Creamy Baked Polenta Recipes

OVEN-BAKED CREAMY POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In an ovenproof saucepan with a lid, whisk together 3 cups water, cornmeal, salt, and pepper. Cover, and bake 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• Remove from oven, and add milk, butter, and marjoram; whisk briskly until smooth. Serve immediately.

CHEESY POLENTA

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy pot. Add the salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the cheese, milk, butter, and parsley. Stir until the butter and cheese have melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the polenta to a bowl and serve.

CREAMY PARMESAN POLENTA

Steps:

• Place the chicken stock in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over medium-high heat until the stock comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and very slowly whisk in the cornmeal, whisking constantly to make sure there are no lumps. Switch to a wooden spoon, add the salt and pepper, and simmer, stirring almost constantly, for 10 minutes, until thick. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan thoroughly while you're stirring. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, creme fraiche, and butter. Taste for seasonings and serve hot with extra Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

OVEN-ROASTED POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 3-qt. nonstick ovenproof skillet; pour in the cornmeal, water, milk (if using), butter, and salt and stir with a fork until blended. The mixture will separate and take more than half the cooking time to come together. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Stir the polenta, taste, add salt if needed, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the polenta rest in the pan for 5 minutes before pouring it into a buttered bowl to scoop out and serve or onto a wooden board or pizza peel to slice into wedges.

CREAMY OVEN-BAKED POLENTA (WITH TOPPINGS)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F.
• In a baking dish that's close to 9x13 in size, combine the cornmeal, water, butter or olive oil and salt. Mix well with a fork or whisk.
• Carefully put the baking dish in the oven, being careful not to slosh water over the side.
• Bake the polenta uncovered for 40 minutes. You don't need to stir or check on the polenta while it bakes, just let it do its thing.
• After 40 minutes, stir the polenta and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes until the polenta has absorbed all of the water and the texture is no longer runny. It will start setting around the edges first. If the texture in the middle looks like cake batter, you need to bake it longer. The texture should be soft, but not watery. Taste the polenta - if it's bitter, that's a sign that the cornmeal is still slightly raw and hasn't cooked long enough.
• When the polenta is done, add salt as needed and top the polenta with your favorite toppings.

CREAMY BAKED PARMESAN POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine the cornmeal, butter, and salt along with 4 cups of water in an ovenproof casserole dish and stir to mix well. (The butter will melt as it cooks)
• Bake for 45 minutes, then stir well, and bake another 10 to 15 minutes or until creamy and smooth.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.
• Let stand 5 minutes to slightly firm, then serve as desired.

CREAMY BAKED POLENTA AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Butter a 8x12-inch rimmed baking sheet. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add cornmeal and whisk. Cook until mixture pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, stirring constantly, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, egg yolk, 2 tablespoons melted butter, salt, and nutmeg. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cool for at least 2 hours. Trim edges and cut into 1-inch cubes.
• Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in brandy and garlic; heat through, about 5 minutes more. The mixture should be saucy.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a large baking dish.
• Place polenta cubes in the prepared baking dish, top with mushroom mixture, including juices. Mix remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter, bread crumbs, and dried parsley together in a bowl. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture on top of mushrooms.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

CREAMY BAKED POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Combine 4 cups of water, cornmeal, butter, salt and pepper in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
• Bake uncovered, on the top shelf of the oven for 40 minute.
• Remove the polenta from the oven, give it a stir, and bake for another 10 minute.
• Remove it from the oven again and this time stir in the provolone and salt and pepper to taste.
• Let it stand for 5 min before serving.
• Serve topped with the Parmesan cheese.

EASY VEGAN POLENTA (SUPER CREAMY!)

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil.
• Once boiling, add in salt and stir to dissolve, then turn heat to medium.
• While whisking, slowly and continuously pour polenta into your water over the course of about 1 minute. Take it slow! This ensures that there will be no lumps in your cooked polenta.
• Once all of your polenta is in the water, continue whisking until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Then turn heat down to low and cover. The polenta should be gently bubbling but not fully simmering. Set a timer for 30 minutes and be sure to whisk the polenta every 5 minutes or so to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• After 30 minutes, test your polenta. It should be soft and porridgy, with no lumps or graininess. If you want your polenta slightly thicker, let it cook for another 10 minutes.
• Turn off heat and stir in vegan butter. Taste again and add more salt or butter if you want more savory or salty flavor. Enjoy!
• Polenta is a great base for sautéed veggies like asparagus or wilted greens, or with roasted garlic and baby tomatoes. Optionally, garnish with fresh basil or parsley, vegan parmesan, and/or more vegan butter.
• Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding more water and/or vegan butter as needed to rehydrate. Or, save leftovers for making polenta fries!

CREAMY OVEN BAKED POLENTA

Steps:

• preheat oven to 425.
• in a dish with a lid whisk together water, cornmeal, salt& pepper.
• cover and bake 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• remove from oven, add milk, butter, marjoram, adjust seasonings with salt& pepper, whisk until smooth.
• serve.

CREAMY BAKED POLENTA WITH HERBS AND GREEN ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour 6 cups water into 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Whisk polenta, salt, and pepper into water. Bake uncovered 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and sauté 2 minutes. Stir in parsley and thyme, then cream. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Stir polenta to blend. Stir green onion mixture, cheese, and lemon peel into polenta. Continue to bake uncovered until polenta is creamy and liquid is completely absorbed, about 10 minutes longer. Let stand 5 minutes; serve.

CREAMY OVEN-BAKED POLENTA WITH PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
• Combine water, milk, cornmeal, and salt in the prepared baking dish; mix well. It's normal for the mixture to separate a bit.
• Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and stir in pumpkin, Jarlsberg, 1/2 of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, sour cream, nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and top with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano. Turn on the broiler.
• Broil until top is brown and bubbly, about 3 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.