Vegan Grits, Creamy Beans and Collards

Recently I discovered Bob’s Red Mill’s grits and I’m kinda obsessed. It is made with coarsely ground bits of white corn, is healthy and super easy to cook. What I love about it is that it’s something cool and different for consuming and enjoying carbs. I noticed grits were popular when I was in Nashville in October and I’ve been meaning to put together my own Vegan Grits recipe since then.

Grits are super versatile, vegan, and there are so many unique ways you can use them. You can eat them on their own, make polenta cakes, polenta chips, casseroles, and I’ve seen people use them to make mini pancakes that act like tacos! Uhmm… yum!

❤️ Why You’ll Love Vegan Grits

• Versatile: Eat grits on their own, make polenta cakes, polenta chips, casseroles, and so much more
• Quick: Vegan Grits can be made in under 30-minutes. That’s it!
• Vegan: What’s great about grits and this recipe is that it’s vegan so you can make it as a side dish and anyone at the table can enjoy it

🍲 Ingredients

Butter Beans – For this recipe I used butter beans, which not everyone is super familiar with but I love them. Butter beans are a healthy carb, that’s low in calories, packed with fiber and protein, and also vitamins and minerals. These beans are fantastic to be part of a plant-based diet as about a half serving of butter beans will account for 10% of your recommended iron and zinc, and 15% of your magnesium. Butter beans also are high in vitamin B, will help increase your energy levels!

Collard Greens – Collard greens are packed with nutrients that will help you build a strong and healthy body. Just one cup of collards will provide you with 100% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin K which helps build strong bones. Collards have also been known to help in the prevention of cancer, diabetes and helps with digestion and your liver function. Just one cup of collards will provide you with 100% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin K which helps build strong bones.

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👩‍🍳 How to Make Vegan Grits

For the grits:

1. Add your polenta, water, stock, and seasoning to a pot.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for around 7 minutes or until cooked.  You’re going to want to stir often to avoid burning.  Add water if you wish to have a more loose-like consistency.  Add your cheese and stir till melted. Taste test for seasoning.

For the Beans:

1. Into a medium sized sauce pan add all your ingredients and cook on low heat for around 10-12 minutes.  Cook till your beans are nice and soft, stir often to avoid burning.
2. I suggest doubling this recipe as it’s so good, easy and simple to clean up! Add it to pastas, wraps, salads or simply eat on their own!

For the Corn:

1. Into a cast iron skillet add your corn and let it cook for 3 minutes.  You can pop a lid on and add some water to help steam them up.  Once softened, add coconut cream, seasoning, cilantro and lime.  Bring mixture to a bubble then simmer, while stirring often for around 5 minutes.

For the Collards:

1. Into a large frying pan add your ingredients and cook with lid on for around 7 minutes.  I love them a bit crunchy but still soft enough to chew and gently enough for your digestion.
2. For platting, just add your grits, then some beans, corn and collards.  This combo is so fun, easy and great for anytime of day! I love eating this type of meal after the gym!

🗒 Tips and Tricks

• If you want to cook the beans from raw then simply soak them overnight in water. Strain in the morning, cook till soft, strain again then add the bean ingredient
• I wouldn’t suggest using coconut milk for the corn, you want the coconut cream to achieve that silk texture and consistency
• You can also use kale or even beans if you don’t fancy collards

🗒 Substitutions

• Butter Beans: If you can’t find butter beans (also called lima beans) you can use white kidney beans or your preferred bean
• Collards: Swap collards for kale if you prefer
• Coconut Cream: If you aren’t vegan you can use regular heavy cream instead

🗒 Best served with

• Lamb Chop Recipe
• Greek Meatball Recipe
• Chicken Gyros

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat and enjoy!

🤔 Common Questions

Vegan Grits, Creamy Beans and Collards

3.84 from 6 votes

These Vegan Grits are perfect for a hardy meal that will fill you up! They're perfect as a side dish or an easy meal.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine Vegan

Servings 3

Ingredients

  

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For the Grits:

• 1 cup Polenta – I used Bob’s Red Mill
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Stock Paste
• season to taste
• 1 cup vegan meltable cheese or parm

For the Beans:

• 1 can of organic butter beans strained and drained
• juice of one lime
• season to taste
• 3 tbsp. water
• 1 tbsp. hot sauce
• 1 heaped tbsp. coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• pinch of turmeric
• pinch of cayenne

For the Corn:

• 3 cups frozen corn
• 1 cup coconut cream you want the hard, rich stuff!
• season to taste
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• dash of lime

For the Collards:

• 1 bunch of collards spine and stems removed or cut off, cut into bite size pieces
• juice of one lemon
• dash of olive oil
• season to taste

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Instructions

 

For the grits:

• Add your polenta, water, stock, and seasoning to a pot.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for around 7 minutes or until cooked.  You’re going to want to stir often to avoid burning.  Add water if you wish to have a more loose-like consistency.  Add your cheese and stir till melted. Taste test for seasoning.

For the Beans:

• Into a medium sized sauce pan add all your ingredients and cook on low heat for around 10-12 minutes.  Cook till your beans are nice and soft, stir often to avoid burning.
• I suggest doubling this recipe as it’s so good, easy and simple to clean up! Add it to pastas, wraps, salads or simply eat on their own!

For the Corn:

• Into a cast iron skillet add your corn and let it cook for 3 minutes.  You can pop a lid on and add some water to help steam them up.  Once softened, add coconut cream, seasoning, cilantro and lime.  Bring mixture to a bubble then simmer, while stirring often for around 5 minutes.

For the Collards:

• Into a large frying pan add your ingredients and cook with lid on for around 7 minutes.  I love them a bit crunchy but still soft enough to chew and gently enough for your digestion.
• For platting, just add your grits, then some beans, corn and collards.  This combo is so fun, easy and great for anytime of day! I love eating this type of meal after the gym!
• Enjoy!

Notes

If you want to cook the beans from raw then simple soak them overnight in water.  Strain in the morning, cook till soft, strain again then add the bean ingredients.

I wouldn’t suggest using coconut milk for the corn, you want the coconut cream yo achieve that silk texture and consistency.

You can also use kale or even beans if you don’t fancy collars!

Review This Recipe Let us know how it was!