Sweet grit pudding:

Few ingredients are as deeply woven into Southern cooking as grits. For generations, they’ve been a staple on breakfast tables, served alongside shrimp, topped with butter, or enjoyed simply with salt and pepper. Made from stone-ground corn, grits represent comfort, hospitality, and the rich culinary traditions of the South.

While savory grits often take center stage, there’s another side to this Southern classic that’s just as deserving of the spotlight, and that’s sweet grits.

In the Lowcountry, we love celebrating recipes that honor tradition while inviting people to experience familiar ingredients in new ways. Sweet Grit Pudding does exactly that. By transforming grits into a warm, creamy dessert, this recipe brings together simple pantry staples to create something unexpectedly comforting. It’s the kind of dessert that feels both nostalgic and elegant; equally at home after Sunday supper as it is at a leisurely weekend brunch.

Whether you’ve enjoyed grits your entire life or are discovering them for the first time, we hope this recipe inspires you to see this Southern staple in a new light. Savory grits will always have a place at our table, but there’s something extra special about ending a meal with a bowl of sweet grits.

Sweet Grit Pudding

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup or heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• Pinch of salt

• 2 cups pre-cooked grits
• 3 large eggs, whisked
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Dash of ground cinnamon
• Dash of nutmeg

• Fresh berries of your choice or add raisins
• Whipped cream

Instructions
1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, heavy cream, sugar, butter, and salt to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then add the leftover grits.
2. Reduce the heat to low, stir constantly, and let simmer for about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens.

3. Temper the beaten eggs by stirring a small amount of the hot grits’ mixture into them, then whisk the eggs back into the main saucepan.
4. Stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
5. Spoon the warm grit mix into bowls, top with fresh berries or raisin and whipped cream.

Leslie Rohland, 2024 SC Chef Ambassador, Chef and Proprietor of The Cottage Cafe, The Bluffton Pasta Shoppe, the Juice Hive, and May River Coffee Roasters. (843) 757-0508, 38 Calhoun St, Bluffton, SC.