How to Make Perfect Polenta for your family? No worries, we got your back! The Italian Polenta recipe is an all-in-one side dish for everyone. For some people, it may seem daunting to stir the ingredients for quite a long time, but fret not!
With the tips and recipes below, you will have a creamy, golden, and smooth texture of the perfect polenta at home!
What is Polenta?
Polenta is a dish made of ground cornmeal, which has roots in northern Italy. This dish makes a perfect bed for any kind of sauce, and it’s an alternative for any call with pasta.
Creamy polenta could be served as porridge or mush, or you can use this as a great side dish paired with any kind of beef, roasted pork, fish, or poultry. With just a touch of roasted vegetables, it can be a fantastic vegan dish!
If you have struggled in making polenta at home, follow our easy Italian polenta recipe below! We also have tips from Chef to guarantee your success! Now, let’s jump in!
How to Make Perfect Polenta – Total Time to Make
All the tools you need are a whisk, a spoon, and a saucepan.
Time to prep | 5 minutes | Servings | 4 |
Time to cook (active) | 20 minutes | Skill Level | Easy |
After 20 minutes of cooking, let your polenta sit for 20 minutes, so the heat will be absorbed by the ingredients. This is a pro tip for saving time, and meanwhile, you can prepare other dishes.
Total time to cook: 45 minutes
Creamy and Perfect Polenta Ingredients – Italian Polenta Recipe
What you need for this perfect polenta:
- Butter, Olive oil,
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups of chicken stock
- 2 cups of heavy cream
- 1 cup of polenta
- 1 cup of parmesan cheese
- Salt, white pepper
How to Cook Perfect Polenta (Step-by-Step)
Step 1:
- Smash a garlic clove with a knife. take half of a small onion, cut it in half/quarters.
Step 2:
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your saucepan
- Add garlic, onion, and saute everything on medium heat. Saute for two to three minutes, until you see your onion get golden brown in color
Step 3:
- Add two cups of chicken stock to the saucepan
- Add bay leaf and remember to keep the heat in medium
- Add two cups of heavy cream
- Season it with some salt and white pepper.
- Make sure not to overseason your liquid because you will add parmesan cheese later.
Step 4:
- Bring your stock to a simmer and wait for about 5 minutes, we want to infuse the liquid with garlic, onion, and bay leaf
- Take a spoon to remove garlic onion, and bay leaf and discard those
- Then, add 1 cup of cornmeal. Keep in mind not to put all of the cornmeal into the stock. Transfer it slowly while stirring.
- Lower the heat to low. Cook the cornmeal for 20 minutes, making sure to constantly stir it.
If you worry that your polenta might be burned, remove the simmer from the heat and keep stirring. Then, taste the polenta and bring it back to the heat if you think cornmeal has not well-cooked.
Step 5:
- When the cornmeal is cooked, turn off the heat
- Add one cup of parmesan cheese
- Stir the cheese with your polenta
- Now it’s time to taste it for seasoning.
Then let your polenta sit for about 15 – 20 minutes to let it cool down while you can prepare other dishes.
If you see that the polenta is getting too thick, you can add a few tablespoons of cold water.
A Pro Tip from Gordon Ramsay: he adds olive oil while cooking and adds some greens to the polenta.
You might wonder, “What is the right consistency for polenta?” then the answer is, “it should hold its shape when it sits”. The perfect polenta should form a large clump and taste tender.
The type of cornmeal that you choose will also have an effect on the consistency of your polenta.
The fine and coarse yellow cornmeal will give you a thin and soft texture, while the white cornmeal will give a more delicate flavor that pairs greatly with seafood, but it takes you a long time to cook.
How to Serve Polenta
Roasted chicken, beefsteak, lamp rib, prime rib, shrimp, you name it; they all pair perfectly with polenta!
Think about veggies and cheese you have at home to add more flavor and texture to your dish, such as steamed mushroom and asparagus, oven-baked tomatoes and cheddar and pesto, crispy peas or beans, sausage, and baked eggs.
How to Store Your Creamy Perfect Polenta
Sometimes we may end up making a large batch of polenta and have leftovers.
If you plan to eat the leftover polenta in the next few days, the best place to store it is in the fridge. However, your polenta might dry out a bit. To avoid this issue, put your polenta on a plate, cover it with a paper towel or cloth, and seal it with plastic wrap.
In case you opt to grill or even sugar-coat your polenta, just keep in mind to slice your polenta before freezing it, and defrost the polenta thoroughly, and use paper towels to dry them before cooking.
Tips and Praise for Italian Polenta Recipe
The creamy and perfect polenta recipe here belongs to Lenny the Italian chef.
A Youtuber named steveburton1290 says: “Made this the other day and topped it off with shrimp. Now I’m going to make another batch and bring it in to my co-workers. Very delicious 😋”
Another fan comments that this is an “Awesome recipe. The whole family loved it 👍🏼”
Definitely a must-try! Thanks, Chef Lenny, for sharing your recipe!
Editor’s note & FAQs
I recommend trying and using polenta as the base of the main entrée or as a side dish, or eating it as it is because this recipe is delicious all by itself.
What is the polenta to water ratio?
Wondering what the ratio of water and cornmeal is for polenta? If you’re using water, it should be 5:1, and if you opt for milk with double cream, it should be 4:1.
How does Gordon Ramsay cook polenta?
He shares his great skills and recipe for Italian Polenta in the video below.
I’m totally feeling Gordon Ramsay’s polenta recipe vibes and want to step up my game when it comes to making mine. It looks so delicious – and the ingredients he’s used are such a tasty mix of olive oil, butter, mascarpone, Parmigiano &goat cheese. Yum!
Do you think this dish has enough flavor? Have you tried the Italian creamy, easy, perfect polenta recipe or Gordon Ramsay’s version? Let us know in the comments!