Grab a bag of polenta, a cup of chicken broth, and some Parmesan cheese, and you’ll have a wonderfully creamy polenta side dish in a matter of minutes. It can also be used as a base for a robust stew or as an appetizer.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 10 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 1 (18 ounce) package polenta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pinch paprika
Instructions
- Combine polenta and chicken broth in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until polenta has broken down and blended with the broth, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat; stir in Parmesan cheese, pepper, and paprika.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 533 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 87 g |
| Cholesterol | 18 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 8 g |
| Protein | 19 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 1186 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Keith! This was wow-good! And so easy!! Made as a side dish for baked shrimp. It did take closer to 10-12 min for the polenta to cook down and yes, I could have mashed perhaps either before to speed up the process or after to make sure the mixture was extra creamy but, like mashed potatoes? We don’t mind some lumps! I agree with BuckWheat Queen that smoked paprika is the bomb and I ended up adding 1/4 tsp. Will be a regular side for me from now on! Thank you!
It’s really good and very simple. My only criticism is that 1 tsp of pepper is quite a bit-and I really like black pepper. I recommend starting out with 1/4-1/2 tsp . I also liked the suggestion of adding half and half so I tried that and it was delicious.
Too much pepper. Maybe do like 1/4 or 1/2 tsp.
This creamy cheesy polenta is so delicious and rich. It’s savory. I served it with filet mignon. It was the perfect complementary flavor profile. I used low sodium chicken broth because that’s what I had available, and it was amazing! I would never use regular chicken broth for this recipe, since it tasted perfect! I also used a lot of paprika, not a dash. I highly recommend that you make this recipe, even if you don’t have a fancy meal planned. You may want to eat it all. Remember you have to use a potato masher to break down the cubed polenta after removing the polenta from the heat (I think that’s not written in the recipe). Enjoy!
It was okay just lumpy I’d recomend mashing the polenta while cooking or before. Also i didn’t use paprika that to me is optional. I used a 24oz package so I did 2 cups of chicken broth to amount for the extra polenta.
I used this easy recipe in place of a “scratch” version For a Parmesan Polenta Roasted Vegetable recipe. I also used vegetable broth in place of chicken brother to make it more vegetarian (not vegan, bc of the cheese!) I also added a tablespoon of butter. It worked wonderfully topped with the roasted zucchini, tomato, kale, peppers and onions!
Ok so I made this last night for dinner! What a Killer side dish! I put the cornmeal in the chicken stock, heated the milk till boiling, added the cornmeal mixture, lowered the heat and continually stirred. I added 5oz of cut-up white cheddar and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. I finished with a small pat of salted butter. I omitted the salt listed in the recipe because this dish was salty enough with the stock, cheeses and butter. This cooked up so quickly. It was so tasty I kept eating it and forgot to take a picture for you guys! hahahahaha??
I’ve never eaten or made polenta before, so I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I was not disappointed by this recipe, I was surprised by how similar it was to mashed potatoes. I think the next time I make this recipe, I’ll probably throw in more seasoning to kick up the flavor a notch.
I have a son who will not eat mashed potatoes, so this was a creamy substitute that everyone could enjoy with meatloaf. To try and please everyone I added a 1/4 cup half and half, which was a good addition. Used Trader Joe’s polenta with a potato masher. It was a quick and easy side dish. Will make again!
Used premade from Trader Joe’s. Quick & easy!
Simple and very good. A nice alternative to typical sides.
Love this easy dish! Has become a regular side dish with our smoked salmon.
Easy, fast, cheap and gluten free-you’ve got my attention! I used ‘from scratch’ polenta instead of the prepared type. I enjoyed the addition of paprika and added a bit more than a pinch once I tasted it. I used smoked paprika and it gave such a nice earthy flavour it was hard to stop at just a pinch. This is a wonderful compliment to baked chicken. Thank you keithahaney for sharing this recipe.