This tempting oven-baked polenta crowned with a mix of umami-rich mushrooms and sweet cherry tomatoes is a dish of creamy comfort. Enjoy this nourishing meal as a winter vegetarian dinner or hearty side.
This recipe serves up classic comfort with a healthy twist. Rich in whole ingredients, it's satisfying and healthy vegetarian comfort food, and an ideal cozy recipe for cold winter nights.
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❤️What you'll love about this recipe...
- Insanely easy method for cooking polenta. Practically no stirring needed.
- Hearty and satisfying yet low in calories with a generous serving size.
- Healthy, comfort food recipe easy enough for a weeknight and delicious enough for a date night.
- Gluten-free vegetarian dinner or stick-to-your ribs side dish.
Ingredients
- Coarse polenta, not instant
- Water
- Salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese, grated
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Mushrooms
- Garlic
- Tomato paste
- Cherry tomatoes
- Flat-leaf parsley
Polenta: Any polenta (corn grits) is fine except for instant. Be sure the package does not say "instant." Yellow cornmeal also cooks up nicely.
Parmesan cheese: For best flavor, look for Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (extra points for grating your own in a food processor). However, any Parmesan cheese works in this recipe, even vegan Parmesan.
Mushrooms: Use any that you like and can find. I have made this with a mix of cremini, oyster, and white button varieties, and the flavor was excellent. Using all white button mushrooms is also delicious!
Cherry tomatoes: Choose the smallest, sweetest ones you can find! You can also swap in a 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes or canned cherry tomatoes if you don't have fresh.
Flat-leaf parsley: This Italian parsley is NOT an optional ingredient. It adds tremendous taste and nutrition.
How to make it
Wash your hands, lathering with soap and rinsing with running water for 20 seconds, before starting.
Preheat the oven while gathering ingredients.
In a large casserole dish (1.5 qt), whisk together the polenta, water, salt and pepper. Place in an oven preheated to 350℉ .
While the polenta cooks, prep the vegetables, washing and slicing the mushrooms, chopping the garlic, and cutting the tomatoes in half.
Heat oil in a large skillet and add the mushrooms. Cook until they are soft and begin to release water, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic and stir for 30 to 60 seconds, until fragrant. Then, stir in the tomato paste, salt, and pepper.
Then, stir in the tomato paste, salt, and pepper.
Deglaze the pan with a little water or wine.
Add the halved cherry tomatoes and stir to blend with the mushrooms and garlic. Simmer until the tomatoes are falling apart, adding water as necessary if the mixture becomes too thick and starts sticking to the bottom of the pan.
At the end of the cook time, remove the polenta from the oven, add the Parmesan and butter and whisk until creamy.
Cover and let stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Meanwhile, stir the parsley into the sauce.
Ladle polenta onto a plate or into a bowl and top with mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Pass extra Parmesan on the side.
👩🏻🍳Cooking tips
Polenta
Be sure the polenta is covered while cooking, and do not stir until the time is up. When you take it out of the oven, the center should look like a pool of liquid. This is necessary for a spoonable, creamy texture. It should not look dry.
If it seems too watery when you take it out of the oven, bake for another 5 minutes. Also do this if you want a thicker consistency.
To slightly reduce the saturated fat in the recipe, you can swap in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil for one tablespoon of the butter in the final whisking of the polenta. Overall, however, the recipe is not high in saturated fat.
🍄🟫Mushroom-cherry tomato topping troubleshooting
Instead of water, you could use white wine or broth to deglaze your pan after mixing in the tomato paste. Please don't use red wine; the flavor is overly aggressive in this meatless main.
You will need to periodically add small amounts of water to the pan as the cherry tomatoes soften to prevent sticking. Whenever the mixture looks dry, pour in 2 to 4 Tablespoons of water.
🧀Saltiness: Parmesan cheese and broth are both salty. Be careful about oversalting the mushroom-tomato sauce; you will want Parmesan at the table. Plus, the chopped parsley will add oomph!
Want more oomph? Try adding a Tablespoon of vinegar to finish it off. Sherry vinegar or white or red balsamic are good choices.
❄️Storage
This dish will easily keep, covered, in the refrigerator for 4 days. An air-tight container (affiliate link) is best. You can store the saucy topping and polenta separately or together.
Freezing is fine for the topping, but polenta does not freeze well.
Reheat in the microwave until the internal temperature reaches 165°F when checked with an instant-read thermometer (affiliate link).
Why is this a healthy recipe?
This is a wonderful dinner if you are a plant-based eater working on weight management. It's a hearty, comforting dinner option that is low in calories.
To increase the amount of protein in the dish, you could add an overeasy egg on top (60 to 70 calories, 6 to 7 grams of protein). A generous shower of Parmesan cheese also helps and is rich in the muscle-building amino acid leucine.
An half-ounce (15 grams) of Parmesan will add 5 grams of protein and a slew of minerals for strengthening bones, particularly calcium and phosphorous. This keeps the calories in a serving under 400, but ups the protein to 15 grams.
It also takes the calcium in the dish into excellent territory, potentially supplying more than 200 mg of the bone-building mineral.
Practical Dietitians rate a recipe as Better for Bones when it provides sufficient amounts of four of the following five nutrients:
- Potassium, 300 mg
- Calcium, 50 mg
- Sodium, less than 500 mg
- Fiber, 5 g
- Protein, 21 g
This recipe earns a Better for Bones rating as a side dish.
Other nutritional goodies
This is a gluten-free vegetarian recipe, so anyone with celiac or gluten sensitivity can dig in without worry.
In addition, the polenta is loaded with whole-food carbohydrates, which makes it ideal for runners and athletes who want to replenish the glycogen stores in their muscles.
Overall, it's an excellent source of vitamin C, which helps to strengthen bones and assists with absorption of the excellent amount of plant-based iron found in this cozy meal. Vitamin C is an anti-aging antioxidant that may help skin tone, as well.
Mushrooms, of course, are a powerhouse source of nutrients. They are one of the few foods with vitamin D (if they are exposed to UV light) and are a complete protein.
The beta-glucan fiber found in mushrooms benefits immunity and gut health as does the antioxidant ergothioneine (also good for longevity).
FAQ
You can substitute olive oil for the butter and use nutritional yeast in place of the Parmesan for cheesy flavor. It will be delicious!
I do this often. You can bake it up to a day ahead of time. Reheat in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes. Re-whisk before serving, adding a small amount of liquid and perhaps another tablespoon of butter or olive oil.
If making ahead of time, it's important to make sure the polenta has plenty of liquid so it stays creamy and does not become dry and grainy.
Both! 😀It's a warm, nourishing plant-based main dish for vegetarian eaters and can also be offered alongside roasted or grilled chicken and seafood.
Plopping a cooked egg on top, as mentioned above, is a fast fix for extra protein while keeping the dish vegetarian. You could also add white beans or lentils to the mushroom-tomato sauce.
Other recipes you might like...
If mushrooms and comfort dishes are what you want for cozy dinners, try this Mushroom Pumpkin Risotto, another recipe with an Italian accent that leans into plant-based eating.
Or, how about a hearty bowl of Mushroom Barley Soup that you can make in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop.
If the slow cooker is more your style, try this Vegetarian Lasagna with Zucchini, a crockpot lasagna that is perfect for busy days!
If you're a fan of the easy availability of sweet cherry tomatoes (so good!), take a look at this recipe for One-Pan Fish Filets with Cherry Tomatoes, which has plenty of protein, loads of flavor, and very few carbs.
Baked Polenta with Mushrooms & Cherry Tomatoes
Equipment
- 1 1.5 quart casserole dish or pot
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Large liquid measuring cup,
- 1 Large skillet or saucier
- Colander
Ingredients
- 1 cup coarse polenta or yellow cornmeal, not instant polenta
- 4½ cups water or broth, divided use
- ½ teaspoon salt Kosher, divided use
- ½ teaspoon black pepper divided use
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil extra virgin, plus more for drizzling
- 16 ounces mushrooms mix of cremini, oyster, white button
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons garlic chopped or minced
- 12 ounces cherry tomatoes halved. If large, quartered.
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated. For best taste, use Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano.
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup Flat-leaf parsley chopped
Instructions Start Cooking
- Wash hands thoroughly, lathering with soap and rinsing with running water before starting prep.
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In a 1.5-quart casserole dish or pot, whisk together polenta, water, and ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper.1 cup coarse polenta, 4½ cups water
- Cover the polenta pot and place in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
- While the polenta cooks, wash and slice the mushrooms, chop the garlic, and wash the tomatoes.
- Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet, and add the sliced mushrooms. Cook on medium high until they are soft and releasing water. This will take about 10 minutes.2 Tablespoons olive oil, 16 ounces mushrooms
- Toss in the chopped garlic and stir for 30 to 60 seconds, until fragrant. Add tomato paste, and remaining salt and pepper. Stir well. lowering the heat if necessary to prevent burning.2 Tablespoons tomato paste, 2 teaspoons garlic
- Deglaze pan with wine or water (or a combination) and add the halved cherry tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, to soften tomatoes until they are nearly falling apart. Note: You will need to add 2 to 4 Tablespoons of water periodically to prevent the mixture from getting too thick and dry.At the end of cooking, taste the mixture and add a pinch of salt, if needed.Cut the heat, and stir in the chopped parsley.12 ounces cherry tomatoes, ¼ cup Flat-leaf parsley
- Meanwhile remove polenta from the oven at the end of the cook time and whisk in grated Parmesan and butter. Let stand, covered, for at least 5 minutes.¼ cup Parmesan cheese, 2 Tablespoons butter
- Scoop the creamy polenta into a pasta bowl and top with mushroom-tomato sauce. Serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and pass grated Parmesan at the table.
Notes
Nutrition
Copyright © 2026 Jani H. Leuschel
Ruth Hall
Thanks for the idea! I haven’t prepared polenta for a long time-
—such a good idea for cold days!