Creamy Cheesy Polenta
This post may contain affiliate links.
This simple recipe for Creamy Cheesy Polenta is gluten free, vegetarian, and easy to make in 20 minutes. It’s perfect as a side dish, or topped with roasted vegetables or slow cooked meats.
Table of contents
I’m a big fan of polenta. It’s easy to make, creamy, cheesy and perfect as a side dish, or as part of a main dish. It’s also vegetarian and gluten-free, making it a dish that everyone can enjoy!
I’ve made vegetarian recipes with polenta, such as this Tomato Kale Polenta Skillet (an all time favorite vegetarian recipe on the blog!). I’ve also served it with Beef Ragu, Guinness Braised Short Ribs, and Italian Short Ribs.
No matter what I add to it, this creamy polenta always makes a great base for a delicious recipe!
So what exactly is polenta? It’s an Italian dish made with cornmeal that is cooked in liquid. It can be served with a soft consistency, or solidified and sliced.
Ingredients
- Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter, so that you can control the added salt in this recipe. If using salted butter, I recommend reducing the added salt by ½ teaspoon.
- Milk – I recommend 2% or whole milk for the creamiest polenta.
- Half and half – using part milk and part half and half also helps create a super creamy polenta.
- Coarse-ground yellow cornmeal or polenta – depending on the grocery store, you might be able to find a bag or box of cornmeal labeled “polenta”. If this is available, purchase it. If it’s not available, purchase a bag of coarse-ground yellow cornmeal. While polenta is made from cornmeal, the difference in the two is that polenta is made from medium or coarse-ground cornmeal, but cornmeal can be found in everything from coarse-ground to fine-ground.
- Sea salt (or kosher salt) – you can use both sea salt and kosher salt interchangeably when cooking. I prefer either kosher or sea salt, over table salt, because of their coarse texture and superior flavor.
- Parmesan cheese – I recommend grating fresh parmesan cheese at home so that it melts perfectly into the dish.
- Mascarpone cheese – one of my favorite Italian restaurants in San Diego, Davanti, serves their slow cooked ragu over a mascarpone polenta, so I took a note from their menu and added mascarpone cheese to this polenta. It’s an exceptionally smooth cheese with a rich, buttery flavor. If you can’t find any, you can use cream cheese in it’s place.
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large pot on the stove top over medium high heat. When the butter begins to melt, add the milk, half and half, cornmeal and salt to the pot. Stir continuously, 10-15 minutes, until the polenta becomes thick and creamy.
- Add the cheeses and continue stirring until the cheese has melted into the polenta. Remove from the heat and serve immediately or add the polenta to your favorite dish.
As the polenta cools, it will firm up. If you want a soft and smooth consistency it should be served immediately. You can reheat solidified polenta back to its creamy state by returning to a pot on the stove and stirring in more milk, until you reach your desired smoothness.
What to serve it with
This creamy cheesy polenta recipe is really a blank slate. It can be served as a side dish with so many different meals. Try it with any of these recipes.
- Slow Cooker Beef Ragu (pictured above)
- French Onion Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Beef Ragu
- Pork Ragu
- Mushroom Ragu
- Italian Short Ribs
- Guinness Braised Short Ribs
- Crock Pot Meatloaf
- Turkey Meatloaf
- Roasted Prime Rib
Or use it as the base for this Italian Polenta Turkey Casserole, one of my all-time favorite recipes on the blog!
More side dish recipes
Looking for more easy side dishes? Check out these delicious recipes!
Creamy Cheesy Polenta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups milk
- 4 cups half and half
- 2 cups coarse-ground yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese, or cream cheese
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large pot on the stove top over medium high heat.
- When the butter begins to melt, add the milk, half and half, cornmeal, and salt to the pot.
- Stir continuously, 10-15 minutes, until the polenta becomes thick and creamy.
- Add the cheeses and continue stirring until the cheese has melted into the polenta.
- Remove from the heat and serve immediately or add to your favorite dish.
Notes
- As the polenta cools, it will firm up. If you want a soft and smooth consistency it should be served immediately. You can reheat solidified polenta back to its creamy state by returning to a pot on the stove and stirring in more milk, until you reach your desired smoothness.
Nutrition Facts
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
3 Comments on “Creamy Cheesy Polenta”
I’ve been making this for years, but never rated it. It’s delicious. With your ragu, it’s a go-to for guests or special occasions because it’s so elegant, but so simple. Thank you, Whitney!
I also like to pour the hot polenta into loaf pans. I let it chill and then I can slice it. The slices can be fried to a crunch or fanned in a baking dish with butter and Parmesan on top and baked. This variation of chilling first is nice because it can be made ahead.
I went to a Polenta Festival in Pistoia, Italy. I love the stuff so it was fun trying the different preparations in each booth!
This. Looks. AMAZING! I love polenta, but have yet to make it. This recipe would be a perfect start! 🙂