Grits substitute

Best substitute

Coarse Polenta or Coarse-Ground Cornmeal

Use the same amount with the same liquid the grits recipe calls for as the grits you are replacing

Best for shrimp and grits

Close match

Mechanically almost the same ingredient: coarsely ground dried corn cooked into porridge. Italian polenta is usually flint corn while Southern grits are usually dent corn, so polenta tastes a shade sweeter and brighter and holds a slightly firmer, grittier bite, while grits go softer and creamier. Yellow polenta will also make the bowl noticeably more yellow than white grits.

Other grits substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Quick or Instant Grits
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount but follow the packet liquid and timing, not the original recipe
The same corn, ground finer and in the instant case pre-cooked and dried.
What changes
They give you grits on the table in one to five minutes instead of forty. What you lose is real: the texture is smoother and gluier rather than pleasantly grainy, and the corn flavour is much fainter because the germ is removed and the grind is fine.
Best for
fast weekday breakfast grits, cheese grits where cheese carries the flavour
Instant grits in particular go slack under a wet topping, so they are the weakest choice for shrimp and grits. Rescue them with more fat and salt than you think you need: a tablespoon of butter and a splash of cream per serving, plus sharp cheddar, closes most of the gap.
3Masa Harina
Different texture
1 part masa harina to 5 parts liquid by volume, versus roughly 1 to 4 for grits
Masa harina is nixtamalized corn flour, meaning the corn was cooked with lime, which is the same treatment that makes hominy grits taste the way they do.
What changes
So this is the one substitute that captures the slightly tangy, earthy, tortilla-like flavour of true hominy grits, and in that specific sense it can taste more authentic than polenta. The catch is the grind: it is flour-fine, so the result is smooth and soft like a loose tamal batter rather than grainy.
Best for
shrimp and grits, hominy grits flavour, soft corn porridge
Whisk the masa into cold liquid before heating or it lumps instantly, then cook fifteen to twenty minutes, stirring often, and add liquid as it thickens. It thickens far more than you expect and sets very firm as it cools.
4Canned Hominy, Blitzed
Different texture
One 15-ounce can drained, plus about ½ cup liquid, replaces roughly ½ cup dry grits
Hominy in a can is whole nixtamalized corn, the exact same starting material as hominy grits, just already cooked and left whole.
What changes
Drain it, rinse it, and pulse it in a food processor with a little milk or stock, then warm it through. Flavour is genuinely excellent and very true to hominy grits. Texture is chunkier and slightly skin-flecked no matter how long you pulse it.
Best for
shrimp and grits, hominy grits flavour with no long simmer
Do not over-process into a gluey paste. Pulse to a rough porridge, then stir in butter and cheese off the heat. This is also the fastest way to get real hominy flavour, since there is no simmering to do.
5Cream of Wheat or Farina
Different taste
Use the same amount following the packet liquid ratio
Right physics, wrong grain.
What changes
Farina is coarsely ground wheat and it makes a smooth creamy hot porridge that behaves like grits under butter, cheese and a saucy topping. It just does not taste of corn at all, so shrimp and grits made with it reads as shrimp over a savoury wheat porridge: pleasant, but the sweet corn note that ties the dish together is missing.
Best for
a creamy savoury base when there is no corn product in the house
Use the unsweetened plain version, not a flavoured instant sachet. Cook it savoury from the start with salt and a bay leaf in the milk, and lean hard on sharp cheddar and black pepper.
6Creamy Mashed Potato or Soft Mashed White Beans
Different taste
Enough to serve the same number of people
The honest last resort when you have no corn and no wheat porridge.
What changes
Neither tastes remotely like grits, but both do the structural job grits are hired for: a soft, mild, well-salted, buttery bed that absorbs a pan sauce. Loose mashed potato thinned with warm milk is the closer of the two in texture; mashed cannellini beans with olive oil is closer in savouriness.
Best for
shrimp and grits reinvented as shrimp over mash, sauce-soaking base
Keep it looser than you would serve mash normally, close to pourable, so it spreads under the topping the way grits do. Call it what it is on the plate rather than promising grits.

What is Grits?

Grits is Grits are coarsely ground dried corn, cooked with water or milk into a soft savoury porridge, and sold either as plain corn grits or as hominy grits made from corn that has been treated with alkali.

Cooking tips

Know which bag you have, because the three types behave completely differently. Stone-ground grits keep the germ, taste strongly of corn, and need twenty-five to forty-five minutes of slow simmering and frequent stirring. Quick grits are ground finer and take five to ten minutes. Instant grits are already fully cooked and dehydrated, so they only rehydrate, in about a minute, and they will never develop the same texture no matter what you do.
The single biggest upgrade to any grits or substitute is cooking them in something other than water. Half milk and half water, or chicken stock, changes the dish more than any brand of grits will. Salt the liquid before the grain goes in, and finish off the heat with butter and, if you like, sharp cheddar or a spoonful of cream.
Hominy grits and plain corn grits are not the same product. Hominy grits are made from corn soaked in an alkaline solution, which loosens the hull, changes the flavour toward something faintly tangy and tortilla-like, and makes more of the corn's niacin available. Plain corn grits are simply ground dried corn and taste sweeter and more straightforwardly corny. Most bags labelled just grits in supermarkets are the plain kind.
White versus yellow grits is mostly regional preference rather than a real cooking difference. White grits, common in the Carolinas and Georgia, are a little milder and are the traditional choice under shrimp. Yellow grits taste marginally sweeter and look bolder on the plate. Either will work with any recipe.
Grits and polenta both set solid in the fridge, and that is a feature. Pour leftovers into a loaf tin, chill overnight, slice into slabs and fry in butter or bacon fat until crisp. That trick works identically with any of the corn-based substitutes here.

Frequently asked questions

Are grits and polenta the same thing?

They are close cousins rather than twins. Both are coarsely ground dried corn cooked into porridge. The usual differences are the corn and the grind: polenta is traditionally made from flint corn, which is harder and holds a distinct grainy bite, while Southern grits are usually dent corn, which is softer and cooks creamier. Hominy grits add another difference, because that corn has been treated with alkali and tastes distinctly different. In practical cooking terms you can swap coarse polenta for grits one for one and get a very good result.

Can I use cornmeal instead of grits?

Yes, as long as it is coarse cornmeal. Grits are simply a coarse grind of corn, so coarse cornmeal is nearly the same product under a different name and swaps 1:1 with the same liquid. Fine cornmeal or corn flour is the one to avoid: the small particles hydrate too fast and give you a smooth, sticky, slightly gummy paste instead of a creamy porridge with texture. If fine cornmeal is all you have, use more liquid and expect something closer to soft masa than to grits.

Can I use instant grits for shrimp and grits?

You can, but it is the weakest of the corn options. Instant grits are pre-cooked and dehydrated, so they hydrate into a smooth, soft mass that does not hold up well under a wet, buttery shrimp topping and tends to go slack and watery on the plate. If they are what you have, cook them in milk and stock rather than water, use about ten percent less liquid than the packet says so they set up thicker, and finish with plenty of butter and sharp cheese. Quick grits are a noticeably better compromise than instant.

Can I just leave the grits out?

Not really, if the dish is shrimp and grits, because the grits are half the dish. They are not a garnish: they are the mild, creamy, salty base that catches the pan sauce and makes the shrimp taste seasoned rather than just buttery. What you can do is replace that job with something else soft and absorbent, such as loose mashed potato, soft polenta, creamy white beans, or even good bread to mop with. Whatever you pick, keep it looser than you normally would so the sauce soaks in.

How much water do I use for grits, and how do I stop them from being lumpy?

A ratio of about four parts liquid to one part dry grits is standard for creamy stone-ground grits, and you may add more as they cook. To avoid lumps, bring the liquid to a bare simmer, then rain the grits in slowly with one hand while whisking with the other, and keep whisking for the first minute. Dumping dry grits into fully boiling liquid all at once is what makes lumps. Stir every few minutes after that and keep the heat low enough that it barely bubbles, since scorched grits at the bottom will flavour the whole pot.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Grits substitute

Other grits substitutes

2Quick or Instant Grits

3Masa Harina

4Canned Hominy, Blitzed

5Cream of Wheat or Farina

6Creamy Mashed Potato or Soft Mashed White Beans