Shrimp and Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Grits

Love me tender and call me Elvis, i’ve done it.

Posting twice in under two weeks!?

you betchya.

And what better way to celebrate than a comforting meal that is a WEE bit lighter on the belly…. which just means you have room for seconds.

Shrimp & Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Grits.

Easy breezy beautiful cover girl

Recipe Notes:

Sooooo I decided to be extra fancy and purchase orange cauliflower which truly is unnecessary unless vibrant mango colored grits is your thang, you can just stick to the ol’ regular cauliflower. The cheese alone will help shift color, because you use enough cheese to clog your arteries for this grits.

Yes the texture is still fabulous, trust me on this one.

Okay next up the shrimp, I cooked some bacon first and then cooked the shrimp in the bacon fat because I really wanted to have a heart attack. In fact there is zero bacon actually pictured in these images because I ate it all before I took the actual picture =/ womp womp.

Ohhhh also, I used wild raw Argentinian shrimp (deveined) from Trader Joes because I wanted some beauty shots of the shrimp before I cooked it. No this also isn’t necessary for consumption. You can use frozen shrimp (thawed) or whatever you can get from your local supermarket. I prefer large shrimp 31/35 count but that’s just me…. little shrimp makes my skin crawl.

And that’s about it. It’s so simple. Fear not. It’s also gluten free AND keto friendly if you’re into that sorta thing.

Shrimp Saute + Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Grits

 

Author: Julia Calleo

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  60 mins

Total time:  1 hour 20 mins

Save Print

Keto Friendly and Gluten Free alternative to Shrimp n Grits. Easy and delicious!

Ingredients

Shrimp

• 4 slices thick cut bacon
• 1 white onion thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 lemon thinly sliced
• 1 lemon cut into wedges (for serving)
• 1 lb frozen shrimp (can be shell on or peeled)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp red chili pepper flakes
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Cheesy Cauliflower Grits

• 1 head of cauliflower chopped into florets
• 1 head garlic, top removed (basically just cut a small slice of top off to expose the cloves
• 1 shallot, halved
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 green onion, chopped for garnish

Instructions

Shrimp:

1. In a large cast iron skillet (or really any good cooking skillet) over medium heat fry up your bacon.
2. Once bacon is cooked to your liking, remove, cut into small pieces and set aside.
3. In the same skillet with the bacon fat over medium low heat add your butter and melt.
4. Next add your thinly sliced onion and minced garlic and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Next add your thinly sliced lemons and cook for 4 minutes turning them over half way through.
6. Add your shrimp and cook until pink and opaque stirring every minute or so... depending on size this usually takes about 4-6 minutes to cook.
7. Remove from heat and add your red chili flakes.
8. Stir in parsley, bacon bits and salt & pepper to taste.
9. Serve over grits

Cheesy Cauliflower Grits

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add your cauliflower florets, halved shallots, and one head of garlic
3. Drizzle and toss with 3 tbsp olive oil.
4. Roast in oven for 45 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes (this will prevent a steam explosion in your blender... you've been warned).
6. Peel your garlic and shallot (basically just squeeze them and they'll pop smoothly out of their skin) and add them to a blender along with your cauliflower.
7. Blend/Pulse a few times to create a little bit of that "grit" texture.
8. Next pour the mix into a medium sized pot over medium low heat.
9. Stir in your heavy whipping cream, butter and shredded cheese.
10. Continue to stir until cheese has melted throughout. Next salt and pepper to taste.
11. Garnish with green onion and a couple pieces of shrimp!

3.5.3226