Luby’s Grits are grits that are wonderfully sweet and cooked with milk instead of water. The combination of sweetened grit cereal with a creamy texture was a surprising find.
Luby’s Grits are wonderfully sweet and are unique because they’re grits made with milk in place of water. This combination of sweet grits and creamy texture was a surprising and pleasing find. Now you can make the best sweet and creamy grits like those from Luby’s Restaurant with this easy-to-make copycat Luby’s Grits recipe. From mac and cheese to grits, it doesn’t get better than Luby’s comfort food!
I’m not originally from the South, but I have made my home in Texas for over twenty years now. Grits were never a breakfast that I grew up in the mid-west. In fact, I never even tried grits until, at the age of thirteen, I went on a trip with my grandparents to visit my great aunt in Jackson, Mississippi, who was a wonderful cook. One morning, in addition to fresh-out-of-the-oven biscuits, we had grits. I wasn’t then an adventurous eater, so I reluctantly tried the grits. I fell in love with them, and whenever I could, I would order grits with breakfast.
What makes this corn grits recipe amazing? By using whole milk, the grits are creamy and flavorful. When you prepare them with just water, the corn doesn’t open up as it does with grits made with milk.
Different Types of Grits
There are stone-ground, fast-cooking, and instant kinds of grits. In theory, most varieties of grits could be interchanged with cornmeal, masa, or polenta, but you usually get better results when you use the specific type of grain called for in a recipe. Stone-ground grits are full of flavor and provide a chunky bite because the germ is left intact. On the other hand, finely ground cornmeal will turn into an almost watery and smooth mush when cooked.
Grits Are Versatile
Grits can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They can be eaten very simply with a pat of butter and a dash of salt, with butter and dark brown sugar for sweet grits, or turned into something more elaborate and flavorful. Here are a few suggestions.
- Combine them with cheese and salt and pepper.
- After they are cooked, make a pocket in the center and add a poached egg.
- Make them New Orleans style with shrimp.
Click here for more ways to use grits.
Are Grits Healthy?
Grits have more than a few health benefits, including.
- Good source of fiber.
- Contain zeaxanthin, an antioxidant that is important for good vision.
- Lower glycemic response compared to milled rice, making them a good choice for diabetics.
- Good source of iron and may help in treating anemia.
- Gluten-free, so if you are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease, you can include corn grits in your diet.
Ingredients for creamy grits
Here’s what you need:
- 5-minute grits. Do not use instant or regular.
- Whole milk
- Sugar
- Salt
- Butter
How to Make Lubys Grits
In a medium pot, pour milk in and heat until the milk simmers over medium heat.
Add grits, salt, and sugar, whisk in, and simmer for about five minutes.
Stir continually while the grits swell and finish cooking.
When the grits have finished cooking in about five minutes stir in butter.
Delicious Breakfast Recipes to Try
- Panera Pasteries – Cobblestone Muffins
- How to Make Krispy Kreme Donuts
- How to Make Fluffy Omelettes
- Chocolate Mega Muffin
- Cracker Barrel Cheesy Hashbrown Recipe
- Oven Baked Eggs
- Best Country Gravy
- How to Cook Oatmeal
- Chicken and Waffles Recipe
- Granola
Most Popular Luby’s Copycat Recipes
Be sure to check out more of my easy breakfast recipes and famous restaurant copycat recipes.
Luby's Grits
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cups grits - 5 minute, not instant grits
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a medium pot over medium heat, heat the milk until it simmers.
- Whisk in the grits, sugar, and salt. Simmer for approximately five minutes, stirring continually until the grits swell and are cooked.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
James
Grits with white pepper gravy and six sunny side up eggs placed on top of them on a plate. Using your fork to break the yokes of the eggs into the grits and gravy and stirring them all together makes for a meal in itself. Ate this concoction since I was a very young kid. Never stopped loving it.
Brittany1017
I love grits! I’m from Georgia, we always ate them with either butter and sugar or with cheese and pepper. Either way is delicious. My family has always made them this way and I hope to continue this with my kids, even though my husband doesn’t like them. (He’s never got to try good southern style grits.) I’ll be making him try them soon ????
Jac Holdaway
I grew up in Texas, and we often ate (eat) grits at breakfast (like cream of wheat or oatmeal, or with salt/pepper and butter or topped with cream or sausage gravy! And always cooked with milk) or with dinner (savory prep). I discovered a new way to prep just by experimentation. I LOVE polenta! Well, you can make a makeshift polenta with grits (or cornmeal, for that matter, but grits works best!). and you can put hot grits in a loaf pan, refrigerate overnight, turn out and slice. dip in seasoned flour and fry in some olive oil, butter or (absolute Southern or Southwestern best!) bacon grease! Serve in place of hashed browns. And if you are throwing out your bacon grease, you are throwing out the best part of the bacon! You can season SOOOOO many things with it, and it is hands down the best for frying anything southern, from fried okra to frog legs. And of course, fried grits!
Janie Davis
Grits made with milk is the best! Sometimes I add sugar and butter; sometimes I add cheese, salt and pepper. I always cook rice in milk instead of water, it tasts so much better. You can throw in an egg, butter, sugar and cinnamon and raisins for a quick rice pudding.
dornie
After they are cooked and served, I make a pocket in the center and add a poach egg or two.
The yolk flowing through them makes just plain delicious.
KK and Molly
I dislike cream of wheat .But ❤️Grits!
I like them with salt and pepper and real butter.????
I am not from the south. I was first introduced to them this way and really enjoyed them. I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to enjoy your favorite foods. It’s all about you and what you like and your taste .
Stephanie
I completely agree with you 😉
mountain man
I love my grits with LOTS of brown sugar. Dark brown sugar is the most flavorful.
james
grits done in the deep south add water salt and pepper to pan when boiling add grits while sturing put lid on and take off heat let stand 5-10 min. this is southeren no suger or milk this is not cream of wheat
x
Weirdly , my father liked them with (canned) tomatoes……..I’m from Chicago, and we always ate our grits savory. I wouldn’t use sugar (don’t even like it in oatmeal or other hot cereals), but I will definitely try them cooked with milk.
Jennic
My husband is from Tennessee and we both love grits, but totally different ways me butter and salt, him butter pepper and sugar.
Valerie Perritt Roton
Grits cooked in sugar and milk?????!!!! those are Yankee grits, not Southern.
Stephanie Manley
Thank you for sharing your opinion. I know you are just commenting on how the grits are made, and not how Luby’s chooses to make their grits.
bastisraul
Being Southerner myself, I have found that many recipes evolve over the years down here and many times for the better. The Mid-Western influence (Yankees don’t count) and the Arcadian influence has made the new generation of Southern Chef’s turn the old school dishes even better with their experimentations. I for one, would never go back, food is soooo much better now than when Mama n’ them were doing the cooking, for the most part. I decline to enter the grits argument.
KB
Who cares where the recipe is from as long as it tastes great.
Ann
IT’S A SOUTHERN THING
james
Thou shalt not put sugar in thine grits.
T Love
GRITS!!! Girls Raised In The South……We LOVE our grits with Salt, Pepper and plenty of BUTTER!!! Anytime of day!
Tiger
please do not put pepper on grits unless you mix tomatoes in with them. i use water, butter and canned milk when i cook grits…this makes them even more creamy and good than whole milk.
Stephanie
I personally like pepper on grits, salt, butter, and pepper works for me.
skoots1mom
these grits are fixed the way my mother always did grits for us kids…she and daddy ate them with salt & pepper…they are one of my comfort foods when i don’t feel well…:)