Polenta Recipe – A Couple Cooks

Wondering how to make polenta? Cornmeal, water and butter make a polenta that’s creamy, thick, and savory. Top this creamy polenta recipe with roasted veggies, shrimp or ragout.

Polenta may sound glamorous, but it’s nothing other than an Italian-style cornmeal porridge! This side dish is often found on restaurant menus, much like its cousin, American-style grits. Fortunately, polenta is a easy to make at home: you’ll just need 3 ingredients to form this golden, creamy mixture that’s ideal for topping with roasted vegetables, chicken, shrimp, caponata, or ragout. Add some Parmesan cheese and you’ll put it over the top. Here’s our no-fail recipe for whisking it up in your kitchen.

Ingredients for this polenta recipe

After much trial and error, we’ve created a simple, creamy polenta recipe that requires few ingredients and very little effort on your part. Learning how to cook polenta is easier than we initially thought. All you need is four ingredients:

• Cornmeal (medium-grind)
• Water
• Salted butter
• Salt

For added flavor, you can stir in some cheese when you mix in the butter. We like adding Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, aged cheeses that add a depth in flavor. The cheese adds an even more intense savory note that makes it taste like a much fancier dish than it actually is. Keep in mind that cheese has salt in it, so add it first before tasting and salting to taste.

Do not substitute grits for the cornmeal here. Grits are coarser than cornmeal, which won’t give you the texture you want. Some packages are also labeled with the word “polenta”, which you can use as well: just don’t use packages marked “instant polenta.” But plain old cornmeal does the trick!

Polenta vs grits

What is the difference between grits and polenta? While they’re both a corn porridge, one is Italian and one part of the cuisine of the American South. They’re both made of dried corn. The main difference is in the texture: polenta is coarser than grits. Another difference is in the preparation: grit are often made of hominy, dried corn that’s been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization. (Sounds fancy, but it’s the same process used for the masa flour that makes corn tortillas!)

Big takeaway: there’s not a huge difference between the two. You can use medium grind cornmeal for polenta, or use it to make grits! Here’s our Famous Shrimp and Grits recipe.

How to make polenta

It’s simple to make polenta, and it’s a very easy side dish for everything from chicken to ratatouille. Here are the basic steps:

1. Boil the water and whisk in the cornmeal: Bring 4 cups water to boil in a medium saucepan. When the water boils, whisk in 1 cup cornmeal in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Continue whisking until the polenta begins to thicken (around 1 to 2 minutes). Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
2. Simmer 20 minutes: Reduce the heat so that the polenta bubbles slowly. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until the cornmeal loses its raw flavor.
3. Season with butter and salt: When the polenta is complete, turn off the heat and add the butter, Parmesan cheese (if using), and another about ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste. You can cover it to keep it warm before serving. If the polenta becomes too thick, you can stir in a bit of water to loosen it up.

Make it vegan

It’s easy to make this into a vegan polenta recipe! Simply use vegan butter in place of the salted butter, and add additional salt to taste. Omit the Parmesan cheese, or there are several brands of dairy-free Parmesan cheese on the market that would work well as a substitute.

Storing leftovers

This polenta recipe makes about 4 cups, so you may have leftovers. When it’s cooked it gets hard in the fridge, but you can make it soft again by mixing it with a little milk or water on the stovetop and whisking until it reaches your desired consistency.

Or, you can slice the hardened polenta and cook it in a little olive oil or butter until golden on both sides. The outsides will be slightly crunchy, while the insides will be gooey—comfort food at its finest! If you want to try this method, before refrigerating pour the polenta into a rimmed baking sheet so that it hardens in an even layer. You can also grill polenta that’s been cooled on a sheet pan.

What to serve with polenta

Because polenta has a naturally sweet undertone, so it pairs well with rich, savory dishes and is a good alternative to pasta. Try serving it with dishes like sautéed greens or mushrooms, vegetable ragout, fried eggs, and so forth. You could even top it with vegetarian meatballs!

If you eat fish, shrimp and salmon are natural pairs as well. You could serve grilled shrimp would look lovely served right on top, and garnished with some fresh herbs. You can also adjust which spices you add to this recipe depending on what you’re serving it with. A dash of garlic and onion powder in the polenta would pair well with sautéed greens, for instance.

Here are a few example polenta dishes. Use these as how to get your wheels turning for how you’d serve it!

Is polenta healthy?

Polenta is a whole grain, fairly low calorie, gluten-free and a good source of fiber. However, whether it’s healthy depends on how you serve it! Some dishes call loads of cream and butter to make a creamy texture. In this recipe we’ve used a very small amount of butter. If you’d like, you can substitute olive oil to make it vegan and plant based.

More cornmeal recipes

Want more with cornmeal? Here are a few more cornmeal recipes you might enjoy: