Cheesy Vegan Polenta with Broccoli and Mushroom

This super creamy Cheesy Vegan Polenta topped with roasted Broccoli and Mushroom is an easy comfort-dinner. It uses pre-cooked/tubed polenta and is ready in 15 minutes!

A side-dish turned into an entree.

I have a pack of cornmeal in my pantry that I’ve been meaning to use somehow – cornbread and polenta tbh – for a while. 

But I never got to it because that’s a huge pack, and then I’d have to use up my airtight containers to keep it fresh after opening it up.

So when I received a box of pre-cooked / tubed polenta from Ancient Harvest a week or 2 ago, I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Eat polenta and not open cornmeal!

Polenta?

Its a side dish of Italian origin that’s made from cornmeal by cooking it in water – similar as you would with rice, oats, and such – until it gets to a thick, porridge-like consistency. I guess you can call it “cornmeal mush”.

Packaged/Tubed Polenta

This is pre-cooked polenta that you can buy in the store! It comes in tubes and is in solid form (not porridge), so its great for cutting up and making fancy non-mushy dishes. To be specific, they’re used for things like grilling, baking, frying, and things of that nature.

Creamy Packaged Polenta

Not as popular a recipe, but its entirely possible to use the ready-to-eat packaged tubes to make the regular porridge-like polenta. Here’s how you go about it:

• Chop up into ½” cubes
• Heat in a saucepan with broth and water, whisking as you go
• Stir in “cheese” or seasonings!

To keep it Vegan, I used nutritional yeast flakes, but you can sub-in ¼ cup parmesan or even cheddar instead.

To make it a complete – but light – meal, I topped this cheesy vegan polenta with a handful of seasoned and roasted broccoli, mushroom and onion. A great combination overall.

An easy, creamy and super cheesy dinner alternative to pasta!

Cheesy Vegan Polenta with Broccoli and Mushroom

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Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Servings: 3 cups

Calories: 279kcal

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

This super creamy Cheesy Vegan Polenta is an easy comfort-dinner that uses pre-cooked/tubed polenta and is ready in 15 minutes. Top it with roasted Broccoli and Mushroom, and turn that side-dish into an entree.

Ingredients

Vegetables:

• ½ tsp Olive Oil
• ⅓ medium Onion, Chopped, 35g
• 1 cup Broccoli, Chopped, 90g
• 1 cup Mushrooms, Sliced, 70g
• ½ tsp Lemon Juice
• ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
• ¼ tsp Italian Seasoning or Oregano
• ⅛ tsp Salt
• ⅛ tsp Black Pepper

Polenta:

• ½ package Prepared Tube Polenta, 250g
• ½ cup Vegetable Broth, Low Sodium
• ¼ cup Water
• 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast , 10g
• Pinch of Italian Seasoning or Oregano, Optional

Instructions

Roast Veggies:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Chop broccoli into small florets and thinly slice onion.
• In a large bowl, toss together vegetables, lemon juice and seasonings.
• Transfer to pan and spread into a single layer.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crisp tender, shaking half way.

Prepare Polenta:

• Chop polenta into ½” cubes.
• Heat a saucepan over medium and place polenta in.
• Add broth and water a little at a time, whisking until smooth and creamy.
• Turn off heat, add nutritional yeast, and mix well.
• Transfer to bowl, top with roasted veggies, and serve hot!

Notes

• For non-vegan version, use ¼ cup shredded cheddar or parmesan.

Storage:

• In the fridge in an airtight container up to 5 days.

Product Recommendation:

• Ancient Harvest Basil Garlic Polenta

Nutrition:

• Servings: 3 cups | Serving size: 3 cups
• Calories: 279kcal
• Fat: 3.2g | Saturated fat: 0.4g
• Carbohydrates: 51.4g | Fiber: 7.5g | Sugar: 7g
• Protein: 13.2g