Recipe Background
Smothered Southern Grits pairs spicy Cajun chicken with creamy parmesan grits for a delightfully quick meal.
A few years back, my sister and I celebrated our uncle’s retirement with a backyard BBQ turned impromptu Creole feast. Uncle Joe, ever the storyteller, regaled us with tales of his first job in New Orleans, where he fell in love with Southern food. Inspired by his stories, I wanted to create a dish that captured the essence of those vibrant flavors. Smothered Southern Grits was born, with chicken seasoned just right with Cajun spice—one of those ingredients that instantly transforms any meal into an event.
I remember pulling out a battered skillet, a hand-me-down from Joe himself, and sizzling the chicken breasts until golden. There's nothing quite like that crispy, seared exterior. Next came the heart of the dish: caramelized bell peppers and onions, soft yet robust in flavor. The depth these veggies add turns the dish into something special. A chef’s tip from Joe: use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits in the pan, capturing every morsel of flavor.
For the pièce de résistance, I reached for my favorite quick-cooking grits. Quick meals don’t have to sacrifice taste, especially with a hefty handful of parmesan stirred in to melt smooth and creamy. These grits aren’t meant just to support the chicken; they’re a star in their own right. As the last drizzle of sauce pooled invitingly around the grits and the green onions sprinkled on top, I knew I had a dish worthy of Uncle Joe’s stories.
Ingredients
For the chicken and the vegetables:
- 2 (4-ounce) chicken breasts pounded to an even thickness
- Cajun or Creole seasoning to taste
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 large sweet onion thinly sliced
- 4 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
For the parmesan grits:
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- salt to taste
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking corn grits such as Bob's Red Mill® Corn Grits
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1 tablespoon butter
- green onions to taste, sliced, for garnish
Directions
- Generously season each of the chicken breasts on both sides with the Cajun seasoning, the salt, and the pepper.
- Coat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet with nonstick cooking spray, then place it over high heat.
- Add the seasoned chicken breasts to the heated skillet and sear until they are golden-brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer them to a plate. Note: It is okay for the meat not to be cooked through.
- In the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and the oil and heat until the butter has melted.
- Add the bell peppers, the onions, the mushrooms, the salt, and the pepper to the butter mixture and sauté, stirring frequently, until the veggies are caramelized and tender, about 6-7 minutes.
- Add the chicken breasts to the skillet and evenly top them with the veggies.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth to the chicken mixture and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid is reduced by a little more than half and the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- While the chicken mixture is cooking, in a saucepan over high heat, add the remaining chicken broth and the salt and bring to a boil.
- Add the grits to the boiling chicken broth and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, whisking constantly, until it has thickened but is still creamy and smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
- Transfer the saucepan from the heat. Stir the parmesan cheese and the remaining butter into the grits.
- Taste the grits and season with the salt, as needed. Stir to combine.
- Evenly scoop the grits into serving bowls, then top with the chicken mixture.
- Evenly drizzle the sauce from the skillet over each of the serving bowls.
- Serve garnished with the green onions.
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