Oven-Baked and Microwave Polenta

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated Nov. 13, 2023

Oven-Baked and Microwave Polenta
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Rating
4(610)
Notes
Read community notes

For those who have sworn off mashed potatoes because of the carbohydrates and fats, and for those who cannot eat wheat and so have said good-bye to pasta, polenta may be just the thing. Polenta is a delicious gruel, an elegant mush made by cooking cornmeal (or occasionally semolina or buckwheat) in salted water. From humble origins, polenta now appears on the fanciest restaurant menus, usually served as an accompaniment to meat and fish. But it can be a main event. It can be served hot and runny from the pot, or else sliced, grilled, pan-seared or gratinéed. And polenta can be topped with any number of sauces or vegetable ragouts.

Featured in: An Elegant Gruel: Polenta

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4

    For the Easy Oven-baked Polenta

    • 1cup polenta
    • 1quart water
    • 1teaspoon salt
    • 1tablespoon unsalted butter

    For the Microwave Polenta

    • ¾cup polenta
    • ¾teaspoon salt
    • 3cups water
    • 1tablespoon unsalted butter
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

305 calories; 7 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 55 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 5 grams protein; 1041 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. For the Easy Oven-baked Polenta

    1. Step 1

      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, water and salt in a 2-quart baking dish. Stir together, and place in the oven. Bake 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, and stir in the butter. Use a fork or a spatula to stir the polenta well, and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and stir again. Carefully taste a little bit of the polenta; if the grains are not completely soft, return to the oven for 10 minutes. Serve right away for soft polenta, or let sit five minutes for a stiffer polenta. Spoon onto a plate. Make a depression in the middle, and serve with the topping of your choice or plain, as a side dish. Alternatively, for grilling or use in another recipe, allow to chill and stiffen in the baking dish, or scrape into a lightly oiled or buttered bread pan and chill.

    2. Step 2

      Combine the polenta, salt and water in a 2½- to 3-quart microwave-safe bowl, and stir together. Cover the bowl with a plate, and place in the microwave. Microwave on high for eight minutes. Remove from the microwave carefully, wearing oven mitts, as the bowl will be quite hot. Carefully remove the plate from the top, and allow the steam to escape. Stir in the butter, and mix well with a fork. Cover the bowl again with the plate and return to the microwave. Microwave on high for three minutes. Again, remove from the microwave carefully, wearing oven mitts. Carefully remove the plate from the top, and allow the steam to escape. Stir the polenta, and return to the microwave for three more minutes. Carefully remove from the microwave. Stir and serve, or pour into a lightly buttered bread pan and allow to cool, then slice and grill or sear in a lightly oiled pan.

Tips
  • Variation:Polenta With Parmesan When you remove the polenta from the oven, stir in ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan. Serve at once. I like to grind a little black pepper over the top.
  • Advance preparation: If you are serving polenta hot with a topping, it’s best to serve it when it comes out of the oven, allowing it to sit for five minutes at most. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
610 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

blisssu

The microwave polenta works perfectly. To make it vegan, I used olive oil instead of butter.

I'm trying an idea (which may need adjusting) of using the polenta as a pizza crust: Pour the hot polenta onto a greased pizza pan, spread it evenly and let it firm up. Bake it at 425F until brown and crispy at the edges (about 20 minutes), then add toppings and bake for 10 minutes more.

P.S. The crust calls for 1/4 cup, rather than 1 tablespoon, of oil, but probably the smaller amount would do.

Sue

Microwave version came out delicious - creamy and tasty. I used ordinary corn meal.

Una K

I've made this 3 times in 2 weeks. Great recipe. I use chicken stock instead of water and Romano cheese

zbegoniac

This recipe is the bomb. I had never made polenta before and decided to try this. I heard polenta was really tedious to make so decided I couldn't go wrong, since 1 cup of corn meal is cheap. The result was perfect--no lumps, just smooth and delicious. I served it with pasta sauce I made that day from the last of summer tomatoes. I actually liked it better than pasta and had two servings. thank you!

Fay

After a couple of failed attempts a stove top-cooked polenta, I'm loving the recipe for the oven-baked polenta. So easy and so tasteful.

For the Europeans, or others used to the metric system: I use 160 grams of polenta and 950 ml. of water. Works great.

Tony

I make the oven version regularly and it is fool-proof and delicious. Follow the directions and proportions exactly and you can't go wrong.

HK

I had trouble making it in the microwave without it sticking or lumping up a bit. I tried cooking it it for 2-3 minutes at a time and stirred it before putting it back in. That worked fine.

Bucky

Definitely do the microwave recipe - so easy! Used 1/2 chix broth for the water (decrease salt). Added parmesan cheese before the last 3 minutes. Only zapped it for 1 minute, then let it sit for a few minutes in the microwave. Perfect!

AliceM

Perfect easy polenta recipe. I also used olive oil in deference to my non-dairy people. I had some leftovers which I ate cold the next day. Still good!

Emily

I’ve made this numerous times in the oven and it always comes out AMAZING. Sometimes I add Parmesan, sometimes some garlic powder. Stock for the liquid or water. You can’t mess this one up! I think one reviewer said a monkey could make it and I believe it. Do yourself a favor and try this. Cut it into slabs and fry or air fry until crunchy any leftovers the next day.

Amanda S.

Amazingly delicious and easy! I have made it many times, and I have never been disappointed.

Amy K.

I’ve never made polenta before, but the comments gave me the confidence to try it. I did the microwave technique in a 2-qt old Corningware dish - with 1/2 c cornmeal, 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Took HK’s suggestion and stirred after 2 1/2 minutes of the 8. Then added maybe half a TBS of grated parmesan (more next time!) and a tsp of olive oil. Perfect!

nan dem

I have made polenta this way for years - cheap, easy and delicious! Only thing I do differently is that I don’t bother to cover the bowl. I feel the microwave is enclosed enough that the difference in moisture retention is is trivial. A steam burn is too painful to risk. It seems to come out just fine.

excellent technique for microwave

I’ve done polenta this way for years, but long ago decided the risk of steam burns was too high to bother with the cover. Seems to work just fine without it (my theory is that the microwave is closed enough to hold lots of steam, as would a cover). This recipe would be easier to find on search if the words “oven or microwave baked” appeared in the title.

Tom Fierro

Great, easy recipe and the polenta comes out very smooth and buttery! However, my polenta in a 8 x 8 glass bakeware at 350 degrees for 50 minutes still was very watery. Took an extra 15 minutes to get stiffer, but it was still soft pudding like. Maybe try 1/4 less water or bake longer?

NanB

Excellent and easy from microwave in Kocki

MariaB

Shouldn't that be: "Method 1, Method 2", not Step 1, Step 2"?

Maggie

This is a really good recipe. I tried it last night, and it was perfect, super easy and the right texture after 1 hour in the oven.

Marguerite

I used Bob’s Red Mill polenta and followed the recipe exactly. Why stir it on the stove? It’s perfect and so easy that polenta can now become part of my repertoire.

Dee

Really enjoyed this - easy to make, great mix of flavors with the fennel seeds. I had just made Rancho Gordo garbanzos so I used them instead of canned, which probably helped. One change - I used the oven=baked polenta recipe here on the times that is soo easy and basically hands free (it also incudes an easy microwave version that is excellent).

Joanne

Yup, this was pretty perfect in the microwave. You do need to heed the warning about the steam when removing the plate.

Eileen

Baked at 325 on convection for a little longer.

CathyF

Tonight I made the oven version of this to go with a pantry-friendly turkey chili. Easy and delicious. Will definitely make again.

Sindi

Super easy. I used the oven method in an 8x8 Pyrex. I would add a bit more salt next time.

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