No joke, I’ve been making this Creamy Polenta Recipe with Parmesan Cheese for the longest time but for some reason I’m just getting it up on BillyParisi.com for the first time. Talk about a ridiculously easy to make but tasty side dish to serve up at any meal. Most people always go with the traditional rice or potato as a starch but they’ve been missing out big time. Polenta is not only delicious as a side dish but it also works great as a main component of a main meal. For example, you can fold in roasted vegetables and chicken into cooked polenta, or you can put some creamy shrimp all over the top of it. I recommend to people to try and use polenta as the base of a main entree or as a side dish.
Making this Creamy Polenta Recipe with Parmesan Cheese is super easy. It all starts with caramelizing up some chopped yellow onion and finely minced garlic cloves. Sure this can take up to 10 minutes or so but will be well worth it when it comes to the end result of this tasty side dish. If you wanted to kick it up even more you could caramelize up some mushrooms or root vegetables during this cooking stage as well.
Once they onions and garlic are brown in a medium size pot in olive oil, add in the cornmeal and toast. I prefer to use a medium ground cornmeal because I like it to be a bit more grainy, but that’s just so feel free to use a finer ground.
You are only cooking the cornmeal for just 2 to 3 minutes before adding in vegetable or chicken stock to help cook it the rest of the way. I think toasting it at the beginning just adds another layer of flavor to the final stages of this Creamy Polenta Recipe with Parmesan Cheese. At this point you can kind of “risotto” it by adding in a little liquid at a time while continuing to stir or add it all in at once, cover it and simmer it on low heat until it’s done. If you want it to be super creamy than I would add in a little bit at a time.
Once it’s finished it should be smooth with no crunch to it. At this point stir in some whole butter, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. You’re done!
This Creamy Polenta Recipe with Parmesan Cheese is super tasty and I promise so easy to make. If you are sick of making mashed potatoes for your kids, give this a try it works for us as our 3 year old LOVES it! Happy Cooking!
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- ½ small diced yellow onion
- 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 2 cups of medium ground cornmeal
- 6 cups of vegetable stock
- ½ cup of unsalted butter
- 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- In a medium size pot on medium-high heat add in the olive oil and cook the onions and garlic until they are browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Next, add in the cornmeal and toast for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in the liquid 1 cup at a time while continuing to stir until the liquid has been soaked into the cornmeal. Repeat until the liquid is all gone and the cornmeal is smooth with no crunch to it.
- Finish off the polenta by stirring in butter, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper until completely combined.
- Serve hot, enjoy!