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How to make Crock Pot Cheese Grits {Loaded}

This crock pot cheese grits recipe is the best side dish for any family dinner. Pull your slow cooker out and start making this delicious recipe.

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Oh, I love cheese grits.  I guess you do to because you clicked on this recipe! 🙂  I don’t usually eat these for breakfast, but for dinner!  They are so yummy with pork or ham and this southern slow cooker grits recipe won’t disappoint.  They are the perfect side for almost every kind of dinner. I grew up eating these and now I make them for my kids.

Overhead view of bowl with cheese grits topped with bacon, tomatoes and green onions

How to make Crock Pot Cheese Grits Recipe

Grits are a really good and inexpensive food.  If you’ve never tried them, you’re missing out.  They’re located in the breakfast section, near the oatmeal.  I’m not a huge fan of plain grits, but cheesy grits are FANTASTIC.  

Make them loaded and they are to die for!  I love the taste that the pepper and Tabasco leaves.  Mix in all those toppings in together and it’s delicious and filling.

What are grits?

Grits are stone ground corn that were orginally eaten by Native Americans in the Carolinas. Over time it became more popular in the southern states and a good breakfast for fisherman out at sea. They often ate shrimp with it. Who would have thought that shrimp and grits would served at the fanciest of resturaunts now?

cheese grits with bacon, tomatoes, shredded yellow cheese and green onions

I love using my slow cooker and get it out a few times a week. Most the time I cook the main part of my meal, the protein, in the crock pot, but this is a good side dish that you can throw in.

Kitchen tools to make crockpot grits

Ok- I’ll admit it, you don’t really need much to make this recipe.

Crock Pot– This is the exact slow cooker I have. It’s nothing fancy. It doesn’t have a timer or anything digital, just a regular old fashioned dail. It always gets the job done and it’s less expensive than any of those fancy ones.

Crock pot liners– These liners make cleaning so quick. You can just pull it out and throw it in the trash. I don’t use these all the time, but who doesn’t love any time saving hack.

Plastic cutting mats– I love these mats. They are easy to clean and don’t take up much space in yuour pantry or cabinet. They are great for adding your cut veggies into pots, pans and soups because they bend to make pouring them easier.

Air fryer– This recipe calls for bacon and the only way I cook my bacon now is in my air fryer. If you haven’t done this, you are missing out. It’s so easy and doesn’t make any kind of mess. Clean up is so easy! This is the exact air fryer I own. I even bought the same one for my mom.

Ingredients to make Easy Crock Pot Cheese Grits

  • Instant grits – NOT stone ground grits!
  • Cheddar cheese- shredded- Sharp cheddar cheese works well.
  • Salt and fresh ground black pepper- I don’t like black pepper all that much and use it sparingly. However, I love black pepper in sausage gravy and grits! I usually put a lot in my recipe. If you look at the picture above closely, you can see the pepper in it.
  • Buttermilk

Not everyone has buttermilk laying around in their refrigerator. Did you know you can make buttermilk from regular milk and lemon juice?

This recipe calls for two cups of buttermilk. To make enough buttermilk for this recipe you’ll need to add 2 cups of buttermilk to a bowl and 2 tablespoons on lemon juice and stire. Stir well and let sit for at least 10 minutes before adding it to your recipe. I t won’t be as thick as real buttermilk, but it will work in a pinch.

  • Water
  • Tabasco sauce or the hot sauce of your choice. I like Tobasco sauce because of the sweet tang it has.
  • Toppings- sliced green onions, cooked bacon crumbles, chopped tomatoes, extra shredded cheese
cheese grits with bacon, tomatoes, shredded yellow cheese and green onions

How to make Slow Cooker Cheese Grits

Step 1

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray and add grits, buttermilk, cheese, salt, black pepper, water and Tabasco to slow cooker.

Step 2

Cook on high for 2-3 hours or until there is no more liquid. You may want to stir occasionally. Remember to keep an eye out for your grits while they’re cooking. I feel all slow cookers cook at slightly different temperatures and it may take a little less or longer time.

Step 3

Add cooked bacon, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and extra shredded cheese to top of this delicious recipe.

Tip 1

Add your bacon to the air fryer or cook it in the oven to make preparing this dish even easier.

Overhead view of bowl with cheese grits topped with bacon, tomatoes and green onions

More recipes you will enjoy.

More slow cooker recipes

These are two of my popular recipes to make in the crock pot. They’re the perfect meal for when you’re in a hurry.

Reminder: If you make one of my recipes, it would be GREAT if you could leave any feedback in the comment section and rate it for other readers who are looking for something new to make.

Slow Cooker Loaded Cheese Grits

These slow cooker loaded cheese grits are the best side for any dinner and the recipe is super simple! Not a lot of work for a something so flavorful.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword cheese, crock pot, grits, slow cooker
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Servings 6
Author Holly- Keeping Life Sane

Ingredients

  • 2 cups grits
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 4 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 4 cups water
  • 5 shakes of Tabasco sauce

Instructions

  • Add grits, buttermilk, cheese, salt, pepper, water and Tabasco to slow cooker.
  • Cook on high for 2-3 hours or until there is no more liquid.
  • Add cooked bacon, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and extra shredded cheese to top of this delicious recipe.
Recipe Rating