Grilled Polenta Cakes
Updated May 21, 2019
The lovely Cristina Ferrare, hostess of Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love on Oprah’s OWN Network, recently published a cookbook, Big Bowl of Love. The cookbook is filled with more than 150 simple, fabulous recipes that the entire family will love. I’ve bookmarked almost every recipe to try, but the Grilled Polenta Cakes were really calling my name so I started with those.
I love polenta, but don’t eat it often enough. That is going to change because these Grilled Polenta Cakes are easy to make and so tasty. The grilled polenta rounds are covered with tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and fresh chopped basil. What is not to love? All of my favorite things in one little appetizer.
I ate a few grilled polenta cakes with a salad and it was the perfect light lunch. Grilled Polenta Cakes are also the perfect appetizer for parties. They are simple to make, beautiful to present, and delicious.
Thanks Cristina for a fabulous recipe. I can’t wait to cook my way through the rest of your fantastic cookbook, Big Bowl of Love. Oh-and if you are like me and enjoy cookbooks with beautiful food photos, this is the book for you. Todd Porter and Diane Cu, White on Rice Couple, took all of the photographs for this book. I love their work and all of the photos in Big Bowl of Love are stunning!
Grilled Polenta Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 tube polenta removed from casing, cut into 1/2-inch slices, and patted dry with paper towels
- Approximately ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup of your favorite tomato sauce
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese you may have some leftover
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1/4 cup basil chopped
- Cracked pepper
Instructions
- 1. Brush both sides of the polenta cakes with the olive oil, and set aside.
- 2. Heat a grill pan until really hot. Lay the polenta cakes in one layer on the pan, and grill for 8-10 minutes on each side or until both sides are golden and crunchy and have grill marks.
- 3. Remove the cakes from the grill and let cool on a baking rack.
- 4. Just before you are ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange the grilled polenta cakes on the baking sheet. Place a heaping tablespoon of your favorite tomato sauce on each slice, then add a generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese to each. Bake for 15 minutes.
- 5. Garnish with fresh chopped basil, kosher salt, and cracked pepper, and serve warm.
Have you tried this recipe?
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If you like these Grilled Polenta Cakes, you might also like:
Polenta Pizza Stackers from Cooking with my Kid
Polenta Cakes from bell’alimento
Polenta Cups with Sweet Peppers, Manchego, and Almonds from Table Talk
We love polenta – this would make a great dinner for us!
What an easy but delicious dinner or appetizer idea! Are there a lot of vegetarian recipes in this book?
i’ve had a hankering to make polenta lately…i think this would be a fantastic way to do it!
i have never made polenta, i know crazy, huh. need to work on that!
I bet these are just awesome! I recently made a cornmeal pizza and it reminded me of just how much I love things like grits, polenta, etc! They look so pretty with all the grill marks
That sounds delicious! I have that cookbook and really need to start using it!
I keep hearing how amazing this cookbook is! Now you’ve convinced me to buy it 🙂
This little cafe in town makes a salad with balsamic vinaigrette, shards of parm and 3 little triangle-shaped grilled polenta cakes topped with super chunky tomato sauce. It’s one of my favorite lunches to get in the summer. Thanks for a version I can make at home 🙂
Great idea! My little one loves polenta too (“Mommy, more lenta please!”), I bet she would gobble this up 🙂
A great idea! Those are perfect, healthy and so versatile.
Cheers,
Rosa
Polenta comes in a tube form? I’ve never made polenta (its on the list), but I have never seen it come alraedy made in tube form. Are you suggesting we make it, roll it into a tube, and then refrigerate to get it hard? If it comes in tube form what brand do you use?
I bought it at the store in a tube. I used Food Merchants Organic Polenta. You can find it at most stores.
yum, i love polenta!
I don’t make polenta often enough, but these grilled cakes are reason enough to make it soon! I love those grill marks ;).
So fun! I got to sample this recipe when I met Cristina in LA a couple weeks ago, I can attest it was delicious! Have a great weekend Maria!
I love grilled polenta. It is nice and crunchy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside. Yum.
I also love polenta, but never really eat it. I’m gonna try these this weekend though. Your’s are gorgeous!
It’s great to see so many bloggers getting paid work. How was the flavor of the polenta from the tube? I have to admit I’ve always been intrigued by grilled polenta, but worry that the tube stuff would be flavorless.
LOVE Cristina and her book! The polenta cakes are a must try! xo
These sound smashing! Polenta is such a yummy idea for dinner!
I LOVE polenta cakes and yours look perfect, Maria and Josh! I like to serve them with chili, too… so yummy. Thanks for inspiring me with something new. Have a great weekend! 🙂
my italian grandma always made polenta with sauce when i was little, so this recipe brings back so many memories! yum!
grilled polenta is so versatile and delicious – love it!
These sound wonderful! What a great light lunch or snack. Can’t wait to try them!
Oh I love this idea! I’ve never seen polenta in an easy appetizer form like this. Do they hold together well if you were to pick them up?
Yes, they hold together nicely.
Looks delicious and simple! 🙂
I bought the packed polenta a few weeks ago and been wanting to grill it up!! This looks delicious.
They look like little pizzas! I bet my boys woul love them.
Polenta is a favorite here and these polenta cakes are something we have to make. They look delicious! Cristina is lovely and so is her book. Hope you both have a lovely weekend:)
OMG I just posted something with polenta on my site. Unlike you I am not as familiar with it but now love it!!
btw, love the way the dish looks really pretty and simply & beatifully grilled polenta cakes.
This sounds like the perfect way to use up a tube of polenta – yum!
I’ve only ever tried polenta plain, and wasn’t a fan… but I can imagine by grilling it and topping it with yummy things, it’d be much tastier!
I love polenta! Will have to try grilling it for sure!
This might be a great way to get my hubs to eat polenta!
These look great! Can’t wait to give them a try 🙂
I first tried polenta right after I decided to stop eating meat. I thought it was one of the most amazing and delicious things I had ever eaten and my opinion hasn’t changed much over the years. I still love it but don’t eat it nearly enough. This is a great way to make it an every day dish!
Fantastic fingerfood – I love polenta but have never thought about using it for small pizza-snack. genius!
Whoa – yummy! Thank you for posting this super easy recipe (and the book does sound great.) I have a tube of polenta in the fridge and this would be perfect
Great recipe but please don’t write a book on the subject j
I made the polenta as directed and lovely texture. I topped with cheese, chorizo, onions, jalapeno, and cilantro. Lime edges. Fantastic!
Yay!
Sounds like I make them, almost. I top them with tex mex shredded cheese and a dollop of salsa. Delish!