Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits is a delightful one-pot meal. Tender shrimp and crisp bacon in a spicy tomato-based sauce combine with creamy grits to create a delicious fusion of flavors.
This Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits recipe is adapted from my own stove-top recipe for shrimp and grits that I’ve been making since I lived in the South.
, added in at the end. This seals in all the flavors.
Tips and Substitutions
It’s not easy finding authentic stone-ground southern style grits where I live. The best option I’ve found is this kind of grits.
This Instant Pot shrimp and grits recipe uses the pot-in-pot method to cook the dish. You’ll cook the sauce ingredients directly in the inner pot, put the grits in an oven-safe bowl
that’s placed on a trivet in the sauce, and cook both together. The steam from the sauce will build pressure and cook the grits.
Depending on the quantity of grits I’m making, they can be lumpy when finished cooking. I usually don’t have a problem if I make the recipe as written but when I double it, I need to break up the lumps with a fork once cooking has completed.
If the grits seem too liquidy when you take them out, they will thicken if you let them sit for 15 minutes or so.
I have two trivets: the one that came with the Instant Pot and a 2.7 inch trivet. The tall one was too tall to fit the glass bowl I used for the grits, so I used the former, which was a bit messy since it sat in the sauce instead of above it. After making this recipe, I purchased this 2 inch trivet
, which I feel is just the right size.
The lemon juice gives this recipe a slightly tart flavor. If you wish, you can reduce the quantity of lemon juice.
The spice level is mild to medium. If you like spicy foods, you can increase the quantity of Old Bay Seasoning and/or hot sauce (reduce lemon juice if your hot sauce has an acidic flavor) and also the Old Bay Seasoning.
Feel free to substitute creole or cajun seasoning for the Old Bay Seasoning.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot
and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make this Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits.
Best Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits Ingredients
Best Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits Step-by-Step Instructions
- Season shrimp with Old Bay seasoning and set aside.
- Press ‘Saute’.
- Cook bacon until crisp, about 3 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to a plate and set aside.
- Add onions and bell peppers. Saute in the rendered bacon fat till onion is translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute for another 30 seconds.
- Turn Instant Pot off.
- Deglaze with white wine, and stir well to remove any browned bits, allowing the wine to mostly evaporate.
- Add in tomatoes, lemon juice, broth, tabasco, salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine.
- Place trivet in the Instant Pot.
- Stir together milk, water, grits, salt and pepper in an oven-safe glass bowl
. - Place bowl on trivet.
- Close Instant Pot Lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘10’ (10 minutes)
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 10 to 0; it will switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0;00’.
- Do a Natural Release: wait for the float valve to drop on its own, about 15 minutes.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.
- Carefully remove the bowl containing the grits, add a tablespoon of butter, fluff with a fork, and set aside. *
- Remove the trivet and stir in shrimp.
* Be sure not to let too much heat escape while you’re removing the grits. The shrimp will be cooking in residual heat of the Instant Pot.
- Close the Instant Pot and allow the shrimp to finish cooking in the residual heat.
- After 10 minutes, open the Instant Pot.
- Add cream and gently stir the shrimp.
- Press ‘Saute’ .
- When heated through (don’t boil), press ‘Cancel’.
- Remove to serving bowl and garnish with scallions and reserved bacon.
- Serve grits topped with shrimp and sauce.
Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits
Ingredients
Shrimp Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning or more to taste
- 3 strips smoked bacon diced
- 1/3 cup onion chopped
- 1/2 cup bell peppers red and/or green, chopped
- 1 Tbsp garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp dry white wine
- 1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice or to taste
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce or hot sauce, more to taste
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup scallions sliced thin (green parts only)
Instructions
- Pat shrimp dry and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning. Set aside.
- On 'Saute' mode, cook bacon until crisp, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove to a plate and set aside.
- Saute onions and bell peppers in the rendered bacon fat till onion is translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute briefly.
- Turn Instant Pot off.
- Deglaze with white wine, and stir well to remove any browned bits, allowing the wine to mostly evaporate.
- Stir in tomatoes, lemon juice, broth, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
- Place trivet in the Instant Pot.
- In a medium bowl that will fit in the Instant Pot, stir together grits, milk, water, salt and pepper. Place bowl on trivet.
- Close Instant Pot Lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Cook on 'Manual' (or 'Pressure Cook') mode for 10 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally.
- Open the Instant Pot, remove the grits and set aside.
- Remove the trivet.
- Carefully stir in shrimp.
- Close the Instant Pot immediately and allow the shrimp to finish cooking in the residual heat. Instant Pot will be in 'Keep Warm' mode.
- While shrimp is cooking, fluff grits with a fork, adding in a tablespoon of butter.
- After 10 minutes, open the Instant Pot. Gently stir the shrimp.
- Turn on 'Saute' mode and stir in cream. Heat through (don't boil) and turn off Instant Pot.
- Garnish with scallions and bacon.
- Serve grits topped with shrimp and sauce.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped leeks, minced garlic, cubed carrots, etc.
- You can substitute Old Bay seasoning with any spicy seasoning like a Cajun or Creole Seasoning. Adjust the quantity of added salt as needed.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips
Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5 Star rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much!
You might also like to try these Instant Pot Recipes:
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| Instant Pot Jambalaya | Instant Pot Chipotle Shrimp Soup | Instant Pot Shrimp Etouffee |
Jennifer
This dish turned out to be absolutely brilliant!
After reading some of the comments, I was worried. Most people seem to take portion sizes out of context and devalue your recipe for their lack of research and common sense. We found no issue with your portion sizes. The grits turned out wonderfully and despite our decision to amend your recipe, you gave us a baseline to run with. We have tried your Jambalaya, gumbo and étouffée recipes and have been blown away each time! I am so pleased that you share your hard work and efforts with the world. The Instant Pot is a wonderful machine and we’re so glad you have taken the time to test some of our Southern/Creole favorites. Cheers!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks, Jennifer! I’m pretty proud of this recipe because I was the first one to post this recipe with the shrimp and grits cooked together, and I developed the recipe myself. I very much appreciate you taking the time to comment and rate the recipe and letting me know about the Cajun recipes you liked!
Chris Cleeland
The only reason this got 4 stars is because it’s definitely not a “serves 4”. To serve 4 I would basically double it.
I also bailed on the “Old Bay” and used Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning for everything. Turned out extremely well.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Chris, thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate your feedback. It’s hard to set serving size, since it is subjective but I will keep your comment in mind for when I revise the recipe in the future.
Terence
Our family enjoyed this dish to varying degrees, ranging from my youngest (a teenager) who absolutely loved it, to me who thought it was just ok. On the plus side, I thought the shrimp were cooked perfectly! My biggest complaint is that the recipe says it serves 4. Perhaps as an appetizer, but for me, as an entrée, it serves closer to 2 (perhaps 3; if I had to pick a number, I’d go with 2.25).
I did not grow up on grits, but loved them when I had shrimp & grits in a restaurant in Washington D.C.; those grits were sooo creamy. These grits were not nearly as creamy and that disappointed me (if it’s easy to tweak the recipe to be creamier, might be worth a comment in the recipe). One other potential note to add to the recipe is for people to remove all the lumps when fluffing the grits.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Terence, regarding the creaminess of the grits I know what you mean and that’s most likely from using cream and butter 🙂 Yes, sorry about the serving size – I usually just put down the number of servings that a recipe feeds my family – we usually have a salad, etc. So it may not be accurate for everyone. I will put it on my list to update the tips with your suggestions because they are valid points. Thanks for your feedback.
Terence
I looked at other shrimp and grits recipes to see how to make the grits creamier. After the grits were cooked, I fluffed them and mixed in 5 oz (or so) of shredded cheddar cheese. Grits were outstanding with this addition.
I also doubled the amount of shrimp. This required additional cooking time (had to turn on Saute as I’m not sure all the shrimp would have fully cooked in just the latent heat).
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for the update, Terence. I had a feeling that cheese or cream would do the trick – and you’re very kind to share your experience!
Chris Cleeland
A lot of the creaminess of grits is related to the grits you use. Quaker grits don’t really get creamy.
I was just in Mississippi and bought some “Grit Girl” grits after having some in a local restaurant, and they cooked up super creamy.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks, Chris – good info!
Donna
We loved this recipe!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for your comment, Donna – I’m really glad you liked the recipe.
Amy
Do you think it will still be a good recipe if bacon is not added? I don’t eat pork.
Paint the Kitchen Red
I think it will be tasty still. Maybe you can add some chipotle chile or smoked paprika for a smoky flavor and saute the onions in some butter if you don’t mind the fat.
My
Thank you, great ideas!
Christine Haughton
I am not sure what I did wrong but this recipe did not turn out as well as the others. We used Autry grits the only difference. No flavor in the sauce just blah . My husband was so excited to have this Shrimp and grits as it is his fav. Not this though. It took over 2hrs to prepare and cook. I don’t get the benefit of this instant pot.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Christine, sorry this recipe didn’t meet your expectations. I love the flavors of this recipe, but maybe your taste buds require you to increase the quantity of spices, onions, garlic, etc. Maybe by one and a half.
Tanya
For some reason I have had a taste for shrimp and grits and the only wsy to get them was to make them myself. I love cooking in my pressure cooker so of course I had to find a recipe that used a pc, and ingredients I had on hand. This one was perfect. The first time I made them I just used 1/2 the recipe because I was only making for myself. It came out so good, and I had leftover shrimp and sauce so I had it over rice. And it was just as good or even better. My husband had a taste and asked me to make more. So within 1 week, I made this twice. Both times it came out perfect. Thank you for sharing your rcipr for this delicious dish.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Tanya – thanks for that wonderful comment! I’m glad it passed the hubby test 🙂
Angie
Made this for dinner tonight….my hubby said it was restaurant quality. Could it be because I didn’t have milk so I used heavy cream for the grits👨🍳 🤣😂.
Wasn’t sure how big of a bowl to use for the grits and all I had were the round Pyrex so I used the smallest 1qt size and it was perfect. Grits didn’t explode everywhere as I wasn’t sure how much it would rise. Also just as another reviewer said grits were a little runny at first but setup nicely as I waited for the shrimp to cook. Recipe is definitely a keeper. Next time I will try adding some sausage. Thanks for the great recipe!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Angie, that’s funny – cream does make anything taste even better 🙂 Thank you for your comment and I so happy to hear you liked one of my favorite recipes. Sausage would be a nice and substantial addition.