Polenta Cornbread

I’m currently going through a polenta phase. I started making it in the rice cooker (I’ll share soon) for breakfast on weekends and a few times during the week. Polenta is one of my favorite pantry staples because it is a vehicle for sauce and toppings and I like both of those things.

 Hello, comfort food.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

I’ve been trying to add cornbread into our meal prep rotation because Casey loves cornbread and I like having something on the counter to offer unexpected guests or family. It’s a great way to round out my Turkey White Bean Chili, or any chili for that matter. The problem is, I’ve been having a hard time finding a cornbread recipe that I like. On one of my many cornbread attempts, I ran out of fine cornmeal and used the polenta I had in the pantry.  And here we are! I landed on a recipe for cornbread that I actually love! Most of them being bland, boring, dry or crumbly for my taste. This one definitely is the oppoosite of that. 

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

As a person who likes texture in my bread (see the ultimate veggie sandwich and/or hippy banana bread), the polenta REALLY does it for me. There’s a nice sweetness with the sugar, a hint of tang with the buttermilk. It’s not mushy or crumbly. It’s light, with a bit of texture and a nice crispy edge. No real need to be drowned in butter like all the recipes I tried before (although that didn’t stop me from doing so!). This one has all the flavor I look for in a cornbread.

Welcome to my meal prep arsenal, Polenta Cornbread! Glad to have you. You’ll fit in nicely here and I think I might put blueberries in you next time. Just for fun!

Ingredients are gathered.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

All the wet ingredients mixed.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

 

Dry meets wet.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Hey, batter batter!

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Baked in a prepared pan.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

First slice.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Inspection.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

All of a sudden one square turns into two…

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

And then you’re getting the honey out of the cabinet.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Drizzle fest.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

I know who is gonna be happy for breakfast.

Polenta Cornbread is a meal prep staple! Great for breakfasts and snacks throughout the week, Recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Spoiler alert: YOU

 

Polenta Cornbread

makes about 10 servings

  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup polenta
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt

 

Preheat oven to 400F.  Grease bottom of a 9×9 pan with butter or cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat buttermilk, butter, and eggs with a wire whisk.

Stir in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened (batter will have lumps). Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

  • Ashley

    What kind of polenta do you use? I had always thought cornmeal and “polenta” were interchangeable. But I’d love to here what brand you use so I can get the same results!

    • Tracy

      Good question! My favorite is golden pheasant! It’s not quick cooking polenta.

    • Lauren K.

      Yes, as a Southerner, this post makes me laugh. Polenta is a dish, not an ingredient, the ingredient is… coarse ground corn meal. So what we make cornbread out of.

      Regardless, I’m glad you’ve found a normal cornbread recipe you like!

      • Ashley

        @Lauren, I did some googling after I read this post. And apparently, even though bagged “polenta” is just corn meal, it typically refers to a specific strain of corn meal that originated in Italy. Who knows if it actually makes a difference in the taste/structure/texture of this cornbread, but I’m willing to give the recipe (and Tracy!) the benefit of the doubt.

  • Jean

    Been on a similar quest for the cornbread that checks off all the boxes. You’ve definitely enticed me with this one! Always loved this spatterware pan.

  • Jen

    I will need to try this soon!

  • Selina

    I use the medium cornmeal by Bobs Redmill for my cornbread, which is pretty close to your recipe. It’s so good! It has a lot of flavor and variety in texture. If you like the extra tooth that the polenta gives, I highly suggest this next time to compare!

  • Jamie

    you could also use masa harina! i kind of use these corn products interchangeably whenever I need to make cornbread. I also sometimes make my cornbread into corncakes!

  • Joan

    Look at that cornbread with the honey dripping down!!!! Not being corny (see what I did there? Sorry not sorry), my mouth actually watered when I saw that stack. I read all the comments about cornmeal vs. polenta. Looks like your polenta is really finely ground. I’m gonna make this with the coarser yellow cornmeal in my pantry and see just how much happiness happens.

  • Ron Granich

    I wonder if you could include the ingredients using the metric system since it’s more accurate

    • Ada Seville

      Or use a converter yourself and not be so snippy

    • Paula

      Are not you king of petty! This is a beautiful recipe shared with no other intentions but to bring joy and share yumminess! Get a life!

      • J Drysdale

        Are you aware there are only 3 countries in the world that do not the metric system? The United States, Liberia and Myanmar. The rest of the world would not consider this to be a petty request.

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  • Katharina

    Hi, this recipe looks really good, I’ll have to try it! I was really intrigued by the fact that you prepare it in your rice cooker, that would come in so handy. Are you still planning to post an article about that? I’d be happy to benefit from your experiences 🙂

  • Katia

    This was really good. I even messed up and only put in a tsp of baking powder, instead of a tablespoon, (what I get for trying to work from memory), and it still seemed quite fluffy and nice. Only thing I didn’t care for was that I felt the polenta stayed a little too hard. I don’t have problems with differing texture, but my teeth are a bit sensitive in places, and this caused me a bit of discomfort. But other than that, it was awesome.

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  • Aulikki

    Soooo good. Cornbread was totally strange for me here in Finland. I eat fodmap foods and made this with glutenfree flour. This gonna be my favourite!

  • Richard M Cortellini

    Polenta is food dish made from coarse ground cornmeal. Polenta has been a staple in northern Italy (Tyrol) since corn was introduced to Europe in the 15th century. They make it firm and it is dumped onto a plate or board and sliced like a cake. It is basically peasant food. It is a very versatile food in that it can be served with a butter topping, gravy, melted cheese, etc. or with a meat topping such as pot roast, veal stew, etc. I grew up eating Polenta before it became famous and haute-cuisine. ha-ha

  • Jennifer Perrey

    This came out so well! We made with gluten free all purpose flour. My son actually made it, a nice simple dish for kids and it gave him a great sense of achievement!

  • Vera (from Lisbon, Portugal)

    I’ve baked them yesterday and used a muffin tin, instead. 🙂
    They have turned out pretty well and I’ve specially liked the fact that they are not very sweet, which makes them perfect for breakfast and allows us to be creative with the toppings. 😉
    Thanks a million!

  • WALLACE d BAISDEN

    i was looking for a recipe for CORN break, not WHITE bread. All purpose flour?????? it’s corn bread not white bread. you’re stuck in the 1950’s!

  • Sonja

    Thank you so much for this recipe!
    I made it with a variation to the flour & made it as a savoury

  • Amber

    I’m intrigued by using your rice cooker; can’t wait to hear more. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

  • Bob Townsend

    How about exchanging honey for sugar?

    Thanks, -bt

  • Kevin Burke

    Corn meal impossible to find in New Zealand- just found polenta so,great to see this.

  • Uri B.

    I was out of polenta so made it with semolina and with ‘fake buttermilk’ (spoon of lemon juice+complete to cup of milk and let work for at least 5 minutes).
    I was a bit nervous but it still worked!
    My American tester said she wouldn’t know it had no cornmeal in it.

  • Pamela Pinto

    It was delicious!!!!

  • Mary

    Lovely, husband loved it. He never had corn bread before(He’s British). Super easy. Super good. Thanks for the recipe

  • Patrick

    Excellent. I followed your recipe exactly as you presented it. I used a course Polenta from Italy, Bramata Oro.

  • Joy Clayton

    Awesome I revamp this I chopped polenta fine in processor used 5 eggs ( small eggs ) doubled recipe added baking soda 1/4 tsp and eliminated salt used vanilla yogurt instead of milk graded half a zucchini added five small red hot peppers finely chopped and some chop cilantro spicy tingle meets sweetness .. it is so moist now it is a dessert like corn bread I did increase baking time 400* oven for 35-40 minutes Everyone loves this ..

  • Maureen

    Thank you for the lovely recipe, I also can’t find cornmeal here in Ireland. I was probably spoiled by stone ground cornmeal. Love the suggestion by another reviewer who used masa cornmeal.

  • Christina

    Good recipe—definitely not sweet. Polenta is corse ground so a little gritty but not in a bad way. Perfect for “soppin’” lol. Would also make great crumbs.

  • Johanna

    Do you add one cup of cooked polenta or use dry? I really want to try this recipe but want to clarify before I get started. Thank you!

  • Gg

    Soak the polenta in the milk before cooking or it will be too course.

  • Tara

    This turned out so good. I used GF flour and vegan butter, made my non dairy milk into buttermilk. You never know if things will substitute ok, but it was fantastic. Thank you for the recipe.

  • Gracie Solis

    My daughter introduce me to Polenta and I was looking for a cornbread using Polenta,
    it looks so tasty. I’m going to give it a try.

    Thank you for sharing.

    Gracie Solis

  • Gina

    I had a box of polenta and was wondering if I could make cornbread. I found this recipe and it worked like a charm. I didn’t have buttermilk but it still turned out great with 2 percent. Love the texture. It’s a little more firm and dense but still fluffy at the same time. Great recipe.

  • Ellen

    Could I add some chopped canned green chili or would that make it too wet?

  • Maile

    I ended up using some fresh corn instead, which worked out really well. Great recipe, the polenta softened up more than I had expected and it had great flavor. My only mistake was using some old small muffin pans, so they didn’t release despite heavily greasing them. Next time: green chiles and a loaf pan!

  • North R

    Oh, I can totally relate to your polenta phase! There’s something so comforting and versatile about polenta, right? Making it in a rice cooker sounds intriguing; can’t wait for you to share your method! I completely agree with you – it’s like a blank canvas just waiting to be adorned with delicious sauces and toppings. What are your go-to toppings for polenta cornbread? I’m always on the lookout for new flavor combinations to try! Happy cooking! ‍ #PolentaLove #ComfortFoodCravings

  • Dan

    Just made this but added some diced jalepeno and whole corn kernels and baked it in a cast iron pan. Came out delicious!

  • Josie

    This corn bread made with polenta makes a great dressing

  • Mirta

    Made this recipe.. instead of butter I used bacon grease, and added sautéed jalapeños and Mexican cheese blend! My family loved it!
    Thanks for posting the recipe.

  • Mirta Hernandez

    Made this recipe.. instead of butter I used bacon grease, and added sautéed jalapeños and Mexican cheese blend! My family loved it!
    Thanks for posting the recipe.

  • Evelyn

    I didn’t have enough cornmeal to make my usual cornbread. I have some polenta I bought for a friend. So I’m using it for the remainder of the cornmeal.
    But I’m born and raised in Tennessee and we never put sugar in our cornbread.
    I live in California for now and they do put sugar here. We call sweetened cornbread “California cornbread”.

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