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This cheesy veggie pesto polenta bake will keep you warm in winter! Bursting with veg & guaranteed to fill you up, this is the perfect vegetarian dinner.
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There are few things better than creamy, cheesy polenta. Like I can’t think of a single thing right now. Polenta is my comfort food, when it’s cooked with milk, stock and cheese stirred through it I could eat it all by itself.
I also love it topped with roasted veg, especially something like butternut squash, or creamy mushrooms.
But sometimes you really need something that’s been baked in the oven and is covered in bubbly melted cheese.
Under that layer of cheese you’ll find a whole bunch of yummy vegetables which will help keep you feeling healthy this winter (trust me, I’m needing this, I’m fighting a sore throat hard right now).
Ingredients you need to make this cheesy veggie pesto polenta bake:
- Milk
- Chicken or Vegetable Stock
- Fine Polenta
- Butter
- Garlic
- Onion
- Sweet Potato
- Courgettes
- Button Mushrooms
- Baby Leaf Spinach
- Passata
- Dried Oregano
- Red Pesto
- Mozzarella
- Cheddar Cheese
Keep scrolling to get the full recipe for this cheesy veggie pesto polenta bake…
Although this looks like it might be a bit complicated to put together it’s actually pretty simple. Once you’ve cooked the polenta and lightly cooked the vegetables in a tomato sauce it’s just a case of putting it all together.
Making sure to smear a layer of red pesto in between the polenta and vegetables for an extra flavour. I added plenty of cheese on top for obvious reasons. Mozzarella is just a dream for that melty, bubbly topping that we all dream of at night (just me?) and then cheddar adds a load of extra cheesy flavour.
Then you shove it in the oven until all the cheese is melty and browned. You don’t need anything else to go with this cheesy pesto polenta bake, it’s a complete meal in here what with the veg and the polenta and did I mention the cheese?
I can’t really think of anything better to curl up with when you need a bit of comfort.
If you need more polenta recipes (yes, need, obviously) then find all my favourites here!
WONDERING WHAT TO DO WITH THE LEFTOVER INGREDIENTS YOU’VE GOT FROM MAKING THIS CHEESY VEGGIE PESTO POLENTA BAKE?
If you’re anything like me then you’re always looking for ways to save money and avoid food waste so I want to make sure you’ve get plenty of ideas on how to use up any ingredients that are leftover from my recipes!
Courgette & Prosciutto One Pot Pasta
Moroccan Honey Saffron Chicken with Polenta
Cheesy Veggie Pesto Polenta Bake
Ingredients
- 500 ml Milk
- 500 ml Stock chicken or vegetable
- 200 g Fine Polenta
- 1 tbsp Butter
- Salt and Pepper
- Olive Oil
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 1 Onion chopped
- 2 Sweet Potato peeled and chopped
- 2 Courgettes chopped
- 100 g Button Mushrooms halved
- 2 handfuls Baby Leaf Spinach
- 500 g Passata
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 3 tbsp Red Pesto
- 1 ball Mozzarella
- 200 g Cheddar Cheese grated
- Few leaves Basil sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Make the polenta. Bring the stock and milk to a boil over a medium high heat. Whisk in the polenta and cook for 10 minutes. Add the butter and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and pour into the base of a baking dish.
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan or skillet over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sweet potato and cook for another 5 minutes followed by the courgette. Cook for another 10 minutes until all the vegetables have softened. Pour in the passata and add the oregano.
- Bring the vegetable mixture to a simmer and then smear the red pesto over the polenta in the baking dish followed by the spinach leaves. Once the vegetables have been simmering for five minutes remove from the heat and pour it over the polenta, pesto and spinach. Tear apart the mozzarella and spread over the top of the casserole followed by the grated cheddar. Place in the oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted.
Notes
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8 Comments
Jennie Durren
03/02/2017 at 3:31 AMThis looks so delicious and filling! If we ever actually get real winter weather here I’d love to make this on a cold night.
I had to look up “passata” – I think it’s just regular pureed tomatoes in the States but guessing passed through a sieve?
Amy
03/02/2017 at 10:40 AMHi Jennie,
Thanks! Definitely let me know if you try it 🙂
And yes, that sounds about right – I’ll update the recipe to avoid confusion in the future! xx
Jenn
01/09/2017 at 8:47 PMI’m sitting in cozy sweaters in AUGUST which is crazy for NJ, so my brain is turning to comforting fall food and this sounds perfect. I love polenta and this will definitely be a delicious veggie bake to introduce into weekend dinner rotation. Can’t wait!
Jagruti
01/09/2017 at 9:48 PMI am very interested in following your recipe of cheesy veggie pesto polenta bake,will make it over the weekend. Thanks
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ
01/09/2017 at 9:52 PMYum! This is my kind of eating. Anything covered with gooey cheese and I’m sold. I could eat this right now.
Ginny
01/09/2017 at 10:46 PMPeople don’t cook with polenta enough. This looks like a wonderful casserole with great ingredients.
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction
01/09/2017 at 11:09 PMThis bake looks absolutely delicious! My family loves cheesy bakes!
Lauren
02/09/2017 at 12:26 AMDrooling. This casserole looks amazing!