Slices of polenta are layered with a savory mix of white beans in herbed tomato sauce to make this cozy polenta casserole. It's super flavorful, incredibly comforting, and simple enough for a busy weeknight. This easy dinner is vegan and gluten-free, so everyone can enjoy it!
Easy, cozy casseroles are some of my favorite comfort foodds They're so good, and often pretty easy! My vegan noodle casserole, vegan tater tot casserole, and vegan enchilada casserole are all total winners when I'm looking for something hearty, delicious, and easy for dinner. Also, it's so nice having a casserole cook away in the oven, warming up the house and smelling good while I wait for the meal.
This polenta casserole is a new favorite in that category!
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I post a lot of creamy polenta recipes on this site, like my vegan sausage and pepper ragù, cauliflower chickpea polenta bowls, and chickpea mushroom marsala, but not many recipes calling for polenta in a tube, aside from my herbed polenta fries, which are delicious, but not exactly substantial enough for a meal! Well, this needs to change. Polenta tubes are a great thing, because most of the work is already done for you. The polenta is prepared and ready to rock. In this particular recipe, all you need to do is slice it!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Olive oil. You can substitute another high-heat oil if you'd like.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- White wine. Use a dry wine variety, like chardonnay or sauvignon blanc. Keep in mind when selecting one that not all white wines are vegan. You can run the brand through Barnivore to check on that.
- Herbs. You'll need fresh thyme and rosemary. You can swap out the fresh thyme with dried if you'd like, but cut the amount down to a teaspoon. I don't recommend using dried rosemary.
- Diced tomatoes.
- Tomato sauce.
- Tomato paste.
- Red pepper flakes. These will add a tiny bit of heat. You can skip them if you'd like, or add some extra if you'd like the dish to pack some punch.
- Polenta. We're using a tube of prepared polenta, which you should be able to find near the pastas at your grocery store.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Heat some oil in a skillet, then add diced onion. Sweat the onion for a few minutes to start softening it up.
Step 2: Add minced garlic to the skillet, and cook it with the onion for about a minute. Make sure to stir the whole time to prevent it from burning.
Step 3: Add some white wine to the skillet, along with fresh thyme and a sprig of rosemary. Simmer the wine for a few minutes to reduce it by about half.
Step 4: Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Let the sauce simmer for about ten minutes.
Step 5: Take the skillet off of heat, remove and discard the rosemary, then add salt and pepper to taste.
Step 6: Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Step 7: Slice your polenta log. You can cut it into anywhere between twelve and eighteen slices. Twelve slices works well for a 6 x 10 inch baking dish, like I'm using, and eighteen is ideal for an 8 x 8 square, but getting the number right isn't crucial.
Step 8: Time to assemble the casserole! Place a layer of sauce on the bottom, then a layer of polenta slices. Repeat, then top everything with a final layer of sauce.
Tip: It's not super important how you arrange the slices in the dish. Just squeeze them in there any way you can. If you have to cut them in half, do it!
Step 9: Cover the dish, pop it in the oven, and bake the casserole until the sauce is nice and bubbly.
Step 10: Let your casserole sit for a few minutes after it comes out of the oven. Then you can dig in! Vegan Parmesan cheese makes a great topper for this casserole!
Leftovers & Storage
If you have leftover polenta casserole, leave it in the original baking dish and cover it tightly with plastic, if possible. If your dish is microwave-safe, simply remove the plastic and cover the casserole with a damp paper towel, then microwave it until the sauce is bubbly again. The amount of time needed will depend on how powerful your microwave is, and how much leftovers you have.
Alternatively, you can cover the dish with foil and place it in an oven heated to 350°F until hot.
Variations
- Cheesy polenta casserole. Sprinkle your favorite shredded vegan cheese between the layers and/or on top of the casserole before baking it. Mozzarella-style works great!
- Italian-style polenta casserole. Instead of rosemary and thyme, season the sauce with a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, then add some fresh basil when it's done simmering.
- Polenta lasagna. Include layers of vegan ricotta cheese between polenta layers.
Frequently Asked Questions
It adds a lot of flavor, but you can absolutely leave it out if you prefer.
It sure is!
You can, but you'll need to cook and allow them to set before you can slice and incorporate your polenta into this recipe. Most polenta grits will include instructions for doing this on the package.
Of course! Just use a three quart casserole dish and keep an eye on it while it's in the oven, as it may take a few more minutes to bake.
More Easy Vegan Dinner Recipes
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📖 Recipe
White Bean & Tomato Polenta Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 (4-inch sprig) fresh rosemary
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14.5 ounce/411 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 ounce/227 gram) can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 (18 ounce/510 grams) tube prepared polenta,
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook it, stirring occasionally, until it becomes soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook it with the onion for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until very fragrant.
- Add the wine, thyme and rosemary. Raise the heat and bring the wine to a simmer. Lower the heat and allow it to simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens slightly. You want the consistency to be about that of spaghetti sauce.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Remove the rosemary sprig, and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Cut the polenta into 12 to 18 slices (Note 1).
- Ladle about one third of the tomato-bean mixture into the bottom of a 1 ½ quart baking dish. Layer half of the polenta slices over the mixture. Ladle another third of the tomato bean mixture over the polenta. Arrange the remaining half of the polenta slices over the second layer of sauce, then top everything with the remaining third of the sauce.
- Cover the dish and bake the casserole for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to sit for at least 5 minutes.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
- The number of slices isn't crucial. Just take the size and shape of your baking dish into account and plan to arrange them in two layers. If they don't fit perfect, it's not a big deal. You can get creative when arranging them!
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This sounds delicious. I would love to make without the wine. Any suggestions for substitutions? Thank you.
Thank you! You can leave the wine out. Give the sauce a taste-test when it's done cooking. If it seems like it needs something, try a splash of balsamic vinegar - it'll have a different flavor profile from the version with the wine, but it should be delicious!
Next time I make this, I will increase the amount of thyme and rosemary, or I will add some other herbs or spices. It was relatively bland. I liked how easy it was and also how the ingredients were all things I had on hand. I substituted onion for shallots, used about 6 cloves or garlic, and added about 8 oz of mushrooms. It was good enough for a busy night and has the potential for a very good dish with some additions.
This is one of the tastiest and most satisfying dishes I’ve ever prepared. I pan-fried the polenta rounds in chili oil and used fresh herbs from the garden. Next time I think some black olives will find their way into the sauce, but the recipe is sheer perfection as is.
This has become one of my very favorite recipes. I’ve made it so many times. I’ve now modified it a bit, adding zucchini and mushrooms and a bit more tomato paste. I sliced the polenta fairly thin and it is just delicious. Thank you thank you thank you.
Hi- can this be made ahead and frozen before baking?
I haven't tried it myself, but I'm sure it can!
This was so delicious! I added chopped spinach when the sauce was close to being finished and before assembling in the baking pan.
1. I wanted to thank you sincerely for putting a "Jump to Recipe" button! Especially when I just reopened the recipe while cooking after closing it for the third time without actually absorbing anything :D
2. This recipe was awesome! I modified it just a bit because I had olives in my pantry and wanted to use them, but all of the flavors were SO good! Absolutely going into the dinner rotation. Thank you! It was serendipitous because I happened to have polenta, canned tomato, and beans on hand.
Thank you for recipe
This was amazing!! Garnished with green olives, which was awesome. I might try to add mushrooms next time. I'll be making it again for sure!
Made this tonight and it was a big hit! The sauce is spot on delicious!
Just a thought - I might make this next time with the polenta in cubes throughout.
The recipe is definitely a keeper . I’m so glad that we found your recipes. So far we’ve liked them all.
That sounds wonderful! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Relatively easy and quick to make! My husband liked it! Thank you so much!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Laurie!
Super easy to make and very delicious! I love how satiating it is without being heavy.
Yay! I'm so glad you like it! Thanks Nicole!
This was delicious and easy to prepare. A crowd pleaser! I doubled the recipe and used a lasagna pan. Will be making again!
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
Omg, this was amazing!! I added some tempeh in the bean tomato sauce for extra protein. It was spot on: savory, delicious, and flavorful!!
Oh yum! I bet tempeh bacon was excellent with this! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much Joseph!
I have never seen polenta in a tube in stores in my area. Do you have a polenta recipe to go along with this?
I'm afraid not, but lots of dry polenta brands supply recipes on the back of the package - I know Bob's Red Mill does.
Found a vegan Italian polenta recipe that looked more interesting than what they offer on the package. Absolutely lovely. No leftovers here :) LOVE your recipes.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed this and glad you're enjoying the recipes!
Wow.
This recipe hits ALL the high points in my book~
I agree with you: YAY polenta!
And hmmm... fresh homemade tomato sauce and a tube of polenta in my refrigerator right now....beans in the pantry.... Bam! Hello dinner. :-)
Yay! I hope you enjoy it!!
I love the idea of using polenta in a casserole! So creative :)
Thanks Sarah! :)