Cheesy Grits Casserole with Smoked Sausage is wonderfully cheesy and rich and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You won’t be able to get enough of this wholesome southern casserole.
Cheesy Grits Casserole is a favorite of mine and it makes a great weeknight meal or brunch casserole for the upcoming holidays. Typically grits casserole is a little on the heavy side, but I’ve lightened it up by using Butterball Turkey Dinner Sausage, just a touch of butter, and less cheese than usual (use low fat cheese if you wish).
The casserole can be assembled a day ahead of time to make for an easy dinner or brunch the next day. Just let it sit out at room temperature while the oven heats and add a few minutes to the cooking time. In no time at all, you’ll have a wholesome, rich, and creamy meal on the table. If serving for dinner, I like to add a small side salad.
How To Make Cheesy Grits Casserole With Smoked Sausage:
- Cook the sliced sausage in a skillet for a few minutes. Add the red bell pepper and onion and continue to cook until they are soft and the sausage is browned.
- Cook the grits.
- Whisk together the eggs, milk, and garlic powder. Whisk some of the hot grit mixture in to temper the eggs. Then completely combine the two.
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese and half the cheddar cheese as well as the sausage mixture.
- Transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle the rest of the cheddar cheese on top. Bake for 45 minutes.
Try These Other Grits Recipes:
- Crock Pot Grits
- Grits Fritters
- Creamiest Grits Ever
- Pimento Cheese Grits
- Cheese and Bacon Grits Casserole
- Smothered Shrimp and Grits
Cheesy Grits Casserole With Smoked Sausage
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 package smoked sausage,, sliced (use turkey for a lighter casserole)
- ½ red bell pepper,, diced
- 4 green onions,, sliced
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups quick-cooking grits
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs,, lightly beaten
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 11x7-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet. Add sliced sausage and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add red bell pepper and onion and sauté 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, bring water and chicken broth to a boil. Add salt and then slowly stir grits in. Simmer grits for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- In a medium bowl whisk together milk, eggs, and garlic powder. Slowly stir in about 1 cup of the hot grits to temper the eggs. Then pour milk/grits mixture into saucepan with the rest of the grits. Stir well to combine.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese and ½ of the Cheddar cheese. Mix in the sausage mixture. Sprinkle remaining Cheddar cheese on top.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake 45 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published Sept 18, 2014.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Made this for my annual Mother’s Day brunch, my brunchers were over the moon. Now I HAVE to make it every year!
This looks so yummy!
Here in 2020, I am STILL making this delicious dish! Didn’t realize how long I’ve been making it until I read through the comments and saw a post from 2015. LOL! Today I used breakfast sausage w/sage. So excited to dig in!
Loved this casserole! Wonderful weeknight dish!
This looks delicious but I need to make it at least in a 9×13 pan. If I double the ingredients will it be too much for that size dish?
If it is, you can just put a little in a small casserole dish or even fill a few muffin cups.
I spiced mine up with a some jalapeño and dash of sriracha sauce on top. It was delicious!! Yum
I’m definitely going to try this one, and although I generally don’t approve of revising a recipe before trying it first as written, I will probably change to breakfast sausage and maybe 5-10 minutes before baking time is complete, use a large spoon or ladle to make indentations, creak eggs into them and return the casserole to the oven until the egg whites are set. It may take a little experimentation to see if l will need to add a little extra milk (or cream) and extend the baking time a little. And garnish the finished dish with finely minced scallions and cilantro if there’s no one at my table who can’t eat cilantro. Of course, I could always put cilantro on the table to be used at will.
Can this be assembled and refrigerated overnight then baked in the morning?