Vegan Breakfast Grits with Chives

Why This Recipe Works

We love the creamy kind that's thick and luxurious, with savory flavor to boot. But while creamy grits are simple fare, making them vegan wasn't such a simple affair, since it's usually butter and cream that make them so good. First, to give the grits a savory backbone, we experimented with cooking them in vegetable stock and adding a go-to flavor booster, nutritional yeast, but we ultimately decided that nothing beat a base of simple sautéed onion. To achieve creaminess without dairy, we were optimistic about a mainstay vegan ingredient, cashew cream (cashews that have been soaked in water and pureed). While tasters liked the milkiness of the cashew mixture, we found that the liquid it added watered down our grits and produced a pasty, oatmeal-like texture. Ultimately, we found that almond milk was a suitable cooking liquid for the grits, providing richness without any unexpected flavors or textures. The result is classic grits, creamy and savory, great as the main attraction or as a canvas for toppings like sautéed veggies or browned tempeh.