Keto Shrimp and Grits with Ground Lupin
Guys. I’ve found it.
This Keto Shrimp and Grits Recipe will have you slappin’ yo mama.
I’ve seen a lot of low carb shrimp and grits recipes made with cauliflower but I just have not gotten into cauliflower the way other low carb dieters have. I don’t like the flavor or consistency.
Sure, I can manage it in my Keto Cauliflower Mash since that is garlicky and cheesy and damn downright good as comfort food but as rice? Nah. As rice, you have to dress it up quite a bit as in my Keto Cauliflower Fried Rice recipe.
But ground lupin?
Ground lupin is bae.
Ever since I’ve been on the keto diet, I’ve been looking for a proper keto side dish that takes the place of rice. Veggies are good and I love a good charred zucchini as a quick and easy side dish but I need something to soak up my curry gravy, you know what I mean? Nah mean???
I absolutely love the texture of ground lupin. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never actually tried grits before. It’s not a popular dish in Jamaica. I’ve tried polenta and I’ve tried couscous and I would put this somewhere in that mix. It’s crumbly and almost bland on its own, soaking up flavor beautifully. I sold it to my daughter as a substitute for her beloved porridge and oatmeal and while I think I can dress it up with some sweetness, spices and heavy cream to be that, in this recipe, it was the perfect keto rice alternative. This is my first dish with it but be prepared for an influx of ground lupin recipes.
Ground Lupin vs Lupin Flour
So what’s ground lupin?
Well, what’s lupin? Or lupini? I’ve seen these names being used interchangeably and it doesn’t appear that there’s any difference. So I’ll stick with lupin since that’s the name on the brand I am using.
Lupin is a yellow legume popular in the Mediterranean eaten mostly whole as a snack or ground up into a flour. It’s in the chickpea, lentils and peanut family but what makes it phenomenal for a low carb diet is that almost all the carbs in lupin beans are fiber. It’s also high in protein so plant-based keto people will love this.
The high fiber content means if you’re following a net carb version of keto, you’re good to go. And you should be concerned with only net carbs anyway because your body will not absorb the fiber but it will help the fat right on out.
Ground lupin has a very coarse texture so it’s perfect to be eaten as a side dish on its own as in this recipe. Lupin flour is even more finely ground into a flour that you can use to make waffles, pancakes, muffins, you name it. I have both varieties in my pantry so you know waffle recipes are incoming!
I’ve even seen a brand of keto pasta made with lupin flour that I am extremely excited to try. Judging from how well my grits came out, I’m pretty sure pasta made from lupin will be as close to regular wheat pasta as a keto variety allows.
This is the brand of ground lupin I used in this recipe. Lupin is exploding in the low carb world right now so I’m afraid they’re not keeping up with supply well. It’s regularly out of stock on both their own website and on Amazon. Hopefully, this changes soon because I need another bag stat!
The best part about this all is how quickly it cooks up. It was done in the microwave in 3 minutes. My kinda cooking! So for this entire dish, I went from frozen shrimp to done in less than 20 minutes. Beat that, Rachel Ray! Let’s get into this recipe.
Keto Shrimp and Grits Recipe
For this recipe I used:
- 1 pound large frozen shrimp, raw, deveined, tails on (or off) the 16-24 bag will do
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 garlic gloves
- salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and whatever spices are your fave
- 4 tablespoons ground lupin
- 1/2 cup water
That’s it! I threw the frozen shrimp in a hot non-stick pan and covered it to get it melted, took only a few minutes then I slathered it in butter, garlic and spices while the ground lupin was being prepared in the microwave. I never want to run out of this new keto pantry staple.
Garlicky Keto Shrimp and Grits
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 tablespoons ground lupin separated
- 1 cup room temperature water separated
Instructions
- Thaw shrimp in a colander under running water for a few minutes.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and stir constantly until fragrant, only about 30 seconds.
- Add shrimp and season pot with salt, pepper and preferred spices. Cook for 3 minutes on each side or just until shrimp is pink and cooked through.
- Add 4 tbsp ground lupin and 1/2 cup water to two separate bowls
- Microwave each for 3 minutes to cook.
- Spoon garlic and juices directly over ground lupin to soak up all the juices. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Of course I had to up the fat in this dish so as soon as I snapped the picture I added avocado to my meal, making it even more delish!
This meal was filling and absolutely delicious! I hope you try it! Stick around for more ground lupin recipes coming your way.
