to make these pimento cheese grits for brunches and quick weekend breakfast sides. If I eat a bowl of pimento cheese grits and a broiled tomato, I am set until dinner time.
“Great recipe! I have made grits just couple of times but this was delicious…Loved all the garlic in the sauce. Will make this again real soon. Thank you for sharing.”
Table of Contents
- Quick Look: Garlic Butter Shrimp with Pimento Cheese Grits Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Variations & Substitutions
- How to Make Garlic Butter Shrimp & Pimento Cheese Grits
- Garlic Butter Shrimp & Pimento Cheese Grits FAQs
- Serving Suggestions
- Expert Tips
- Other Southern Classics You’ll Love
- Garlic Butter Shrimp and Pimento Cheese Grits Recipe
Ingredients
Curious what ingredients you need for this garlic butter shrimp with pimento cheese grits? Grab these key ingredients, and you’ll be ready to start cooking!
- Fresh, Raw Shrimp: Use raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp with only the tails on. In terms of shrimp, opt for fresh if you are able. (I am in a coastal state and in a seaside town, so I have access to fresh seafood daily.) Fresh, frozen shrimp are fine to use; just thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.
- Garlic Cloves: Use fresh garlic versus anything out of a jar. (You’ll never hear me singing the praises of jarred garlic ever!) With me, always assume fresh cloves that you’ll chop and/or mince. I specify 2 cloves in this recipe; however, I use 4 because I’m looking for that caramelization that garlic undergoes as it heats, and I love it.
- Honey: I cut the garlic butter with one teaspoon of honey. Again, flexibility is yours in this recipe, so go additional honey or omit altogether if you have strong preferences where honey is concerned.
- Stone Ground Grits: Stone ground grits have a wonderfully coarse texture. Use either yellow or white, depending on your preference.
- Prepared Pimiento Cheese: I highly recommend that you use homemade (like my piquant white cheddar pimento cheese) in the grits for the best flavor. Use up leftovers in my pimento cheese nachos or pimento cheese deviled eggs.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
I made this once for 150 guests to a piano drop-in at my friend Bubbie’s house. Just your average Saturday afternoon on Charleston’s Battery for nibbles and a good sing along. How did I make this dish not entirely average?
- Cook grits in chicken broth in lieu of water for extra flavor.
- Sauté shrimp in bacon fat instead of butter if desired.
- Don’t have pimento cheese on hand? Substitute with full fat, brick-style cream cheese.
- Want to add other seafood? I added both bay and sea scallops in addition to the shrimp. (Here’s my technique for bronzed sea scallops with pasta.) You can also try my Charleston shrimp and grits with crab gravy!
- Want to try cheese instead of pimento cheese? Consider shredded smoked gouda or shredded truffled cheddar. Smoke and truffle are two earthy elements that scream fancy schmancy, so use them to your advantage when you can.
- Want to serve this as an appetizer? Assemble the seafood mixture and cheesy grits in ceramic appetizer spoons and enjoy as heavy hors d’oeuvres. Genius!
How to Make Garlic Butter Shrimp & Pimento Cheese Grits
Scroll down for the full printable recipe or stick around for the step-by-step breakdown with photos to walk you through every delicious detail.
1
Make the Pimento Cheese Grits
Combine the grits, milk, water, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan, then bring to a boil. Begin whisking when the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and continue whisking for 3 minutes.
Turn the heat to a very low setting, then cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes. Add the pimento cheese and and the butter and whisk until melted and combined. Cover and simmer for an additional 5-8 minutes. Remove from the heat but keep it covered until you’re ready to serve.
2
Marinate the Garlic Butter Shrimp
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Once the butter has cooled to room temperature, add soy sauce, honey, minced garlic, and wine. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
Halve the garlic butter mixture and set one half aside. Add the shrimp to a plastic zipper bag. Add the remaining half of the marinade over the shrimp, seal the bag, and squeeze the bag to coat all of the shrimp. Marinate for 15 minutes on the counter.
3
Cook the Shrimp
Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove shrimp from the marinade and add to the pan. Discard the marinade.
Reduce the heat to medium. Sauté shrimp for 3 minutes on one side before flipping. Pour the reserved half of unused marinade over the shrimp. Sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Shrimp will be opaque, and the garlic butter sauce will have slightly thickened. Remove from heat and season to taste.
4
Plate & Serve
To plate this dish, whisk the pimento cheese grits until they’re smooth and spoon grits into 2 bowls. Top with shrimp, and equal amounts of the pan sauce. Garnish with ground black pepper if you like and serve immediately.
Garlic Butter Shrimp & Pimento Cheese Grits FAQs
So if you’re NOT from the south, chances are you have had few opportunities to order grits from a menu where you live, let alone a meal of shrimp and grits. Grits are a dish of coarsely ground corn kernels boiled with water or milk, and true to what you already may know, they’re a southern United States staple.
Here in the south, grits prepared in some way or another will appear on menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even the fanciest of cocktail parties. Simply stated, the south doesn’t “do food” without grits being a part of the spread.
The most common way to prepare grits is to boil them in water with salt and butter until they’re creamy. To me, unless you were brought up noshing on simple grits daily, I am not sure you’d think they had any more flavor than I do. Insert Yankee opinion here, and add cheddar cheese. Not just any cheddar, sharp cheddar pimento cheese…
Cook the grits with milk, then add the pimento cheese for a perfectly creamy texture to the grits. Season with salt to taste to enhance the cheese and to add lots of flavor.
Yes and no. To get as far ahead with this as you can, prep your shrimp and place them on ice. I do this the day before and simply bag my prepared cleaned shrimp and place over some ice in a deep bowl and pop into my refrigerator.
The remainder of ingredients may be prepped and measured out, too and held over by 1 day until ready to cook. Because this dish cooks in a matter of minutes, it is best to cook it hot and cook it only once.
Serving Suggestions
For this dish, fewer sides is best. I personally keep it simple with a peach and tomato caprese salad and sometimes also a fresh corn and tomato salad. If sticking to a Lowcountry theme, serve okra or pickled vegetables. Pickled peppers with shallots, pickled red onions, or 3-ingredient Charleston flash pickles are all great options.
If you felt the need to serve a bread, consider a mixed bread basket on the table with smaller slices of zucchini, banana nut bread with streusel, spinach feta cheese bread, buttermilk biscuits, or cornbread. An herby citrus compound butter would compliment all these breads very nicely.
Expert Tips
- To make ahead: Peel, devein and butterfly shrimp up to 1 day in advance. Bag prepared shrimp and place bag in a large bowl over ice. Refrigerate until ready to use. Note that ice will still melt in the fridge, so use a big bowl with only 1/4 ice.
- Prep and measured out all other ingredients up to 1 day in advance.
- Ensure melted butter is completely cooled before marinating the shrimp. Hot enough, the butter will begin to cook the raw shrimp while marinating.
- Want to butterfly the shrimp? Do an additional final cut going all the way through, like a whale tail. Shrimp look jaunty when cut this way once they are cooked, and they can stand up if you’re trying to be fancy. If you want to go old school and leave them whole, that’s fine, too.
- Consider plating in your kitchen or butler’s pantry and serving guests individually at the table versus family style from a single serving bowl. You also get greater portion control this way, ensuring everybody gets some of the beautiful shrimp.
Other Southern Classics You’ll Love
Garlic Butter Shrimp and Pimento Cheese Grits
Video
Ingredients
For the Creamy Pimento Cheese Grits
- ½ cup stone ground grits
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup water, or substitute chicken broth for a richer taste
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup pimento cheese, see my recipe for white cheddar pimento cheese
For the Garlic Butter Shrimp
- 6-8 large raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and butterflied and cut through
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (or bacon fat)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (or more to taste)
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey, or more to taste
Optional Add-Ins
- chopped red bell pepper
- andouille sausage, sliced, fully cooked
- crumbled bacon
- sliced green onions
Instructions
Making the Creamy Pimento Cheese Grits
- Combine the grits, milk, water, salt and pepper in a medium sized non-stick saucepan.
- Bring the contents of the pot to a boil. Begin whisking when the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and continue whisking for 3 minutes.
- Make sure the heat is on a very low setting and place a lid on the pot. Simmer stirring occasionally for 12 minutes.
- Add the pimento cheese and and the butter and whisk to fully melt both and combine. Replace the lid and simmer for an additional 5 to 8 minutes.
- Remove from the heat but keep lid in place. Keep warm while shrimp are prepared.
Cooking the Garlic Butter Shrimp
- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Once the butter has cooled to room temperature, add the soy sauce, honey, minced garlic, and wine. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Halve the garlic butter mixture and set one half aside. Add the shrimp to a plastic zipper bag. Add the remaining half of the marinade over the shrimp, seal the bag, and squeeze the bag to coat all of the shrimp. Marinate for 15 minutes on the counter.
- Melt the remaining butter in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat. Remove shrimp from the marinade and add to the pan. Discard the marinade. (If you plan to add optional ingredients, add them at this stage, assuming they are fully cooked and need only be heated through.)
- Reduce the heat to medium. Sauté shrimp for 3 minutes on one side before flipping. Pour the reserved half of unused marinade over the shrimp. Sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Shrimp will be opaque and the garlic butter sauce will have slightly thickened. Remove from heat and season to taste.
- To plate this dish, whisk the pimento cheese grits until they're smooth and spoon grits into 2 bowls. Top with shrimp, and equal amounts of the pan sauce. Garnish with ground black pepper if you like and serve immediately.
Notes
- To make ahead: Peel, devein and butterfly shrimp up to 1 day in advance. Bag prepared shrimp and place bag in a large bowl over ice. Refrigerate until ready to use. Note that ice will still melt in the fridge, so use a big bowl with only 1/4 ice.
- Prep and measured out all other ingredients up to 1 day in advance.
- Ensure melted butter is completely cooled before marinating the shrimp. Hot enough, the butter will begin to cook the raw shrimp while marinating.
- There are many varieties of grits to include stone ground, quick cooking, and instant. For the purposes of this recipe, I am specifying stone ground grits.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe! I have made grits just couple of times but this was delicious.
You had butter in the ingredients for the grits. But not when to add it.
I added it last after the Cheese, I hope that was correct.
Loved all the garlic in the sauce. Will make this again real soon.
Thank you for sharing.
B, I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the dish! You added the butter at EXACTLY the right stage, and thank you for pointing out to me that I need to make that clear, as I will amend the recipe card right now. Thanks for taking a minute from your day to give me feedback. I REALLY do appreciate that. x – Jenny