Parmesan and herb crusted baked polenta fries are incredibly easy to make. These fries are crispy, crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy inside. Turn left over polenta into an incredible fries that are beyond delicious!
Polenta fries can be made with leftover polenta, pre-cooked/store bought polenta or simply make a batch of polenta fresh and use it to make fries, because it’s worth it!
Who doesn’t love potato fries and potato wedges!? If you are craving fries, simply make these healthier version of fries. It has everything you look for in fries – crispy crunchy outside, fluffy, soft inside and sure it does satisfy your cravings!
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What is polenta?
Polenta is creamy cornmeal porridge native to Northern Italy. It’s made of coarsely ground yellow corn. Similar to grits or cornmeal, polenta (corn semolina) is one of best comfort foods and a great substitute for gluten-free pasta dishes.
Grits are usually made of white corn. Cornmeal is similar to polenta and is usually turned into baking dishes like corn muffins or cornbread.Â
Types of polenta
There are various types of polenta available in the market. The difference between different type of polenta is predominantly the coarseness of the ground corn.
Depending on the coarseness of the ground cooking time has to be adjusted. The coarser the polenta or corn semolina is the longer it will take time to cook.
Coarse polenta, fine ground polenta, instant polenta and precooked polenta are some of the types of polenta.
Precooked vs instant polenta
Precooked polenta are store bought polenta found in the refrigerator section. Precooked polenta are sold in the shape of roll that are known as tubed polenta. It’s cooked and ready to use. All you have to do is slice it and fry it/grill it/bake it.
Instant polenta is finely ground corn semolina which cooks instantly. I love instant polenta cooked in broth along with butter, Parmesan, herbs and seasoning to make it incredibly delicious!
Ingredients needed for polenta fries made from scratch
Here’s what you’ll need-
- 1 cup polenta (quick-cook)
- 3 ¼ cups vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoon butter      Â
- 1 ½ tablespoon good quality olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Italian dried herbs
- ½ + ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (¼ cup to be added to cut fries as coating before bake)
- ½ teaspoon salt (skip salt if using precooked polenta)
- Ground pepper to taste
How to make polenta fries
If you want to cut short prep time, get precooked or tubed polenta from store. With tubed polenta you simply have to slice, add seasoning and bake (or fry).
Polenta fries are made from scratch in this recipe.
Preparing a batch of creamy polenta
- Pour stock into a medium sized pot. Let it come to boil.
- Simmer heat, slowly add instant polenta stirring constantly.
- Cook on low flame, stirring constantly until incorporated.
- Add butter, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, fresh rosemary, Italian herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook stirring continuously until butter is fully melted and polenta has thickened.
Making polenta fries
- Transfer polenta to a tray lined with parchment paper.
- Spread it evenly.
- Allow polenta to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for minimum 2 hours or overnight.
- Polenta needs to be chilled and completely set before you slice it, else it will crumble and fall apart.
- Next, cut polenta in even shape of fries.
- Add olive oil, parmesan cheese, Italian herbs, fat pinch of pepper.
- Toss with gentle hands to help seasoning stick to polenta fries.
- Place fries on baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in pre-heated oven at 425F for 30 minutes. Flip fries halfway.
Serve immediately with ketchup and aioli.
Tips
- Cut polenta the same size for uniform cooking.
- If you want polenta fries to be extra crispy, cut it thin.
- If you make polenta fries from scratch, don’t skip to chill the batch of polenta completely in the fridge before slicing. Polenta will crumble and fall apart if not set.
- If using tubed polenta, skip adding salt. Usually precooked polenta is heavily seasoned.
- You can deep fry polenta for extra delicious-ness!
- For extra crispy fries, coat polenta in breadcrumbs before baking.
- Try with different seasoning and herbs depending on your taste.
FAQS
A few ingredients needs to be substituted in the recipe to make it vegan.
Substitute butter with olive oil
use vegan parmesan cheese
Yes you can. Arrange fries on baking dish store it in refrigerator for a day. When ready to serve, simply bake in oven and serve immediately.
Transfer leftover polenta fries to air tight box, store in refrigerator for 4-5 days. Before serving, remove fries from fridge reheat in oven for 10 minutes or until warmed and serve.
Yes, you can freeze it in freezer friendly boxes for up-to 1 month. Reheat frozen fries on parchment lined baking sheet at 375F until hot and golden.
Fries are great for snack or as appetizers. You definitely must pair it with dips or sauce while serving. Polenta fries serves great with ketchup, garlic aioli, BBQ sauce, guacamole, cheese sauce, marinara sauce, plain mayonnaise or mayonnaise based sauce.
Yes. You can deep-fry in sunflower or vegetable oil until crisp and golden brown.
Different seasoning ideas for polenta fries
Try experimenting with these seasoning –
Use fresh herbs instead of dried
Use red chili flakes or cayenne pepper for extra heat
Substitute parmesan cheese with any other melt able cheese.
MORE SIDE DISH RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE TO TRY
- Mashed sweet potatoes
- Roasted butternut squash
- Savory roasted sweet potatoes
- Garlic parmesan roasted broccoli
- Melting potatoes
- Pan fried gnocchi
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📋Crispy Baked Polenta Fries
Ingredients
- 1 cup polenta quick-cook
- 3 ¼ cups vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil good quality
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 tablespoon Italian dried herbs
- ½ + ¼ cup Parmesan cheese ¼ cup to be added to cut fries as coating before bake
- ½ teaspoon salt skip salt if using precooked polenta
- Ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- If you want to cut short prep time, get precooked or tubed polenta from store. With tubed polenta you simply have to slice, add seasoning and bake (or fry).
- Polenta fries are made from scratch in this recipe.
Preparing a batch of creamy polenta
- Pour stock into a medium sized pot. Let it come to boil.
- Simmer heat and slowly add instant polenta while constantly stirring it.
- Keep stirring until incorporated.
- Add butter, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, fresh rosemary, Italian herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook while constantly stirring until butter is fully melted and polenta has thickened.
Making polenta fries
- Transfer polenta to a tray lined with parchment paper.
- Spread it evenly.
- Allow polenta to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for minimum 2 hours or overnight.
- You want polenta to be chilled and completely set before slicing.
- Next, cut polenta in even shape of fries.
- Add olive oil, parmesan cheese, Italian herbs, fat pinch of pepper.
- Toss with gentle hands to help seasoning stick to polenta fries.
- Place fries on baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in pre-heated oven at 425F for 30 minutes. Flip fries halfway.
- Serve immediately with ketchup and aioli.
Video
Notes
- Cut polenta the same size for uniform cooking.
- If you want polenta fries to be extra crispy, cut it thin.
- If you make polenta fries from scratch, don’t skip to chill the batch of polenta completely in the fridge before slicing. Polenta will crumble and fall apart if not set.
- If using tubed polenta, skip adding salt. Usually precooked polenta is heavily seasoned.
- You can deep fry polenta for extra delicious-ness!
- For extra crispy fries, coat polenta in breadcrumbs before baking.
- Try with different seasoning and herbs depending on your taste.
Comments & Reviews
Gyan says
I like the way you have done polenta fries from scratch. I tried in your way just by adding the coriander powder mix in the middle of the preparation and as the final touch curry leaves powder which leaves are fried, sprinkled over the polenta, and dipped the fries with sauce. I really enjoyed the fries of polenta in this way. I hope you do more and more like this recipe in a different way.
Jyothi Rajesh says
I’m glad you liked the recipe Gyan, thank you!