Grilled Polenta

A delicious way to have your polenta!

This delicious Grilled Polenta with Mozzarella and Dried Tomatoes is a somewhat overlooked side dish. It is a perfect gluten-free alternative to many sides.

Polenta is one of those cheap and easy meals that can be part of our regular diet. It can be served as porridge, or it can be eaten solid when grilled, baked, or fried.

Plain polenta is low in calories and rich in carbs. It has no significant nutrients on its own but serves as a good base for many meals.

Polenta has a significant place in the Mediterranean diet. It is a staple food in Northern Italy and Balkan. Even though polenta has historically been associated with lower classes, its diverse use is now recognized worldwide, significantly since you can add different ingredients to it for extra flavor.

Polenta with Mozzarella and Dried Tomatoes

This recipe uses pre-cooked polenta which takes only a few minutes to make. However, this pre-cooked polenta is not whole grain. If you want, you can use whole grain polenta, but it takes around 40-45 minutes to cook.

Mozzarella and dried tomatoes give the polenta a delicate flavor. You can experiment and add different things to your polenta before grilling it, such as any cheese of your choice, ham, olives, dried mushrooms, capers, spinach, garlic, dried herbs, spices, or anything you can think of.

What to Serve with Grilled Polenta

Grilled polenta can be served with cream cheese or different sauces when eaten on its own. It can also be a perfect side dish for different meats, fish, or vegetable stir-fries.

It can also be served on its own with some cream cheese or salsa. This is a great way to eat polenta for breakfast.


You can add it to platters to add a splash of color. Or you can impress your guests and prepare some polenta for your next barbecue!

You can try these delicious main dishes with grilled polenta:

• Fried Fish Fillets

• Mediterranean Grilled Whole Fish

• Healthy Mediterranean Fish Burger Patties

• Mediterranean Fish Meatballs

How to Make Grilled Polenta with Mozzarella and Dried Tomatoes

Grilled Polenta with Mozzarella and Dried Tomatoes

Recipe by Healthy Hungry CatCourse: RecipesCuisine: MediterraneanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

313

kcal

Resting Time

15

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup polenta

• 3 cups water

• 3-4 sun-dried tomatoes

• 100g/3.5 oz mozzarella

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• salt

Directions

• Chop the sun-dried tomatoes.
• Shred the mozzarella with your hands.
• Boil the water in a medium pot.
• Add salt.
• Add polenta making sure you start whisking immediately as you add it.
• Whisk continuously for 2-3 minutes until it thickens.
• Add the sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and garlic.
• Carefully stir with a wooden ladle until uniform.
• Transfer polenta into a greased 23x14cm/9×9 inch baking pan, making sure it’s evenly distributed and the surface is smooth.
• Let cool at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
• Carefully flip the polenta on a wooden cutting board and cut it into squares or triangles.
• Grill polenta squares or triangles on an electric grill on both sides until it starts to brown. This will take around 5-6 minutes.
• Arrange on a platter and serve warm.

Notes

• You can add many different things to the polenta instead of mozzarella and dried tomatoes. You can add any cheese you want, herbs, spices, ham, olives, capers, spinach, etc.
• This polenta can also be baked instead of grilled. When you cut the polenta into squares or triangles, you can arrange it on parchment paper and bake it in a preheated oven to 200°C/392°F for 15 minutes.
• Grilled polenta can be eaten on its own with cream cheese or salsa. It can also be served as a side dish.
• You can try polenta before you transfer it to the greased pan to check if it needs more salt.