Vegan Shrimp & Grits
Prep and cook times are estimates — every kitchen moves at its own pace. None significant.
Creamy, cheesy grits piled high with smoky shrimp and vegan sausage in a rich chipotle-agave sauce — comfort food that eats like a restaurant plate.
A note on the shrimp: we filmed this with the Plant Based Seafood Co. brand, which has gotten harder to find since. Use whatever vegan shrimp you can get — BeLeaf, Mind Blown, and All Vegetarian Inc. all make solid konjac-based shrimp (check Walmart, health food stores, or online); brand is entirely your call. Or skip the hunt completely and use king oyster mushrooms: score the stems, sear them hard, and finish with a pinch of Old Bay — they nail the bite, and the grits and vegan sausage carry this dish no matter which way you go.
Optional elevations: stir the cream cheese and smoked gouda into the grits off the heat so they stay silky instead of splitting; let the white wine reduce by a true half before the vegan sausage goes in — that’s where the depth lives; and finish the plate with a squeeze of lemon to brighten the whole rich sauce.
Watch it made
Directions
- Make the marinade: blend the plant-based milk, hot sauce, olive oil, chipotle pepper, smoked paprika, parsley, agave, garlic, and black pepper until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant.
- Pour in the white wine and let it reduce by about half.
- Add the sliced vegan sausage and cook until browned on the edges.
- Add the vegan shrimp in a single layer and cook until heated through and lightly golden on both sides. (If using king oyster mushrooms, sear the scored stems here until deeply golden.)
- Pour in the marinade — it will be thick. Thin it by stirring in 1/2 cup of the water, then add the chopped tomato and cook on low so the tomato keeps some bite. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup water.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the vegan butter until the sauce turns creamy. Set aside.
- Make the grits: in a saucepan, bring the no-chicken broth, plant-based milk, and black pepper to a slight boil. Whisk in the grits slowly, whisking continuously to avoid lumps, then cook low and slow until thick and creamy.
- Take the grits off the heat and stir in the cream cheese and smoked gouda until fully melted and silky.
- Plate the grits first, spoon the shrimp and vegan sausage mixture over the top, and finish with sliced scallions.
