Best Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits

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.  I may have moved out west, but I still get a hankering for Southern shrimp & grits every few months!  If you’re wondering what grits are, they’re coarsely ground dried corn, similar to Italian polenta.  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.

Originally served as a breakfast dish in the Southeastern US, shrimp and grits has gained in popularity on restaurant dinner menus. There are probably as many variations of shrimp & grits as there are restaurants serving the dish.  I’ve had shrimp and grits without tomatoes, with mushrooms, with cheese, or with andouille sausage or chorizo instead of bacon. Some versions are simple with just salt and pepper for spice and other versions use more bold flavorings.

My version is not the salt and pepper kind!  It has spice-rubbed shrimp in a rich tomato-based  sauce served on a bed of creamy grits.  In adapting the recipe to the Instant Pot, I wanted to make the dish a one-pot meal with as few steps as possible.  The dish is easy to make: of the 45 minutes of cooking time, less than 10 minutes are hands-on.  The end result is a wonderfully flavorful and comforting shrimp and 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 glass 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. 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.

You’ll notice that the shrimp is not sauteed at the beginning. It’s seasoned with a dry rub of Old Bay seasoning, added in at the end, and it cooks in the residual heat of the Instant Pot. This seals in all the flavors.  Be sure to  close the Instant Pot immediately after adding the shrimp- you don’t want to  let too much heat escape!  Feel free to substitute creole or cajun seasoning for the Old Bay.

I hope you get to try out this Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits recipe. If you’ve never tried grits, this is the way to try them because they go so well with the shrimp. It’s a meal-in-one that’s delicious and satisfying.

If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot Manual / Beginner’s Quick Start Guide blog post first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits.

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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’ 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.

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Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits

Cook 45 mins

Total 45 mins

Author Paint the Kitchen Red

Yield 4 servings

Instant Pot  Shrimp and Grits is a delightful one-pot meal. Tender shrimp and crisp bacon in a spicy tomato sauce combine with creamy grits to create a delicious fusion of flavors.

Ingredients

Shrimp Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 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
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp tabasco sauce or hot sauce (or 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)

Grits Ingredients

• 1/2 cup grits
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp butter (optional)

Instructions

1. Pat shrimp dry and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning. Set aside.
2. On 'Saute' mode, cook bacon until crisp, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove to a plate and set aside.
3. Saute onions and bell peppers in the rendered bacon fat till onion is translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add garlic and saute briefly.
5. Turn Instant Pot off.
6. Deglaze with white wine, and stir well to remove any browned bits, allowing the wine to mostly evaporate.
7. Stir in tomatoes, lemon juice, broth, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
8. Place trivet in the Instant Pot.
9. In a medium bowl that will fit in the Instant Pot, stir together grits, milk, water, salt and pepper. Place bowl on trivet.
10. Close Instant Pot Lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
11. Cook on 'Manual' mode for 10 minutes.
12. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
13. Open the Instant Pot, remove the grits and set aside.
14. Remove the trivet.
15. Carefully stir in shrimp.
16. Close the Instant Pot immediately and allow the shrimp to finish cooking in the residual heat.  Instant Pot will be in 'Keep Warm' mode.
17. While shrimp is cooking, fluff grits with a fork, adding in a tablespoon of butter.
18. After 10 minutes, open the Instant Pot. Gently stir the shrimp.
19. Turn on 'Saute' mode and stir in cream. Heat through (don't boil) and turn off Instant Pot.
20. Garnish with scallions and bacon.
21. Serve grits topped with shrimp and sauce.

Notes

• You can substitute Old Bay seasoning with any spicy seasoning like a Cajun or Creole Seasoning.  Adjust the quantity of added salt as needed.

Courses Main Dish

Cuisine Southern

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 serving (4 servings total)

Amount Per Serving
Calories 292
% Daily Value
Total Fat 9 g		14%
	Saturated Fat 5 g	25%
	Unsaturated Fat 2 g
Cholesterol 183 mg		61%
Sodium 1178 mg		49%
Total Carbohydrates 18 g		6%
	Dietary Fiber 3 g	12%
	Sugars 10 g
Protein 30 g		60%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

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.

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