What Are Grits, and Are They Healthy?

www.healthline.com ^ | on April 5, 2019 | Ryan Raman, MS, RD

[Red Badger]

Grits are a popular dish widely consumed across the Southern United States.

They’re made from dried, ground corn (Maize) cooked in various liquids — including water, milk, or broth — until the mix reaches a thick, creamy, porridge-like consistency.

While grits are incredibly popular, many people wonder whether they’re good for you.

This article reviews grits, including their nutrition, benefits, and whether they’re healthy.

What are grits?

Grits are a popular Southern American dish made from crushed or ground corn.

They’re most commonly served as a breakfast or side dish and usually made from a variety of corn called dent corn, which has a softer, starchy kernel (1).

The crushed corn granules are typically cooked in either hot water, milk, or broth until they reach a thick yet creamy consistency that is similar to porridge.

Grits are often paired with flavorful ingredients, such as butter, sugar, syrups, cheeses, and meats like bacon, shrimp, and catfish.

You can purchase several varieties of grits, including:

Stone-ground. These are made from whole, dried corn kernels that are coarsely ground in a mill. This type is harder to find in grocery stores because it has a short shelf life and takes 30–60 minutes to cook on the stove (2). Hominy. These are made from corn kernels soaked in an alkali solution to soften the tough pericarp (outer shell or hull). The pericarp is rinsed, then removed, and the corn kernels undergo further processing to make hominy (3Trusted Source). Quick and regular. These types undergo processing, which involves removing the pericarp and germ (nutrient-rich embryo), so they have a longer shelf life. Regular versions are medium ground while quick are finely ground (2). Instant. This precooked, dehydrated version has had both the pericarp and germ removed. They’re widely available in grocery stores.

Summary:

Grits are a popular Southern American dish made from ground, dried corn. They are typically cooked in milk, water, or broth until they reach a thick, creamy consistency.

Grits nutrition facts

Grits contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

One cup (257 grams) of cooked, regular grits provides the following nutrients (4):

Calories: 182

Protein: 4 grams

Fat: 1 gram

Carbs: 38 grams

Fiber: 2 grams

Folate: 25% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)

Thiamine: 18% of the RDI

Niacin: 13% of the RDI

Riboflavin: 12% of the RDI

Iron: 8% of the RDI

Vitamin B6: 7% of the RDI

Magnesium: 5% of the RDI

Zinc: 4% of the RDI

Phosphorus: 4% of the RDI

What’s most impressive about grits is that they’re high in iron, which is essential for red blood cell production. They also include many B vitamins, such as folate and thiamine, as well as trace amounts of potassium, pantothenic acid, calcium, and vitamin E (5Trusted Source).

However, regular versions contain fewer vitamins and minerals — like calcium and vitamins A and C — than the stone-ground varieties made from whole corn kernels (4).

That’s because they undergo several stages of processing, which removes nutritious parts of the corn like the pericarp and germ (2).

Summary:

Grits provide a variety of nutrients and are especially high in iron and B vitamins. Stone-ground varieties are more nutritious, as they don’t have the pericarp and germ removed.

[BenLurkin]

bttt

[freedumb2003]

When desribing grits for people who have never had them (Yankees and furriners) I say they are a lot like Cream of Wheat but with less taste.

The point of grits is to take on the flavor of what they are served in, which is why there are sweet grits with syrup, honey and the like or dinner grits, with red gravy and the like.

Now remember I am a Yankee from California but I have traveled pretty extensively and am describing eyesight to the blind ;) :)

[Red Badger]

I prefer yellow grits as well. Hard to find though.............

[Clutch Martin]

“Corn (maize)”

The word corn was used in England as a type of measurement of a corn size in granularity and nothing to do with maize (the crop).

Why do we call it corn? It is after all maize.

[smvoice]

Betcha’ can’t eat just one!

[ConservativeMind]

I really don’t enjoy grits in any form I’ve had them.

I enjoy corn muffins, though.

[FLT-bird]

It’s like a potato. Without any seasoning or butter and salt and pepper, potatoes are horribly bland. With the right seasoning or butter plus salt and pepper they are delicious.

Also shrimp n’ Grits can be eaten anytime - not just breakfast. Add bacon and shrimp and cheese and they are heavenly.

[abb]

Sunny-side up for me, draped across the top of the grits. With plenty of pepper.

[Red Badger]

I ordered breakfast at a diner in Scranton, PA once in 1974, with grits.

The waitress did not know what they were................

[central_va]

I am so ashamed but I even like instant grits...

[Magnum44]

I could be wrong, but growing up in the South, it was my understanding that grits, like many other southern dishes (corn bread, lard fried chicken, lard fried pretty much everything, etc) came out of the poor south having very little to feed itself with post civil war, and these recipes provided the minimal substance and nutrition. I thinks grits, among other recipes, also did not have much flavor of their own, but were later supplemented with lots of salt, butter, and/or cheese to make them tastier. I am a fan of the tastier versions, though I am guessing its more healthy without the salt and butter.

[TexasGator]

A bowl of grits with crunched bacon!

[Bratch]

But are they True Grit(s)?

[Red Badger]

Sometimes add Cheddar Cheese shreds! Heavenly!..............................

[hoagy62]

Grits, served with butter and brown sugar.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Making me hungry for shrimp and grits.

[Red Badger]

Instant grits is better than no grits at all!...........

[Red Badger]

Shrimp and CHEESE GRITS!..................

[blam]

GRITS

Origin​

The dish came from a Native American Muskogee tribe's recipe in the 16th century, of Indian corn similar to hominy or maize. The Muskogee would grind the corn in a stone mill, giving it a “gritty” texture.[4] They were made using a stone-grounder. The colonists and settlers enjoyed the new staple with the local Native Americans and it became an American staple dish.[5]

At that time, the hominy for grits were ground on a stone mill. The ground hominy was then passed through screens, the finer sifted material used as grit meal, and the coarser as grits.[6] State law in South Carolina requires grits and rice meal to be enriched, similar to the requirement for flour.[7]

Three-quarters of grits sold in the U.S. are bought in the South, in an area stretching from Lower Texas to Washington D.C. that is sometimes called the "grits belt".[8] The state of Georgia declared grits to be its official prepared food in 2002.[9] A similar bill was introduced in South Carolina to name it the official state food,[10] but it did not advance.[11]
Nevertheless, South Carolina still has an entire chapter of legislation dealing exclusively with corn meal and grits.[7] Grits may be either yellow or white, depending on the color of the corn used. The most common version in supermarkets is "quick" grits, which have the germ and hull removed. Whole kernel grits is sometimes called "speckled".[12]

[Red Badger]

I use honey!...........................