Fair warning, this recipe is carb heavy and dairy heavy! If you're on a special diet, you might want to take a pass on this one. But if you're in the mood for some Southern comfort food, you've come to the right place!
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This is Pure Comfort Food!
I love Southern cooking. It's so flavorful and comforting. Even though I lived in Nashville until I was seven years old, I didn't encounter grits until I was in college. It was love at first taste! Shrimp and grits is one of my favorite dishes, but I love a good grits casserole too. And this one has it all. Grits, ham, cheese, eggs, and hot sauce! It's great for breakfast, but we usually have it for dinner.
Ingredients You'll Need
This recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of hot sauce. That might sound like a lot, but in a casserole this size it only adds a little background heat. Feel free to use less if you like, or more if you want to feel the burn! I usually make it with 3 tablespoons.
- chicken stock
- grits
- eggs
- cream cheese
- butter
- hot sauce
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- salt
- black pepper
- white pepper
- cayenne pepper
- sour cream
- ham
- Cheddar cheese
- green onions
How to Make Grits and Ham Casserole
Prep for this recipe is pretty easy. Aside from measuring most of the ingredients, it just requires slicing the ham and green onions, and whisking the eggs. Here's the main cast: ham, eggs, grits, Cheddar cheese, spices (onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, white pepper, and cayenne pepper), sour cream, and hot sauce.
And the supporting players: cream cheese, butter, more Cheddar cheese, and green onions.
Bring the chicken stock to a boil, pour in the grits, and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until it thickens. Stir once or twice during cooking.
This is some good looking grits! I was tempted to scoop out a bowl and eat it with some butter, but I do have some self-control.
Whisk the eggs and stir in a little of the hot grits to temper them (raising the temperature so the eggs don't cook immediately when you pour them into the grits).
Add the cream cheese, 2 cups of Cheddar cheese, butter, hot sauce, onion salt, garlic salt, black pepper, white pepper, and cayenne pepper to the grits. Stir until the cheese is melted. It will take some elbow grease to mix thickened grits!
Add the sour cream and ham and stir.
Add the eggs and... you guessed it... stir some more!
Pour the grits mixture into a deep, 9x13 baking dish and give your arm a good massage. Sprinkle the rest of the Cheddar cheese and the green onions over the top and bake for 40 minutes.
Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Yes, you have to wait! You need some self-control too! You also don't need to burn your mouth on molten grits and cheese.
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Okay, the 10 minutes are up! You can eat now! (This is when I pour on more hot sauce.)
📖 Recipe Card
Grits and Ham Casserole
Special Equipment Needed
- 9x13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups quick-cooking grits
- 4 large eggs
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
- 8 tablespoons butter one stick
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce or to taste
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ cup sour cream
- 16 ounces fully cooked ham cubed
For the Topping
- 1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese shredded
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bring the stock to a boil in a large saucepan. Slowly stir in the grits. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, 5 to 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat.6 cups chicken broth, 2 cups quick-cooking grits
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and stir in a small amount of hot grits to temper the eggs.4 large eggs
- Add the cream cheese, 2 cups of Cheddar cheese, butter, hot sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, white pepper, and cayenne pepper to the grits. Stir until the cheese is melted.1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, 8 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Add the sour cream and ham to the pan and stir.½ cup sour cream, 16 ounces fully cooked ham
- Slowly pour in the eggs and stir until mixed well.
- Transfer the grits mixture to a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of Cheddar cheese and the green onions.1 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, 3 green onions
- Bake, uncovered, 40 to 45 minutes or the until edges are golden brown and the cheese is melted. Let the casserole stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with sadditional hot sauce for those who want even more heat.
Nutrition Estimate
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Kelly Huff says
I grew up in South Carolina and my best friends mom would make this sometimes. And I have made it a couple times through the years but it wasn't near this good. I put the amount of hot sauce and spice you called for and it came out just right for me. And yes I'm putting my new years diet on hold for the time being 🙂
Chef Grey says
Hi Kelly! I'm glad you liked the recipe. And there are some things that you just have to press "Pause" on the diet for. One of mine is an incredibly decadent mac and cheese recipe. One of the issues with diets is that they can be hard to stick with. So I've learned to have occasional days when I step out of the diet and indulge in a guilty pleasure.
I used to meet with some friends at a sports bar once a month. We were all on various diets for weight, medical issues, or health. But at our meeting we would each order a big burger, chili cheese fries, and apple pie with ice cream. We called it our "Retox Diet". I told my doctor about it once and he laughed and said it sounded good to him!