This recipe for Breakfast Grits with Caramelized Peaches is ready in 15 minutes. Easy caramelized peaches make an amazing topping for quick cooking creamy grits. This recipe is naturally gluten-free.
This tasty bowl of breakfast grits is easy to make! The caramelized peach topping has hints of vanilla bean and can be made with fresh or frozen peaches.
For the longest time grits and polenta were considered poor people's food. But they are making a come back in the last several years, which is totally cool with me because I *love* grits!
Related: Are Grits Low Carb?
What are grits?
Grits are a porridge made from ground white corn. Polenta is a porridge made from ground yellow corn, and sometimes polenta is made more into a thicker food that can be sliced and fried. Either way, it's all good. I absolutely love the gritty texture of both polenta and grits.
Grits are suuuper affordable - I mean, this 5 lb bag costs just a few bucks and will last you for many many meals. That is awesome.
Related recipe: Pumpkin Cream of Wheat
Grits for Breakfast?
Yes!! Grits are traditionally a breakfast food in the south in the US and in several Caribbean countries. In the Bahamas, savory grits are served for breakfast with tuna, shrimp, or conch. In the US, grits are often served for breakfast sweetened with sugar.
So yea, this grits for breakfast recipe is not a new concept. But it is a GOOD ONE.
Related recipe: Sweet Peach Bread
Grits for Dinner?
Also yes!! Lately, grits and polenta have been making an appearance in savory dinner dishes all over the place. I keep seeing them on the menu more and more in upscale restaurants, and many food bloggers are posting recipes for savory grits for dinner.
We've also been having grits as a dinner side dish for a while at home. I've previously shared several savory grits recipes on this blog. Check them out!
- Cajun Shrimp with Cheesy Grits
- Roasted Pork Loin with Cheesy Grits and Sauteed Greens
- Cheesy Grits Fritters with Cajun Marinara Dipping Sauce
As you can see, I am into grits and they are so versatile. They cook super quickly (at least the 5-minute grits do, haha) and make a great side dish, snack, *or* breakfast when you just don't want to bother with anything complicated.
So this recipe for Breakfast Grits topped with Caramelized Peaches has been our favorite breakfast lately.
More breakfast bowls: Chocolate Cream of Wheat
How to make this breakfast grits recipe:
I use quick-cooking grits which are sometimes labeled as 5-minute grits on the packaging. Ain't nobody got time to cook grits from scratch. I cook grits in a water/milk combination to make them creamy. Grits cooked in plain water are frankly just not as good. I mean, think of oatmeal. It's MUCH better with milk instead of water.
You can use any kind of milk for this recipe: cow's milk - full fat, low fat, or skim, or your favorite plant-based vegan milk such as almond, coconut, soy. If you use a sweetened vanilla vegan milk such as almond milk or coconut milk, you might want to omit the sugar from the grits recipe. Or not - whatever you prefer! I won't judge if you want the extra sugar in your breakfast grits.
The reason I use a combination of milk AND water to cook the grits is that cow's milk burns if you boil it, but it doesn't burn if there is water added to it. Plus, it tastes just as good with some water but cuts down on the calories a bit.
Easy caramelized peaches
To make the caramelized peach topping, you can use fresh or frozen peaches or even nectarines. If using frozen peaches, just add them right to the saucepan, there's no need to thaw in advance. You might want to cook the frozen peaches an extra minute or two to make them softer, if you prefer. If using fresh peaches, you can peel them for an extra smooth caramelized peach, or you can leave the skin on if you're lazy.
Related recipe: Peach French Toast Casserole
This caramelized peach topping is actually a GREAT way to use peaches that are not that good. The butter, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla make even the most flavorless peaches taste amazing. I mean, YEA, perfectly ripe fragrant peaches are the best, but sometimes peaches from the store are hit or miss, sadly. So if you end up with a few peaches that are a disappointment, this is a great recipe to use them up.
I *love* using vanilla bean powder in my cooking instead of vanilla extract. I find it to have so much more flavor, and that the little black specks of vanilla on my food adds to my enjoyment of food.
I love this vanilla bean powder from Wild Foods - I've been using it for years. It might seem expensive, but a little bit of good vanilla bean powder really goes a long way, and one package lasts a long time and retains all of the flavor. If you don't have vanilla bean powder, don't worry, a few drops of vanilla extract work just as well in this recipe!
You can actually double this recipe and eat the leftovers the next day if you want. Just store the cooked grits and the caramelized peaches in separate containers in the fridge. That's what I've been doing recently.
I am not a morning person at ALL, so I *love* having a quick breakfast ready that I can just heat up in the microwave.
Got leftovers?
The grits and peaches are just as good the next day, but I wouldn't leave them for longer than that - you get a little bit of separation of water from the grits after a day or two. And that's totally OK - if that happens just give it a stir. But since this recipe is so easy to make, I only make enough for two days at a time.
Anyway, I've gone on and on about grits for way too long! Here's my recipe for quick breakfast grits with caramelized peach topping.
You might also love these other breakfast recipes:
- Mango oatmeal
- Overnight oats with 9 mix-in ideas
- Instant Pot chocolate cherry steel cut oats
- Farmer's cheese pancakes
- Pumpkin French toast
- Veggie bake breakfast surprise
- 15-Minute veggie loaded no-bake breakfast frittata
Oh, and if you liked the recipe, please don't forget to leave me a comment and a rating below. I love hearing from you all. Let me know in the comments - do you also like grits for breakfast??
Breakfast Grits with Caramelized Peaches
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk - (any kind)
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon white or brown sugar
- ¾ cup quick cooking (5 minute) grits
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 peach - peeled and diced
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 pinch vanilla bean powder - (or few drops vanilla extract)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Prepare the grits: In a medium pot (about 2 quarts), combine the milk, water, and sugar. Heat over medium-high heat until almost boiling (you'll see steam coming off the surface). Gradually add the grits while whisking constantly. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for about 3-5 minutes until the grits have thickened a little, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened to your liking. Allow to stand for 5 more minutes before serving to cool down.
- Prepare the caramelized peaches (start on these while the grits are cooking): In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the diced peaches, cinnamon, and vanilla bean powder. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the brown sugar and water, stir, and continue to cook for about 2 minutes, or longer if you prefer softer peaches. Remove from heat.
- Serve the grits: Pour the grits into 2 bowls (or 4 bowls if serving kids) and top each bowl with the caramelized peaches, making sure to get the brown sugar syrup into each bowl.
Notes
- Watch out! Grits sometimes splash hot liquid when cooking - this is because of the liquid evaporating and expanding underneath the surface. To prevent getting splashed and burned, cook the grits over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until they start to thicken, and then remove them from heat. Continue stirring for another 3-5 minutes until the grits thicken to your liking. If the grits are still too runny, turn the heat back on for a minute or two.
- This recipe makes 2 large servings of grits (for hungry adults), or 3-4 smaller servings (for kids or adults who don't eat a big breakfast). If you plan on eating this in 3-4 servings, I would recommend doubling the peach recipe so that there is enough caramelized peach topping for each bowl of grits. Besides, extra caramelized peaches never hurt anyone!
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
Before you go, check out my favorite savory grits recipes:
- 30-Minute roast pork loin dinner with cheesy grits and sauteed greens
- Cajun shrimp with Cheesy Grits
- Easy cheesy grits fritters with Cajun marinara dipping sauce
- Vegetarian grits with Cajun roasted sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and kale
Little Cooking Tips
Tuesday 25th of September 2018
Hi Kate! Beautiful post! We have to see if we can order grits online, as only cornmeal is available here and rarely you can also find a bag of polenta. We read so many delicious American recipes for grits, like this one, and are really interested to see how it tastes!:) The caramelized peaches sound like heaven. Both of us were drooling when we read the sugar-vanilla-cinnamon combo in the ingredients:):) Hope you are having a beautiful time in the Carrebean! Sending you our love, Mirella and Panos