Fried Grits Balls with Jalapeño and Oregano are the perfect party appetizers. They are really easy to make and will be a hit at any game day party! I Served with a Sweet and Spicy Peach Sauce for the perfect dipping experience.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Mission®. All opinions are entirely my own.
Nobody does grits like the Georgians!
(I see you nodding your heads in agreement!)
Tips for making these grit balls
- You can make these grit balls in advance and re-heat them in the oven when needed
- Serve them with a sweet sauce. I served it with my peach sauce.
- These grit balls can even be air fried! They are really easy to make.
- Use instant grits because they will whip up a batch really fast!
- I like mine spicy so I tend to make them with extra jalapeno. Add your level of spice to it.
- I coated them in a homemade panko bread crumb. You can also use regular bread crumbs or use almond flour to coat them
- Other veggies like peas, carrots, bell peppers or olives. Even sun-dried tomatoes will work in it.
- To make my life and your life easier, I poured the cooked grits into a lightly greased ice cube tray. It really makes a huge difference when it comes to them retaining their shapes during the frying process.
How to serve these grit balls
- Peach Sauce (see recipe below)
- Bell pepper pesto
- Cilantro lime coconut sauce
- Tzatziki sauce
- Apricot dipping sauce
Your guests can just pick them up and dip them in the peach sauce with very little effort.
Preparing these grit balls
- Bring milk to a boil on low heat (2.5 cups)
- Add the instant grits to the boiling milk. Keep the heat low. (1/2cup + 1 Tbsp instant grits)
- Keep stirring it so that it doesn’t clump up
- Add the jalapeno, oregano and salt to the instant grits. Keep stirring
- Once it has cooled down, transfer the grits to a ice cub trays (that is lightly greased) to get the perfect shapes. Alternatively, you can even make small sized balls with your hand.
- Put the ice cube tray in your fridge’s vegetable tray for 5 and a half hours
- Once they are cold enough, then you are ready to remove them from the ice cube tray.
- Shallow fry the grit balls in oil and set them aside until they are cool to touch.
Making the peach sauce
Use frozen peaches for best results
- In a strong bottom pan, add the water and peaches.
- Add the sugar, hot sauce and salt.
- Cook on low heat until most of the water has dissipated.
- Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer to dipping bowl.
Fried Grit Balls with Peach Sauce
Ingredients
For the Grit Balls
- 2.5 cups milk
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp quick instant grits
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 jalapeno 2 if your guests can handle spicy food
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 cup flax seed meal
- 1 cup water
- Oil to fry
- 1 bag Mission® Thin & Crispy Tortilla Chips
- 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
Instructions
To Make the Grit Balls
- Bring the milk and salt to a boil in a strong bottom sauce pan.
- Add the instant grits and keep stirring. Do not let it stick at the bottom.
- Once all the milk has been absorbed, turn off the heat.
- Add the chopped jalapeno and oregano.
- Stir well.
- Lightly grease the ice cube tray and transfer the cooked grits into each slot (1 or 2 ice cube trays needed).
- Let it cool on the countertop for about 10 minutes.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 5.5 hours or overnight.
- Remove the ice cube tray from the fridge and remove the wrap too.
- Using a butter knife, remove each cube of grits and form into a ball (or you can leave it in its current shape).
- Set them aside and prepare the flax eggs.
- In a bowl, add the flax eggs and the water. Mix well.
- Place the panko crumbs on a plate.
- Start by immersing the grit ball in the flax eggs and then transfer to the panko crumbs.
- Coat well and set aside. Continue the process for the remaining grit balls
- Place about 1 cup of oil in a small frying pan. If you want to deep fry it, use about 2.5 cups of oil.
- Heat on medium heat until the oil is hot but boiling (about 5-6 minutes on medium heat).
- Fry 3 grit balls at a time and then place on a paper towel. I used 2 of 2-ply paper towels that I folded in half for maximum absorption.
- Repeat the process for the remaining grit balls.
To Make the Peach Sauce
- In a strong bottom pan, add the water and peaches.
- Add the sugar, hot sauce and salt.
- Cook on low heat until most of the water has dissipated.
- Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer to dipping bowl.
Notes
Nutrition
How these grit balls came into existence
They can make them cheesy, spicy, sweet and salty! Every combination that you can imagine has been thought up by Georgians and made into a delicious recipe!
My first and only taste of grits was during my visit to Atlanta way back in the 90s. I remember having it as a cheesy breakfast and then, as a lunch item in the form of grit cakes.
It was so well prepared that I can still taste it after over 20 years. I still remember the smooth and savory taste of each bite! I would love to go back and taste those grits once again. There is no doubt in my mind that they would taste a hundred times better than I remember!
I love football season and even though my team isn’t going to the big game, still watching and enjoying the games and all this good food. Loving these tasty bites, they will be perfect for our Super Bowl Party!
Such a wonderful appetizer, perfect for game day!
This will be a sure hit!
We need a whole bowl of these!
These look delicious!
An appetizer I’ve actually never heard of! I’m definitely going to try these!
These sound delicious!