Polenta

These fantastic polenta recipes include soft and creamy side dishes, cheesy gratins, crispy polenta bites and more.

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Polenta Facile

The method used here creates a luscious and creamy polenta that cooks pretty much unattended; in fact, the more slowly the polenta cooks, the better it is. Food52 executive editor Kristen Miglore adapted the method from The Food of Southern Italy by Carlo Middione.

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Soft Polenta with Mixed Mushrooms and Gremolata

Chef Suzanne Goin adores the straightforward flavors in this vegetarian dish: the sautéed mushrooms and greens and the tangy mascarpone that melts into the creamy polenta.

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Baked Butternut Squash-and-Cheese Polenta

Anna Thomas's book The New Vegetarian Epicure focuses on recipes for entertaining including this crusty baked polenta, swirled with mashed butternut squash and smoked Gouda cheese.

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Baked Polenta with Mushrooms

In the time it takes to heat up frozen lasagna, you can make a from-scratch layered polenta dish that's every bit as satisfying. It needs nothing more than a simple green salad as an accompaniment.

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Polenta Pound Cake with Mascarpone and Rosemary

Chef Eddie Russell garnishes this tender, crumbly cake with beautiful fresh figs for added sweetness.

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Herbed Polenta and Parmesan Gratin

This indulgent baked polenta, made with plenty of Parmesan, can be prepared ahead of time and reheated as it is when it comes straight out of the oven.

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Polenta with Chives

Made from ground cornmeal, creamy polenta is a versatile side dish. Using instant polenta will cut your preparation time down to 10 minutes.

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Oven-Fried Chicken with a Polenta Crust

Liven up dinner by using polenta as a crust for crispy and delicious fried chicken.

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Cinnamon Polenta Pancakes

Using polenta in addition to white flour in these pancakes makes them especially satisfying, as the ground whole grain delivers lots of fiber and a good amount of protein.

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Polenta Gratin with Spinach and Wild Mushrooms

Commercial wild mushroom mixes (usually a combination of shiitake, cremini and oyster mushrooms) are a godsend: the mushrooms are already cleaned, stemmed and sliced the mushrooms for you. In this recipe, they are mixed with spinach and cream, then baked in a luscious gratin under smooth rounds of precooked polenta until bubbling hot.

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Poached Eggs with Sunchokes and Comté Polenta

Comté is a cow's milk cheese with a nutty flavor and pairs with well polenta's delicate taste. This dish is an impressive brunch main but is equally delicious for dinner.

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Butternut Squash-Polenta Gratin

Polenta adds a new dimension to this hearty gratin that is bursting with fall flavors.

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Very Soft Polenta with Rock Shrimp Ragout

This is Mario Batali's variation on a classic dish from the coastal villages outside of Trieste, where the fresh seafood is among the most prized in the world. The polenta that accompanies the shrimp must be very soft, almost saucelike. "Thick, lumpy polenta is criminal in that part of Italy, and justly so," Batali says.

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Lemon-and-Fennel-Roasted Lamb with Polenta

Chef Chris Cosentino marinates boneless leg of lamb and serves with creamy polenta and mascarpone.

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Parmesan-Polenta-Coated Chicken Livers with Lentil Salad

Lovers of chicken livers will find this dish a treat, and we think even those who are skeptical will fall for these morsels with their crisp polenta coating and subtle cheese flavor.

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White Polenta with Wild Mushrooms and Robiola Cheese

White polenta is made from white cornmeal but has the same coarse texture as yellow polenta. Paired with hearty mushrooms and creamy cheese, this dish is a perfect, rich side dish.

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Crispy Polenta Bites with Arugula Tapenade

Instead of using polenta as a side dish, turn it into crouton-like hors d'oeuvres like these, which get piled with a crunchy arugula-and-radish tapenade.

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Shellfish-Tomato Stew on Soft-Cooked Polenta

This stew showcases the great seafood from the nearby Adriatic Sea. Here, a tomato stew with shrimp, squid and mussels is served over milk-enriched polenta.

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Polenta-Crusted Fish Cakes with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Boring fish cakes are reinvented by using polenta, which gives the cakes a crispy crust, and tarragon-infused tomato sauce spiked with fresh red chile.

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Polenta

1 of 20

Polenta Facile

2 of 20

Soft Polenta with Mixed Mushrooms and Gremolata

3 of 20

Baked Butternut Squash-and-Cheese Polenta

4 of 20

Baked Polenta with Mushrooms

5 of 20

Polenta Pound Cake with Mascarpone and Rosemary

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Herbed Polenta and Parmesan Gratin

7 of 20

Polenta with Chives

8 of 20

Oven-Fried Chicken with a Polenta Crust

9 of 20

Cinnamon Polenta Pancakes

10 of 20

Polenta Gratin with Spinach and Wild Mushrooms

11 of 20

Poached Eggs with Sunchokes and Comté Polenta

12 of 20

Butternut Squash-Polenta Gratin

13 of 20

Very Soft Polenta with Rock Shrimp Ragout

14 of 20

Lemon-and-Fennel-Roasted Lamb with Polenta

15 of 20

Parmesan-Polenta-Coated Chicken Livers with Lentil Salad

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White Polenta with Wild Mushrooms and Robiola Cheese

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Crispy Polenta Bites with Arugula Tapenade

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Shellfish-Tomato Stew on Soft-Cooked Polenta

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Polenta-Crusted Fish Cakes with Spicy Tomato Sauce

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