I have probably only eaten polenta (or cornmeal, whatever you want to call it) twice, but over the past few weeks I’ve been experimenting with it more thanks to some feedback I got from one of my amazing followers on Instagram (@thatlofolife if you don’t already follow me). And I am beginning to discover just how versatile it is! It’s naturally gluten free and can be easily adapted into sweet and savoury dishes, used as a substitute for bread crumbs, oats or other grains, and can taste delicious if you make it right! This stuff ain’t just for polenta fries people!
I thought I would start off by seeing how I could incorporate polenta into breakfast dishes, since it’s my favourite meal of the day but I really only ever eat oats. My foray into sweet polenta porridge was a resounding success and you can find that recipe on my Instagram, so I decided I would tackle a savoury breakfast dish next.
This polenta breakfast bake ticks so many boxes for me. It is meal-prep friendly and I’ve made it and stored it in the fridge for 4 days no problem. It is amazingly filling and provides you with a balanced meal of carbs, fats and protein (13g per serving!), plus it’s delicious. Eggs, spinach, tomato and parmesan is the perfect breakfast combination and I am absolutely loving these flavours in this breakfast bake.
Polenta Breakfast Bake
Ingredients
- 1 cup polenta (cornmeal)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 20 cherry tomatoes
- 100 grams grated parmesan
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp mixed Italian herbs
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius fan forced.
-
In a large microwave bowl, steam the spinach by adding a splash of water and microwaving it for around 1 minute. When it is done, drain all liquid from the bowl and add the spinach back in.
-
Add the polenta, milk, eggs, tomatoes, and spices to the bowl and stir to combine.
-
Pour the mixture into a greased oven-safe skillet or a baking dish. Top it with the grated parmesan.
-
Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until the polenta is cooked through and the cheese on top is golden brown.
