This Creamy Polenta Recipe Is Rustic Italian Comfort Food!

Creamy Polenta

Creamy Polenta is a rustic Italian comfort food dish that’s cheesy, easy, and exceptionally delicious! Serve it up as a side or top it with protein and veggies to make it a meal.

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TO REHEAT: Rewarm the polenta gently on the stove with a splash of broth, water, or almond milk to thin it as needed. Stir often, until heated through.

OPTION Top with Roasted Zucchini & Tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. For easy clean up, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 2 pints grape tomatoes, 2 chopped zucchini, and 1 thinly sliced shallot in a big bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, then spread onto the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or until the tomatoes burst and the shallots are crisp, tossing and spreading the vegetable back into a single layer twice throughout. Remove from the oven. Serve on the top of polenta.

Nutrition

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Italian Farro Salad

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Why You’ll Love This Creamy, Cheesy Polenta Recipe

Comfort Food, Italian Style. Polenta is coarse-ground cornmeal that, when cooked properly, transforms into the dinner equivalent of a soul-affirming bear hug. It’s lusciously creamy, warm, and every time I eat it, it surprises me anew with just how fulfilling and delicious something as simple as ground corn can be. (Psst—You can also make it into Polenta Cake!)
Fail-Proof Recipe. If your feelings towards polenta aren’t warm and fuzzy like mine (do the words lumpy and bland come to mind?), I’m willing to bet that you haven’t had it cooked properly yet. This creamy polenta recipe will change your mind.
The Starting Point for Delicious Dinners. Polenta works as a simple side dish, but I especially adore it as the base for meal bowls. You can pile so many delicious things on top of creamy polenta, from Baked Shrimp Scampi to Roasted Root Vegetables and Grilled Pork Tenderloin.

5 Star Review

“We have been making this at least once a week since you posted it. Thanks for a keeper!”
— Bree —

How to Make Creamy Polenta

The Ingredients

Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth. If you’re not worried about making your creamy polenta vegetarian, chicken broth works well too.
Milk. Traditional polenta can be heavy, so I like to use non-fat milk or unsweetened almond milk.
Garlic. This adds dimension to the polenta, keeping it from being one-note.
Polenta. Stone-ground, whole grain corn meal. You can use white or yellow.
Nutritional Yeast or Parmesan Cheese. Using nutritional yeast (along with almond milk and plant-based butter) will make this polenta vegan.
Unsalted Butter. Butter is one of the key ingredients for polenta, but you don’t need very much to achieve that buttery richness!
Fresh Basil Leaves. You can leave these out, depending on what you top your polenta with. When I’m serving it as side, I like the addition of fresh herbs.

The Directions

Combine the Liquids. Bring the broth, milk, and garlic to a boil over high heat.

Add the Cornmeal. Reduce the heat to a simmer and slowly whisk in the cornmeal.

Stir and Simmer. Turn the heat to medium; add the salt and pepper and stir with a wooden spoon until the polenta thickens.

Butter and parmesan added to pot of creamy polenta

Finish. Remove from heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Season to taste, divide into bowls, and ENJOY!

Recipe Variations

Stir in Herbs. Instead of topping the polenta with fresh basil, you can stir in minced fresh herbs at the end of the cooking time.
Switch Up the Cheese. For a richer, creamier polenta, you can add a softer cheese like fontina.
Finish With Olive Oil. A drizzle of fruity, aromatic olive oil is a delectable finishing touch. Flavored olive oils are also delightful!

Storage Tips

To Store. Store leftover polenta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To Reheat. Rewarm the polenta gently on the stove with a splash of broth, water, or almond milk to thin it as needed. Stir often, until heated through.

Leftover Ideas

Leftover polenta will solidify, which gives you the ability to completely reinvent it for the next night’s dinner! Pour any leftovers into a square baking dish, then top with Oven Roasted Vegetables or Sauteed Spinach, jarred marinara, and shredded mozzarella; bake at 350 degrees F until warmed through for an easy polenta bake.

What to Serve with Creamy Polenta

Roasted Vegetables. On its own, creamy polenta makes a wonderful side, but when I want to extend it to a full meal, I like to pile it high with whatever vegetables are in season. Try Roasted Mushrooms, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, or Roasted Cauliflower.
Grilled Vegetables. I also think this would be delightful with grilled vegetables like Grilled Broccoli or Grilled Zucchini.
Sauce. I can see this dish being paired with a fresh summer tomato sauce in place of pasta too. Turkey Bolognese would also be fabulous.
Protein. Garlic Butter Shrimp (like an Italian-style Shrimp and Grits Recipe!), Air Fryer Meatballs, and Braised Short Ribs are all terrific with cheesy polenta.

Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe

Saucepan. For cooking up that creamy polenta!
Cheese Grater. Grating your own Parmesan is your best bet for the smoothest texture.
Whisk. I love this 9-inch whisk, which is much less cumbersome to use.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

Don’t Dump the Cornmeal in All at Once. If you do, it’s likely to get clumpy! Pour the polenta into the pot sloooooowly while whisking the entire time.
Stir, Stir, Stir. You don’t need to knock your arm off, but you don’t want to walk away either. This part takes 5 to 10 minutes, that’s all! Turn on a podcast, call your grandma, or dance to a little Taylor Swift while you wait. The time will be up before you know it.
Know That It Will Thicken. This means that it’s fine if it seems a little thin when you first take it off the heat; after a few minutes, the texture will be perfect. It also means you don’t want to wait 20 minutes to serve your polenta or it won’t be as creamy!

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Creamy Polenta

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Finish this creamy polenta with herbs and Parmesan cheese for an easy side or use as a base for veggies and protein. Italian comfort food!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 269kcal

Author Erin Clarke / Well Plated

Ingredients

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 cup non fat milk or unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
2 cloves minced garlic about 2 teaspoons
3/4 cup polenta stone-ground, whole grain corn meal, white or yellow
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast or freshly grated Parmesan cheese optional
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or non-dairy butter substitute
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Instructions

Combine the broth, almondmilk, and garlic in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and very slowly whisk in the cornmeal, adding it in a very thin stream and whisking constantly to make sure there are no lumps.
Switch to a wooden spoon and reduce the heat to medium. Add the salt and pepper. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring almost constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking, until the polenta thickened. The timing will vary based on the brand and type of polenta you use.
Remove from the heat and stir in the nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese and butter. Taste and add additional salt, pepper, or nutritional yeast/cheese as desired.
To serve, ladle the polenta into serving bowls. Top with additional Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with fresh basil.