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This vegan polenta recipe comes out perfectly creamy: no dairy needed! Here’s how to make this Italian standard into a plant based side dish.
Why we love this recipe
Usually polenta is stuffed with the brim with dairy. But guess what: you can make a creamy vegan polenta recipe with no dairy at all! Milk, butter and cheese normally play starring role in helping to achieve that signature texture.
Here, broth and cornmeal achieve the creamiest vegan polenta you can find! Whether you eat vegan on the regular or just want to eat more plant-based recipes, this one is for you. Now, let’s get cooking.
What is polenta?
When Alex and I first started cooking, I had no idea what it was. All I knew was that it sounded glamorous! It actually couldn’t be further from the truth.
Polenta is a humble Italian-style cornmeal porridge. It’s similar to American-style grits, and is often found on restaurant menus. But though it’s often made by chefs: it’s also very easy to make at home. All you need is 5 ingredients and 30 minutes.
Ingredients in vegan polenta
This vegan polenta recipe is simple to put together with just a few raw ingredients that transform into the creamy Italian porridge. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Cornmeal: Use medium grind for a little texture. We prefer using yellow cornmeal for color, but you can also use white.
- Vegetable broth: Using vegetable broth adds a complexity of flavor.
- Olive oil: Olive oil adds depth and richness: if you have another vegan oil you prefer, feel free to use it!
Some vegan polenta recipes use nutritional yeast to mimic a cheesy flavor. You could add this if you like, or even your favorite dairy-free cheese. However, you don’t need to add anything to this base recipe: it’s delicious with just salt and pepper!
Polenta vs grits
We do not recommend substituting grits for the cornmeal in this recipe. Grits are coarser than cornmeal, which won’t give you the texture you want. Some packages are also labeled with the word “polenta”, which you can use as well. But plain old cornmeal does the trick!
Storing leftovers
When this vegan polenta recipe is hot or warm, it will be naturally creamy. As the polenta cools, it starts to harden. If you leave it out on the stovetop, you’ll notice it starts to harden. You can easily reconstitute the polenta by mixing it with a little water and reheating it.
If you have leftover polenta, it will harden in the refrigerator. So you’ll want to do the same thing: when reheating, place it in a pot on the stovetop, add a splash of water or almond milk and stir until it returns to a creamy texture.
Variation: hard polenta
Polenta is also served hardened, and you can find cooked polenta sold in tubes in the refrigerated section of your local grocery.
In this recipe, you can make your own hardened polenta by pouring it into a sheet pan in an even layer and refrigerating it. After refrigerating, you can cut it into pieces and cook it in a skillet in a little olive oil until golden on both sides. Alternatively, you can grill it!
Serving this vegan polenta recipe
Most often, we serve this vegan polenta recipe as a side dish. But you can do many other things with it! It’s perfect as a bowl meal. Here are a few ideas on how to serve vegan polenta:
- As a side dish for a vegan dinner.
- With white beans and tomatoes (omit Parmesan).
- With lentil stew or lentil soup.
- Add roasted tomatoes.
- Top with mushrooms and beans.
- Add roasted Brussels sprouts (omit Parmesan).
- Top with roasted vegetables.
- Add roasted butternut squash or roasted sweet potatoes, pecans, and sage.
- Top with ratatouille.
- Add lentil sloppy joes.
Dietary notes
This vegan polenta recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, polenta itself is made from cornmeal and is naturally vegan. However, some recipes may include non-vegan ingredients like butter or cheese.
You can use vegan butter or olive oil instead of butter. You can use nutritional yeast or a vegan cheese alternative for a cheesy flavor, but we don’t think it’s necessary here!
Whisk the polenta constantly as you gradually add it to the hot liquid. This helps prevent lumps from forming.
You can add herbs like rosemary or thyme, spices like smoked paprika or cumin, or roasted vegetables like garlic or tomatoes.
Creamy Vegan Polenta Recipe
This vegan polenta recipe comes out perfectly creamy: no dairy needed! Here’s how to make this Italian standard into a plant based side dish.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup medium grind cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring the vegetable broth to boil in a medium sauce pan. Once boiling, whisk in the cornmeal in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Continue whisking until the polenta begins to thicken (around 1 to 2 minutes). Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Reduce the heat so that the polenta bubbles slowly. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until the cornmeal loses its raw flavor (taste every so often to check).
- When the polenta is complete, turn off the heat and add the olive oil, and more kosher salt and pepper to taste. You can cover it to keep it warm before serving. If the polenta becomes too thick, you can stir in a bit of water to loosen it up.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I had creamy polenta last night at a restaurant – I’m sure with lots of butter and cheese. My stomach is in a sensitive little recovery phase and I wanted to try to make a non dairy polenta and this was sooooooo good and I didn’t miss the butter at all! I will make again this way in the future because it’s so much more guilt free. I feel like you could really taste the olive oil and vegetable broth so use the good stuff! I am interested to try with a flavored oil like Enzo’s Fresno Chili or Meyer Lemon olive oils. I bet it would be excellent.
So glad you enjoyed! Yes, it would be great with a flavored oil!
I just made this recipe for the first time. It was out of necessity, I could not find the roll of polenta so I was forced to make my own. I have to say this is so good, much better than any polenta I have bought at the store.
For creamy polenta I use 5 cups of liquid to 1 cup of polenta. I also rehydrate the polenta before cooking as it reduces cooking time and comes out creamier without it setting up
On your recipe, I magnified the yield to 12. What is your portion size? The nutrition facts state 20 portions at 3x yield but your recipe states 12. I usually calculate a side dish at 4 oz, so at 3x recipe it comes out to 38 portions.
At 6 oz portion = 25.3
at 8 oz portion = 19
Pray tell.
I don’t have a cup measure, sorry!
Made this polenta as a base to the Lentil Bolognese recipe. I thought it was delicious. I did add a little oat milk and almond milk to make the polenta a little creamier.
Does your polanta recipe freeze well? Thank you.
We haven’t tried it. Sorry!
I am excited to try this but just realized I don’t have enough corn meal. Do you think this can be made with instant corn masa? That’s what I have on hand.
Sorry! I don’t think that will work.
As a child I enjoyed Fried polenta w/honey, it was a favorite . Now that I am older and live alone this is my Sunday start before heading to the farmers market.
For years I made a dish similar to this using, red wine, it was a family favorite.
Once I am over Covid-19 I will make your recipe. How can I go wrong if it has polenta under it! Thank You!!raf
Stay Positive! Stay Healthy!