Moms Easy Oven Polenta Recipes

OVEN-ROASTED POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 3-qt. nonstick ovenproof skillet; pour in the cornmeal, water, milk (if using), butter, and salt and stir with a fork until blended. The mixture will separate and take more than half the cooking time to come together. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Stir the polenta, taste, add salt if needed, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the polenta rest in the pan for 5 minutes before pouring it into a buttered bowl to scoop out and serve or onto a wooden board or pizza peel to slice into wedges.

OVEN-BAKED CREAMY POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In an ovenproof saucepan with a lid, whisk together 3 cups water, cornmeal, salt, and pepper. Cover, and bake 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• Remove from oven, and add milk, butter, and marjoram; whisk briskly until smooth. Serve immediately.

EASY OVEN-BAKED REAL POLENTA (NOT INSTANT)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Pour water into the prepared dish; stir in polenta and salt.
• Bake in the preheated oven until polenta is thickened, about 40 minutes. Stir in squash, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Continue baking until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

CREAMY OVEN-BAKED POLENTA (WITH TOPPINGS)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F.
• In a baking dish that's close to 9x13 in size, combine the cornmeal, water, butter or olive oil and salt. Mix well with a fork or whisk.
• Carefully put the baking dish in the oven, being careful not to slosh water over the side.
• Bake the polenta uncovered for 40 minutes. You don't need to stir or check on the polenta while it bakes, just let it do its thing.
• After 40 minutes, stir the polenta and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes until the polenta has absorbed all of the water and the texture is no longer runny. It will start setting around the edges first. If the texture in the middle looks like cake batter, you need to bake it longer. The texture should be soft, but not watery. Taste the polenta - if it's bitter, that's a sign that the cornmeal is still slightly raw and hasn't cooked long enough.
• When the polenta is done, add salt as needed and top the polenta with your favorite toppings.

OVEN POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with the olive oil.
• Add cornmeal and salt to the pan and stir. Add the hot water and stir.
• Bake 45 minutes. Add the optional garlic powder, butter, and/or cheese (if using) and stir. Bake another 10 minutes.
• Stir. Add more hot tap water and stir if you need to thin it (you can also add more water if reheating on a later date).
• Taste and add more salt or cheese, if desired.

EASY OVEN-BAKED POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Put polenta, water and salt into ovenproof 2 quart baking dish. Bake 50 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in butter. Return to oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir again. Stir in Parmesan, if using. Serve right away for soft polenta, or let sit 5 mnutes for stiffer polenta.

MOM'S EASY OVEN POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a 1 to 1-1/2 quart baking pan, stir together the water, salt, pepper and polenta.
• Add the pieces of butter.
• Place the container, uncovered, in the center of the top rack of the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
• Open the oven, pull out the rack and stir the polenta (this is also the time to add any additional ingredients such as cheese).
• Close the oven and bake the polenta for an additional 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
• At this point you can either prepare it for frying or serve immediately; if you want to fry it, then you should form it in a pan and refrigerate for several hours.
• It's great straight out of the oven with marinara sauce on it.
• Good additions are Monterey Jack cheese, parmesan, jalapenos, or even pine nuts.