Add Grits To A Mason Jar For A Nearly Effortless, Make-Ahead Breakfast

We've all heard of overnight oats — the make-ahead breakfasts that had the internet in a chokehold — and everyone's had a yogurt parfait in their day, but now it's time to swap out the dairy and oats for grits. Cooked ahead of time and packed in a mason jar with your choice of toppings — you could mix your grits with plenty of cheese or perhaps top them with shrimp — they make the perfect filling, cozy breakfast to have on the go or at your office desk.

Grits are made from ground corn — a close cousin of polenta — and are typically either cooked for hours, slow-cooker style, or whipped up in moments with a canister of the instant or quick-cook variety. However, there's no reason you can't make a quadruple-sized batch and portion out servings. Spooned into mason jars or other food storage containers, they hold up surprisingly well as the days pass.

To make your jarred grits, choose your starting point wisely — not all types are created equal. Grocery stores typically carry old-fashioned grits, which are rougher and coarser ground, along with the quick-cook and instant varieties. You can use any kind, but many find the coarser-ground, more rustic type to have a more luxurious, creamy texture and mouthfeel. Since you're doing the cooking legwork ahead of time, go for the good stuff and let them cook low and slow until creamy, flavored with plenty of butter and salt.

Then, assemble your toppings. Much like a yogurt parfait, you'll layer your ingredients of choice with the grits. Wide-mouth, pint-sized mason jars work beautifully and make it easy to portion and assemble your on-the-go meal.

Your grits will keep in the fridge for a good part of the workweek — their texture and flavors hold up best within a three-day window, so keep them front and center in the fridge, and don't forget to grab a jar on your way out the door each morning. To reheat, you can dump out the contents of your jar into a microwaveable dish or warm it up right in the jar (just make sure it's a glass, microwave-safe one, and remove the metal lid or any substances like tin foil that don't belong in the microwave). Cover with a damp paper towel while you reheat.

Grits are a blank slate for savory toppings, and of course, you aren't limited to the usual suspects — we wouldn't blame you for not wanting to take shrimp on the go, to be fair. Keep it simple with grated cheese and a mix of sauteed spinach, onions, mushrooms, and garlic for lots of flavor and greenery. Or, load up with pieces of bacon, green onions, and all the fixings.

Craving a more Italian or even Mexican spin on the dish? That can be done; just sprinkle on toppings like roasted tomatoes, spinach, parmesan, or chopped avocado and salsa, respectively. Grits can easily go Mediterranean too, and are delectable with crumbled feta and juicy cherry tomatoes. 

Vegans and vegetarians can easily enjoy grits jars too — just make yours with plant-based butter and cheese, or use the seasoning that's a staple in any vegan kitchen, nutritional yeast, which adds a potent cheesy-without-the-cheese flavor. Think creatively, as bland-on-their-own grits adapt to nearly any imaginable flavor combination. For added protein and extra heft, finish off with a protein source like browned tofu, tempeh, or whatever you have on hand, for a delicious breakfast that keeps you full until lunch.