Creamy, fluffy & delicious grits baked to perfection as a soufflé. A simple and elegant twist on breakfast and brunch.
Grits Soufflé. Of all of the many things that I heard of my Great Grandma Lucille cooking her Grits Soufflé ranked pretty high on the list. I think that it was partially because she made it so well and partially because it was one of my Dad’s favorite dishes. And although I never knew my Great Grandma Lucy, I have heard so many stories about her that make me feel like I did know her. She was a professional cook for nearly her whole life and whenever I cook dishes that she made, I feel like she’s somehow there with me in the kitchen.
This recipe has been a long time in the works. I had no recipe from her to work off of but only an idea of how to make grits and a rough idea for how to make a soufflé. But eventually it came together and here it is now. I hope you enjoy it.
Great Grandma Lucile’s Grits Soufflé
- 1/2 cup grits
- 1/2 c milk (at room temperature; add more milk as needed)
- 1/4 c hot water
- 3 TBSP butter (softened)
- 1 TBSP parmesan cheese (grated)
- 3 eggs separated (egg yolks and egg whites in two separate bowls)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 400F/190C.
Grease a soufflé pot with 1 TBSP of butter.
To prepare the grits: Add the grits, hot water, milk and salt (to taste) in a sauce pot. Stirring frequently, cook the grits on a low simmer for about 10 minutes, gradually adding more milk as needed. (Note: the grits should be thick like oatmeal but nice and creamy.) At the very end, stir in the remaining 2 TBSP of butter and the 1 TBSP of parmesan cheese. Remove the grits from the heat and set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Temper the egg yolks by adding a few tablespoons, spoonful at a time and whisking in between each addition.
Then add the egg yolks into the grits and set aside.
In a large, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
Then fold the egg whites into the grits gradually.
Then pour the grits into the greased soufflé pot and bake for about 15-20 minutes or just until the souflee has risen and is golden brown on top.
NOTE: Please don’t open the oven. It will be very, very tempting to do so in order to check on it, but for this recipe, just look through the glass part of the oven or just trust the process. Opening the oven door prematurely can cause the soufflé to drop and although it will still taste delicious, it will not have the same beautiful, tall souflee appearance.
Remove from the oven, serve immediately and wow your family and friends. Because you just made a soufflé and you made it out of grits so I think that calls for an applause.
Golden brown but still soft & delicate.
Nice and fluffy like eating a cloud…
…so delicious. Grandmas always know.
“Love you Lucile. You made the world a better place in more ways than one.”
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