Braised Chicken and Greens With Cheese Grits
Published March 21, 2025
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed
- 1cup white grits
- 2tablespoons salted butter
- ⅓cup finely grated Parmesan
- 1½pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2½tablespoons lemon juice
- 2teaspoons ground cumin
- ½teaspoon ground paprika
- ¼teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¼teaspoon black pepper
- 1tablespoon Vegeta seasoning (see Tip), or season with salt to taste
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1small white onion, finely diced
- 2large Roma tomatoes, chopped
- ⅓cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 6garlic cloves, smashed
- 1medium bunch Swiss chard (about 10 ounces), thick stems trimmed and greens roughly chopped
- 2tablespoons salted butter
For the Grits
For the Chicken
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
606 calories; 30 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 41 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 44 grams protein; 848 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the grits: In a medium lidded saucepan, bring 4 cups water and the salt to a boil over high. Add grits to the boiling water and whisk continuously until grits thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low, cover and let grits cook until they are creamy with no trace of grittiness, 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in the butter and Parmesan; season to taste with salt.
- Step 2
While the grits cook, prepare the chicken: In a large bowl, combine chicken, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, crushed red pepper, black pepper and, if using half of the Vegeta seasoning; mix to combine.
- Step 3
Warm up oil in a large lidded skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering but not smoking, add the onion and cook until softened slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the seasoned chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Add tomatoes, cilantro, garlic and, if using, the remaining Vegeta seasoning to the skillet. Stir, and then cover, cooking until the tomatoes have broken down, about 10 minutes.
- Step 5
Add the chard and butter to the chicken mixture, cover and cook until the chard has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- Step 6
Serve chicken and greens over the grits. (Any leftover grits and chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for two days.)
- Vegeta is a dehydrated vegetable seasoning commonly found in Balkan and Somali diasporic cuisines. Vegeta is often used in savory dishes in place of or in addition to salt. It has an umami flavor that lends complexity. Vegeta can commonly be found in African, Middle Eastern, South Asian or Eastern European grocery stores, or online. If you don’t have any on hand, you can season with salt to taste instead.
Private Notes
Comments
Crush up a vegetable bouillon cube: vegeta
This was really good! I would say it’s more “spiced” but not spicy. I used 2 pints of cherry tomatoes instead of the Roma tomatoes, and used a dash of MSG and salt instead of the vegeta. Definitely going in the rotation.
Reading this recipe I am wondering if anyone has substituted nutritional yeast for the Vegeta?
Delicious. Don’t do what I did and put off making this because you do t have vegeta. I’m sure it’s great with it, but it’s also delicious without it. I used some better than boullion in its place, but salt would work too, I’m sure. This will be in our regular rotation.
I used farro instead of grits. Made a nice chewy, nutty base.
This is a very nice and easy dish. No vegeta, so added celery seed, a pinch of MSG, and tasted for salt. Will toast the cumin and add some cremini mushrooms next time.