Luscious grits and collard greens casserole topped with spicy Cajun pecans.
A saucy little romance novel made me do it.
Yup, it was a sassy southern read, Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews, that planted the idea of a grits n’ greens casserole in my mind. (True confession: I love funny, fluffy romance novels.)
Anyhoo, I was just reading along, wondering how the heroine, Keeley, was going to end up with her handsome man, when all of a sudden, BAM! I’ll be darned if the author didn’t describe—in luscious detail—every delicious step in the making of a sinfully decadent grits n’ greens casserole.
Well, being a foodie, I lost all track of the novel’s plot. The only hot and steamy thing I could think about was a big bowl of creamy, salty grits mingling with tender sauteed collard greens.
(What can I say? I have a love affair with food.)
Hot and fresh, fresh, fresh!
Imagine my delight, then, when I got to the end of the book and discovered that the author had included the recipe for the casserole!
Alas, though, the ingredient list would have made Paula Deen blush with shame. Two cups of whipping cream! Two sticks of butter! Two and a half cups of Parmesan cheese! And I haven’t even gotten to the bacon…
Being the southern food fan that I am, though, I already had my heart irretrievably set on a grits n’ greens casserole. (Preferably one that wouldn’t send me immediately into cardiac arrest.)
So I found a lighter recipe in Eating Well magazine and toyed with it until it was vegan, gluten free, and even more delicious than the novel’s hunky hero. I’ve even included a McDougall-friendly variation in the recipe notes, so everyone can enjoy. (Get more McDougall-friendly recipes here.)
Notice that I am restraining myself from making any comments about needing a fork…
Of course, this collard greens casserole is healthy too. But given its roots, I think we should stick to how hot and irresistible it is, don’t you?
- ½ c pecans, chopped (1½ oz)
- ½ tsp Cajun seasoning or ⅛ tsp salt
- cooking spray (can skip if you don't mind a little sticking around the top)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- water as needed
- 4 c low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
- 1 large bunch collard greens (1½ lbs before trimming) OR 1-lb bag of frozen collard greens (see Notes)
- 1 c grits (not instant)
- ¼ c almond or cashew butter
- ¼ c salsa
- salt to taste
- Prep your baking dish: Coat a 2-quart (8-inch square) casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Prep the topping: In a small bowl, sprinkle chopped pecans with water and toss. Add Cajun seasoning and toss until evenly coated.
- Prep your collard greens: Wash, remove stems, and chop into small pieces.
- Coat a large pot with cooking spray. Over medium-low heat, add onion and cook for 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a splash of water as needed to prevent sticking. Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until garlic is fragrant and onion is just starting to brown.
- Add 1 c broth, turn heat to high. When broth is bubbling, add greens and stir until wilted and volume is reduced by at least half. (About 2 minutes.)
- Turn heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, until greens are very tender. Stir occasionally, adding water as needed if pot looks dry.
- Remove greens from heat and drain in a colander, pressing out any extra liquid with the back of a spoon.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- While greens are cooking, in a covered medium pot, bring remaining 3 c broth to a boil. Remove lid and add grits slowly, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Continuing to whisk, bring mixture to a simmer. Turn heat to low and, stirring constantly with a spoon, cook 4-5 minutes or until grits are thickened.
- Remove grits from heat. Gently stir in nut butter, salsa, and salt to taste.
- Using a heat-safe rubber spatula, spread half the grits in the bottom of the casserole dish. Add the greens, flattening with a spatula. Add the remaining half of the grits, smoothing the top with a spatula.
- Sprinkle with seasoned pecans.
- Bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Enjoy!
TO MAKE AHEAD: Up to 24 hours in advance, make casserole through step 10, omitting topping. When ready to serve: Prepare topping, sprinkle over top of casserole, and bake at 400F for 20 minutes (pecan topping) or 30 minutes (cornflake topping), or until heated through and topping is lightly toasted.
TO USE FROZEN GREENS: Skip step 3. In step 5, don't worry about reducing volume; just return greens to a simmer.
…or about spooning 😉
Shared on Tasty Tuesdays., Allergy-Free Wednesday, Plant-Based Potluck Party, Food & Fitness Fridays, Gluten-Free Fridays, Real Food Fridays, and Healthy Vegan Fridays.
So, do you have any favorite fiction-inspired food? How about recommendations for funny romance novels? Leave a comment and do tell!
You might also like:
I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
HI Lee–What a fun post! This looks really good–and I like that you offer a completely fat free version too–I look forward to trying this–probably somewhere in between the two. Comfort food at its best. Thanks!
Hi Maria, as you can imagine, the version with more nut butter is decadently delicious, but cutting back on the fat still gives good results! I’ve made four of these now, including one with seven different toppings in a little grid to figure out which topping was most delicious. It looked pretty amusing, needless to say. But now our freezer is stocked with yummy casserole–bring on the cold weather!
Haha – you make me giggle! I can just picture your turning pages looking wide-eyed at the book describing the delicious food ;p I love food in books too =)
Your version sounds great! I’ll admit that the title made it sound a little overwhelming, I assumed it was going to be a labour of love, time & energy-consuming recipe, but it sounds like it comes together pretty quickly. I’m not quite sure I know what grits are, but this sounds good, so I’ll track some down!
Glad I could give you a laugh! I had a blast writing this post, as you can imagine. 😉 And reading Hissy Fit–such a fun book!
Honestly, the recipe is pretty easy–the most time-consuming/challenging part is washing the collard greens! (I get mine at the farmer’s market, and they are dirty!) If you bought pre-washed collards and just chopped them up a bit more, though, it would be easy peasy. And I forget that grits are so very southern! They’re just ground up corn (or ground up hominy)–think polenta, but creamier. I’ll have to do a post on them–they’re so, so good!
Oooh, this sounds yummy and comforting. It’s getting cold here in the northeast and I need more comfort food to cope! In a previous comment you said you freeze this – how do you do that? Before cooking it or after? Thanks!
Hi Jenny, it just turned raw and blustery here in the DC area, so I’m totally with you! I freeze the casserole after cooking in two-person portions (for hubby and me) in smaller containers. It warms up beautifully in the microwave (though the pecans/cornflakes aren’t crunchy anymore), but I don’t know how the texture of the grits would turn out if the casserole were frozen before cooking. If I try it, I’ll let you know; if you try it, report back! 😀
I love it when food finds it’s way into romance stories! This casserole does look amazing (and it sounds so much better than the original recipe, all that cholesterol :O) .
I know, I almost had a heart attack from the original recipe alone! 😉 The healthy version is as yummy as it looks, though, and is easy to prepare too.
Hi Lee,
Good post. I love how you described your feelings and added food with it. The recipe sounds tasty and healthy. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & tweeted.
Thanks Marla, I had a blast writing this post (and revamping the casserole recipe)! Thanks for the pin/tweet!
I can look at this and visualize it and know that it will be incredible. Must Pin and try it for myself! Thanks for sharing at #FoodandFitnessFriday!
Thanks Jebbica!
Help how do I make grits?
Hi Brenda, great question! You’re not the only one who’s asked, either, so I’m going to do a post on it shortly. Stay tuned!
I cannot stand greens. Do you thing spinach would work instead?
Spinach cooks down even more than collards, can get overly soft, and release a lot of liquid, so I don’t think it would work in this casserole. (Although don’t get me wrong–I love spinach!) Kale has enough substance to hold up in this recipe, if you like it better?
Hey. I just found this while searching for that very recipe from Hissy Fit. I read the book and loved it. I also immediately tried the recipe and loved it. I had let someone borrow the book, and they never returned it, so I had lost the recipe. I am so glad you posted this recipe with less fat. The original recipe, although very delicious, is loaded with fat. I look forward to trying this one.
Thank you so much for posting this. I have made a variation with kale (I haven’t found collard greens in London, UK) it’s so delicious!
I made this today and WOW I can’t stop eating it! Your recipe is soooo good and yummy…it is now one of my favorites! Thanks for the recipe!!!