Easy Ideas & Tasty Recipes for Using Tube Polenta

Tube-shaped polenta that comes packaged in cellophane is a great natural product that can be used in many creative and easy ways. Here are lots of easy ideas and tasty plant-based recipes for using tube polenta.

Tube polenta will dress up the simplest dishes, and is even on its own with little or no embellishment, cut into fry shapes or rounds. All you need with this kind of prep is a simple sauce like ketchup or marinara.

What is polenta? Simply put, it’s cooked cornmeal. Polenta that comes in a (usually 18-ounce) cellophane-wrapped tube makes quick work of prep, and adds eye appeal and a yum factor to many types of dishes or served alone.

Easy ideas for using tube polenta

Gluten-free swap-in for stuffings and croutons: Polenta is a fantastic gluten-free stand-in for bread in stuffings and for using as croutons in salads.

Dress up sautéed vegetables: Combine wedges of sautéed polenta with sautéed green vegetable — brussels sprouts, broccoli, broccolini, zucchini, etc. to make them more substantial and more appealing to picky eaters.

Ditto, roasted vegetables: Add polenta cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges or half moons to roasted vegetable medleys.

Polenta fries: Cut into fry shapes, toss with olive oil or olive oil cooking spray, and bake at 400ºF for 25 minutes on a parchment-lined pan, or until firm and crispy on the outside. Serve with marinara sauce or ketchup. Serve with sandwiches or wraps. For a slightly more dressed up version of this idea, see Polenta Frita in the recipes section below.

Embellish leafy greens: If you want to get more dark leafy greens into your life, wedges of polenta added to them make them more enticing. Its flavor and texture is compatible with kale, collards, chard, and more. For a specific recipe, see the first one under the next section.

Served sweet with fruit: When my kids were young, they loved polenta sliced, sautéed in a little vegan butter on both sides, and served with syrup and fresh fruit. It’s a nice change of pace for breakfast!

A bed for bean dishes: Sauté slices of polenta on both sides in a little olive oil until golden and slightly crispy, and top with your favorite bean dish or chili.