These sweet potato cheesy grits are one of the best dinners I’ve made in a while. I know I say that all the time but it’s true.

Maybe I should rephrase: These sweet potato cheesy grits are one of the best GRIT dishes I’ve had in a while. Can you get down with that?

I had some grits over the weekend at a new restaurant that opened in St. Louis called The Clover and the Bee. They were delicious and I really enjoyed them, which surprised me: I’m usually kind of iffy on polenta. I think it’s because I’ve overcooked it in the past so it gets way too thick and grainy.

That’s not the case with these sweet potato cheesy grits. O.m.g. They’re so creamy, light, and fluffy that they almost melt in your mouth. They have a little sweetness from the potatoes, some tanginess from the goat cheese, spice from the chili flakes, and crunch from the fried egg. The greens on top liven things up color-wise and balance the heavier elements in the bowl.

I used a different method to make my sweet potatoes than the one I’ve listed below. I did this because I wanted to have extra sweet potato to use this morning in my oatmeal.

Instead of mashing the sweet potato with goat cheese and milk, I mashed it with butter and mixed it into the polenta with the milk and goat cheese. But if you don’t care about having extra sweet potato and you want to use it all for this dish, I would highly recommend mashing the sweet potatoes with the goat cheese and milk.

This is the perfect dish for cold winter nights when you see how fast you can run from your car into your house to avoid being outside. It could also be good in the morning for breakfast or brunch, if you have extra time and you want to make yourself something fancy.

Here’s a song that reminds me of these grits. It doesn’t mess around. I like to put it on when I’m at the gym and I steal a weight-lifting machine away from a guy and pretend that it was an accident. Whoops.

Sweet Potato Cheesy Grits with Fried Egg

Ingredients

for the grits:
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry polenta

for the sweet potatoes:
1/2 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 oz goat cheese
2 Tbsp whole milk
salt to taste

for toppings:
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
fried egg
red pepper flakes
micro greens

Directions

First, make the grits. Bring the water and the vegetable broth to a boil in a medium pot and then add the dry polenta. Stir until thickened and then bring the mixture down to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the polenta is very thick.

To make the sweet potatoes, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and then add the sweet potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft. Drain and return to the pot. Mash the potatoes with goat cheese, milk, and a little salt.

Once the grits are done, stir in the potato mixture. Fry an egg in vegetable oil and sprinkle it with red pepper flakes.

Assemble your bowl with the polenta on the bottom, an egg on top, micro greens as garnish, and extra red pepper flakes for spice. Enjoy!