Honey Mustard Cajun Shrimp with Cheddar Grits.
New favorite thing ever: honey mustard cajun shrimp! And grits. Why of course!
Please make this for dinner tonight! It’s the most comforting dish EVER. And we all really need some comfort right now.
The meal comes together fairly quickly. You can use a store bought cajun seasoning or make your own. You can use stone ground or instant grits! Whatever you need to make this easy and so you can get a delish meal on the table in no time at all.
Let’s do it!
First, THIS SHRIMP.
Oh my gosh. I am basically sharing this recipe for the shrimp alone. I thought I was in love with this lime fajita shrimp but this honey mustard cajun shrimp is where it’s at.
The flavor! Holy cow. It’s a bit spicy from the cajun seasoning but then you have this sweet + tangy combo from the honey mustard.
You can pretty much do anything with this shrimp – except stay away from it. I wanted to eat every piece out of the pan right here.
You have cajun shrimp pan-fried in butter and then cooked in the sweet and sticky honey mustard. The excess sauce in the pan is so wonderful as a drizzle on the grits too. Or right off a spoon, not going to lie.
It’s an indulgent treat that I can’t get enough of.
I mean, oh my gosh.
So I’ve made shrimp and grits a few times before.
These brown butter shrimp and grits are seriously unreal. Kind of like a classic. And this buffalo shrimp with blue cheese grits is an over-the-top version that we love! Especially when I’m craving all things buffalo-ish.
I usually make the quick cooking grits (the horror, I know!) because I’m just not a grits purist. But I did make the stone ground version for this recipe and my oh my are they GOOD.
Eddie used to travel a ton when I first started the blog. I mentioned it in my blog posts but I didn’t quite explain the extent he traveled – many times Sunday through Friday – and I kept it on the DL since I was home alone. He would be in the south for work and ate copious amounts of shrimp and grits – they are easily one of his favorite dishes.
When I make the grits, I go.to.town with the cheese and cream. He tells me that’s the only way to do it! And I can’t argue… I mean they basically melt in your mouth.
They are ridiculously cheesy and creamy.
This is our ideal comfort food – even in the warmer months. I just wish I could make you a big bowl of it!
Honey Mustard Cajun Shrimp with Cheddar Grits
Honey Mustard Cajun Shrimp and Cheddar Grits
Ingredients
cheddar grits
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock or water
- 1 1/2 cups stone ground corn grits
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar, freshly grated
- 2 ounces Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
honey mustard cajun shrimp
- 1 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp
- 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons dijon
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
Instructions
- Place the stock, grits and salt in a large pot and bring it to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, turn off the heat and and cover the pot for 10 minutes.
- During this time, pat the shrimp completely dry and sprinkle it with cajun seasoning. Whisk together the honey and the dijon.
- After 10 minutes, bring the grits back to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often and scraping the bottom, until most of the water is absorbed and the grits are al dente or tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the grits from the heat and stick in the cheddar, parmesan and cream. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed!
- While the grits are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook about 2 to 3 minutes per side, just until it’s opaque and pink. Once the shrimp is flipped, pour in the honey djion mixture. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for a few minutes to bring the flavors together. Sprinkle with the fresh herbs.
- Once the grits are done, serve them in a bowl. Top with the shrimp. Serve immediately!
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Can’t you just taste it?!
32 Comments on “Honey Mustard Cajun Shrimp with Cheddar Grits.”
As a South Carolinian, I am supposed to love shrimp and grits, the official state dish (or so it seems?!) but I hate shrimp! I do love your use of cheese in the grits, the best way to eat grits.
i could probably eat the grits without the shrimp, haha!
I was feeling uninspired for dinner, but this recipe turned it around! I’m going to add your roasted broccoli as a side. This will definitely get me out of my dinner rut.
love!!! enjoy liz!
I have a cooking question. I tried to make caramelized onions today and ended up with the onions totally melting down into almost a jam. I put them in a pan with a small amount of oil and let them slowly cook.I knew they could take 15-20 minutes but I had read that adding a bit of baking soda speeds up the process and it dd get them to turn color rather quickly. They never really browned…just started to break down.
Any suggestions you can offer would be greatly appreciated. I had planned on using them on a pizza but that didn’t happen, ha!
This recipe looks yummy and it has been added to my “to try ” list.
hey nancy!! so i have never tried the baking soda trick. i wonder if that caused the jam-like texture? and caused them to not brown?
i find that the only thing you need for caramelized onions is time! you want to cook them low and slow – i usually do at least 30-40 minutes. by 15 to 20 minutes, mine are usually maybe just starting to brown. if i need something to speed it up, i will add a sprinkle of sugar, but i’ve never tried the baking soda!
i hope this helps!! xo
Thanks so much. I will try again with your suggestion to be more patient and to ditch the baking soda. It will be an excuse to make another pizza very soon.
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Made it last night! So good!!!
yay i’m so glad!!
Great! I know what I’ll cook for dinner now!
Cool Kitchen Utensils
Just made this with some substitutions because of what I had (savory cream of wheat and chicken thighs) and it was AMAZING! Thanks for the recipe!
Chicken Thighs sounds AMAZING in this.
I have a shellfish allergy and was just about to pass on this recipe 🤦🏼♀️
I would definitely give the chicken a try! The honey mustard sauce would be yummy on just about any protein.
so glad!! i agree chicken thighs sound super good with this, i gotta try! xo
Made this for dinner tonight, far and away my favorite thing I’ve made during quarantine so far, and I have tried A LOT of new recipes at this point. It was also pretty simple to make, and cleanup was also easy. The only adjustments I made were using half the amount of butter for cooking the shrimp, and half the heavy cream. The grits were plenty rich as is with the cheese and half cup of cream. Definitely give this one a whirl, it is a winner! I was so sad when I was finished eating, ugh!
oh wow, thank you SJ!! xo
Made this for dinner and it was delicious!!! My husband loved it! I made a side of sauteed spinach because I didnt have collard greens we ended up putting the spinach in with the shrimp and grits so tasty and filling. I was so full but kept trying to eat another bite because it was so goooood!
So the stick of butter listed in ingredients for the grits is for the shrimp, not the grits?
I had the same question! Butter for grits or cooking the shrimp? Thanks!
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Made the shrimp tonight, needed something new/different after cooking every day for the last 2 months. It was AMAZING! And so simple to make. Thanks for sharing 🤗
Hi! Can I use cornmeal for the grits? That’s all I have…
We made this for dinner and absolutely loved it. I had a small amount of grits left and decided to see if we could “repurpose” them. I added a small amount of cream to loosen them up and then a healthy amount of fresh chives from our garden. I gently heated this in the microwave and it was really good. Hate to waste leftovers and this was a great way to not do that! Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
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Hi Jess! I’m so excited to make this–feels like THE perfect cozy quarantine/January dish. Wondering about the stick of butter. You have it listed for the grits, but never have in the instructions where to add it. Is it actually for cooking the shrimp? Hoping you can clarify! Thanks!
This is absolutely delicious! I used Bob’s Red Mill grits / polenta and even though it wasn’t noted as “quick cooking”, the grits were done after the initial 10 minutes of sitting off the heat covered. The honey-Dijon sauce is very sweet so add it to taste to each serving of shrimp and grits.
Thank you for this recipe! My family adored it! I made my own cajun seasoning blend to control the heat level for my kiddos, so we had hot sauce at the table to make up for that. Cheesiest grits I think I’ve ever tasted, but the flavors went so well together!
I wanted to add my 5 star rating, and mention that I tripled the shrimp part and doubled the grits. But I accidentally used the original amounts of butter and cream! Mom brain? Still fabulous though 😅
Do you put any butter in the grits?
I loved the flavor the honey mustard added to the shrimp with the cajun seasoning, but (in my opinion) using one stick of butter was way too much. I think you could get by with 2 tbsp or possibly 1. The full stick made my shrimp a little greasy and it just sat ‘heavy’ in an already rich dish. Similarly with adding the 1c of cream to the grits, I think you could get away without using any, or possibly reduce to 1/4c. Again, just my opinion, but the flavors were all spot on and I would make again with adjustments!