Braised Chicken and Greens With Cheese Grits

By Ifrah F. Ahmed

Published March 20, 2025

  • Emma Fishman for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
1¼ hours
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Rating
5(166)
Comments
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Few dishes will keep you as cozy as this bowl of spicy chicken and Swiss chard cradled by cheesy grits. There’s nothing quite like a bowl of hot grits. Incredibly versatile, they can be eaten for any meal and in any number of ways: sweet or savory and cheesy, like the Parmesan grits at the heart of this meal. The well-seasoned chicken thighs are tenderized with lemon juice and the Swiss chard turns silky when simmered in the tomato broth. Switch out the chard for any other dark, leafy greens, such as kale, spinach or collard greens, and adjust the cooking time as needed.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

FOR THE GRITS

  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed

  • 1 cup white grits

  • 2 tablespoons salted butter

  • ⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan

FOR THE CHICKEN

  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

  • 2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin

  • ½ teaspoon ground paprika

  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 tablespoon Vegeta seasoning (see Tip), or season with salt to taste

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 small white onion, finely diced

  • 2 large Roma tomatoes, chopped

  • ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

  • 6 garlic cloves, smashed

  • 1 medium bunch Swiss chard (about 10 ounces), thick stems trimmed and greens roughly chopped

  • 2 tablespoons salted butter

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

41 grams carbs; 199 milligrams cholesterol; 606 calories; 12 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 30 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 848 milligrams sodium; 44 grams protein; 3 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the grits: In a medium lidded saucepan, bring 4 cups water and the salt to a boil over high. Add grits to the boiling water and whisk continuously until grits thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low, cover and let grits cook until they are creamy with no trace of grittiness, 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in the butter and Parmesan; season to taste with salt.

  2. Step 2

    While the grits cook, prepare the chicken: In a large bowl, combine chicken, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, crushed red pepper, black pepper and, if using half of the Vegeta seasoning; mix to combine.

  3. Step 3

    Warm up oil in a large lidded skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering but not smoking, add the onion and cook until softened slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the seasoned chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Add tomatoes, cilantro, garlic and, if using, the remaining Vegeta seasoning to the skillet. Stir, and then cover, cooking until the tomatoes have broken down, about 10 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Add the chard and butter to the chicken mixture, cover and cook until the chard has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Serve chicken and greens over the grits. (Any leftover grits and chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for two days.)

Tip

  • Vegeta is a dehydrated vegetable seasoning commonly found in Balkan and Somali diasporic cuisines. Vegeta is often used in savory dishes in place of or in addition to salt. It has an umami flavor that lends complexity. Vegeta can commonly be found in African, Middle Eastern, South Asian or Eastern European grocery stores, or online. If you don’t have any on hand, you can season with salt to taste instead.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
166 user ratings
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Comments

ZB

Crush up a vegetable bouillon cube: vegeta

Jacob

This was really good! I would say it’s more “spiced” but not spicy. I used 2 pints of cherry tomatoes instead of the Roma tomatoes, and used a dash of MSG and salt instead of the vegeta. Definitely going in the rotation.

Maureen

Reading this recipe I am wondering if anyone has substituted nutritional yeast for the Vegeta?

Jay

I used Trader Joe's Unami mushroom seasoning for the vegeta and it was great. But for the love of god, make your grits in a double boiler like polenta because I have burns all over my arms from the whisking stage, as I forgot this important life lesson. (No double boiler? Use a metal bowl tilted over a pot with boiling water in it, there's instructions online.)

Maybe

Nice recipe. I made it as directed, except the vegeta. Why purchase another item when I’ve already got umami options at hand. As suggested by another commenter, I added a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth dissolved in 4 oz of water, as well as 2 teaspoons of liquid from my jar of salt-cured anchovies. Very satisfying result!

Dawn

Used 5 minute grits, started when the chard went in, and that worked fine. This was good flavor for those who shy away from spice.

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