Grandma Style Polenta Recipe

Polenta is an incredible side dish that goes with just about anything. Serve polenta at breakfast with some fried eggs or at dinner paired with Italian veal saltimbocca alla Romana. You can also just sprinkle some extra parmigiano reggiano cheese on top of warm polenta and call it a meal! This quick and easy polenta recipe is perfect for any time of day.

Easy Creamy Polenta Recipe

Polenta is a classic cornmeal side dish that originally comes from Northern Italy. The coarse grain dish has been eaten since Roman times and was originally made from a variety of grains like farro, millet, and ground chickpeas. Now polenta is made mostly with ground cornmeal like our easy, creamy polenta recipe.

Making the perfect polenta is actually extremely easy, especially when you use our simple recipe. All you need to do is boil, whisk, and cook! But we will break down this recipe for you in a little bit more detail so you know exactly how to make polenta from start to finish. Once you master this recipe, you can make this traditional Italian dish anytime! And you definitely should because creamy polenta is always a huge hit at the dinner table.

Ingredients for Creamy Polenta

Classic polenta is made with very basic ingredients. Take a look at exactly what you need to make polenta and read our little tips and tricks for each ingredient. This will seriously help you create the creamiest polenta ever.

• Chicken broth – Chicken stock or vegetable broth will also work perfectly. Using broth and stock add a rich, complex taste to the polenta that gives the savory side dish even more flavor.

• Milk – Any kind of milk will work in this recipe. We like to use whole milk which gives the thickened polenta a rich flavor.

• Salt – Salt enhances the flavor of the polenta.

• Cornmeal – One trick to making creamy polenta is to use finely ground cornmeal. The fine cornmeal is nice and small so it will almost melt into the liquid. You can use coarse cornmeal or medium grind cornmeal but these will change the texture of the polenta, making the cornmeal mush a little thicker.

• Butter – Unsalted butter is best for this recipe since salt is added to the recipe already. You can replace the butter with extra virgin olive oil but it will not have quite the same creamy texture.

• Parmigiano Reggiano cheese – Whisking a classic Italian cheese into the hot polenta melts the cheese and makes the polenta extra creamy.

• Parsley – Sprinkle some freshly chopped parsley over your cooked polenta as a perfect Italian garnish.

Variations

Here are a few ingredient substitutes and variations you may want to try. These tweaks will help you create perfect polenta, customized for your specific meal.

• Replace the parmesan cheese with pecorino romano, cheddar cheese, or even feta cheese. Choose a cheese that matches your accompanying foods.

• Use vegetable broth to make the vegetarian polenta

• Add freshly chopped basil, rosemary, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper or dried Italian seasoning to add flavor to your polenta.

• Cook the polenta for about 5 minutes longer so it is very thick. Press the mix into a baking dish and let cool. Then, slice the polenta into strips or squares and pan fry. This is an easy way to make polenta that you can pick up and eat by hand!

How to Make Polenta

Making a classic polenta is very simple. With just a few ingredients you can create a perfect Italian dish! Making polenta does take a little bit of hands-on time, especially if you want to make a polenta with a creamy texture. No lumpy polenta allowed here! So what is the secret? Whisking!

The most important step in cooking polenta is whisking constantly as you slowly stir the cornmeal into the boiling water mixture. This ensures that there are no lumps and that the corn flour is blended evenly into the liquid. If you want smooth, soft polenta, you need to add all the cornmeal slowly and whisk, whisk, whisk! No wooden spoon for stirring this recipe- you need that whisk.

Also, make sure you only cook your polenta until it reaches your desired consistency. Once the polenta starts to pull away from the sides of the pan when you stir, it is pretty much done!

For a smoother polenta, cook the mix for a little less time (but don’t forget that constant stirring!). If you want a thicker, sliceable polenta, simply cook the polenta a little longer. Both textures are delicious, it all depends on what you want and how you’d like to eat polenta with your meal.

Pro Tip

Do not use instant polenta to make this recipe. Instant polenta cooks much faster and uses a different quantity of liquid. This recipe is designed for fine yellow cornmeal, stone ground cornmeal, or coarse ground cornmeal. But we promise that using real cornmeal will give you the best corn flavor and make the perfect Italian polenta!

How to Store Leftover Polenta

If you have leftover polenta, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can quickly reheat the cooked polenta in the microwave, heating in thirty-second increments until it is warm again. You may want to stir in a little bit of extra milk to make the polenta creamy again. Reheating can make the polenta too dry! Stirring in milk, a little butter, or just some water will fix dry polenta right away.

Polenta will get pretty firm in the fridge so another way to enjoy leftovers is to slice the cold polenta then pan fry it with some olive oil. The crispy outside edges of the polenta will taste fantastic!

What to Serve with Polenta

Polenta goes with so many classic Italian dishes. Serve your Italian polenta with perfectly braised meats, shrimp scampi, veal saltimbocca or just some sauteed mushrooms with garlic. Polenta can even be a great breakfast, served underneath a soft-boiled egg and some steamed veggies. Anything that has a nice sauce will go well with warm polenta. Think of polenta as a clean slate and pair it with anything!

For more delicious recipes ideas check out our saltimbocca alla romana recipe.