Savory Grits Pie

Short post. Leftover grits, eggs and cheese. Classic Pyrex pie plate. Grandma’s linen napkin. Simplicity.

For the Grits Pie:

2 to 2 1/2 cups leftover grits (already cooked according to package directions)

1/3 cup milk

2 to 3 eggs divided

1/2 cup cheese, your choice, I used Cheddar here

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

A handful of chopped tomatoes or halved grape/cherry tomatoes

A handful of chopped or shredded prosciutto, ham or tasso

A knob of butter for buttering your pie pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir the grits, milk, eggs yolks, cheese, salt and pepper together until well combined.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold 1/2 of the grits mixture into the egg whites. Then pour the egg white mixture back into the rest of the grits and fold gently just until mixed.

It’s ok if you have some puffs of egg white peeking through.  Dot the top with the tomatoes and prosciutto.

Bake for 30 minutes.  Insert a knife in center of grits pie, if it comes out clean (wet but no pie pieces sticking to it) it is done.  Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6, great with a good crusty loaf of bread and salad!

For a heartier version, bake the grits pie in a pre-baked pie crust. Line your pie plate with pie crust, dock it with a fork, insert a square of parchment to cover, pour in pie weights or dried beans and blind bake the crust for 10-15 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights. Let cool completely before pouring in the grits mixture and baking again for 30 minutes. 

*Note about amount of grits and egg.  Use 2 eggs if you only have scant 2 cups grits.  If you have heaping 2 1/2 cups grits, then use 3 eggs. I used large eggs for this, so if you have extra large or jumbo eggs in your fridge, only use 2 eggs.