Want to indulge without feeling guilty? Low-carb shrimp and grits are exactly what you need! Lots of flavors and plenty of protein without the heaviness that comes with grits.
Don’t get me wrong – I love carbs! And I plan on having a pile of homemade Belgian waffles tomorrow after my long run.
But on rest days, according to my nutrition coach, I’m only supposed to eat 103 grams of carbs, so I try to make them count, and well, do you know how many carbs are in a bowl of grits? A lot, that’s how many.
And I LOVE grits. Love them. It’s just that I know if I use up all my carbs early in the day at breakfast or brunch, I’ll wreck my diet by the end of the day. “Know thyself” and all that.
If you’re like me, and cycling your carbs to fuel you body for, say, half marathon training, or if you’re on a low carb diet such as Keto, this low-carb shrimp and grits recipe is your dream come true.
You get to taste pure indulgence, but still feel really good afterward.
The secret ingredient, of course, is cauliflower.
I. Love. Cauliflower. Especially as a substitute for rice in dishes like cauliflower fried rice, potatoes in things like au grauten potatoes, and even make cauliflower pizza crust (or breadsticks) now and then.
One of the tricks to enjoying cauliflower as a substitute, without obviously tasting cauliflower is:
- Eating it fresh – leftover cauliflower tastes strong – this is the big one!
- Fully covering it with water when you boil it, and
- Rinsing it after it’s cooked
By the time you add the cheese, shrimp, and fixings to this low-carb shrimp and grits recipe, you’ll totally forget you aren’t eating true grits.
That may sound like an incredible statement because we are, after all, replacing creamy, starchy grains with a vegetable, but once you try it, you’ll be a believer. And you’ll probably be putting shrimp n’ grits on the menu a LOT more often!
PrintLow Carb Shrimp And Grits Recipe
Cauliflower is the key to this amazing low-carb shrimp and grits. You’ll be amazed!
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower (or two bags, frozen – I’m a huge fan of using frozen vegetables!)
- 1 quart chicken broth (optional – you can use water instead, but broth is tastier)
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 slices of bacon
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1–2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled, and deveined
- Salt to taste
- Tony Cachere’s Cajun seasoning to taste
Instructions
- Simmer cauliflower in chicken broth, or steam using water, until just fork tender
- Remove from heat and drain, reserving some of the broth
- Pulse in a blender, or lightly purée with an immersion blender until texture resembles grits
- Add butter and cheese, mixing until both are melted in.
- Add reserved broth to desired texture
- While cauliflower is cooking, fry bacon until crisp, remove from pan and crumble
- Sauté onions in bacon grease until translucent
- Add garlic, shrimp, salt, and Tony’s seasoning, sautéing until shrimp have turned pink and are done
- Add crumbled bacon, and stir to combine
- To serve, divide cauliflower “grits” between four serving dishes
- Top with shrimp mixture
- Enjoy!
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