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 freshly ground 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 |
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!