Frugal Black Beans and Polenta

[KT22A]

this was my first time making or eating polenta, and next time I will use a whisk to mix the cornmeal into the water - mine was very lumpy, but tasty.  after I let it set in the casserole dish, I put the pieces in the oven for 10 minutes on each side to toast it a bit.  to the beans, I added sweet potato, mushrooms, green bell pepper, a can of tomatoes, chopped spinach, cumin, and some chipotle chili sauce.  I used a little cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken the sauce up.  I am very pleased with this recipe.  it was fun to make and eat!

[free2be]

I just made this for my boyfriend and he loves it! I was just wondering, do you have any ideas for seasoning the polenta? Thanks!

[thedeadlyoctopus]

I just made this for my boyfriend and he loves it! I was just wondering, do you have any ideas for seasoning the polenta? Thanks!

Adding a little bit of salt and pepper never hurt. In any sauce with tomatoes a little bit of fresh basil probably wouldn't go awry. You could also try adding a bit of nutritional yeast/ vegan parmesan, if I'm not mistaken the traditional Italian way of preparing polenta calls for adding a bit on top. If you're going for a more tomato-ey taste, you could add some cut up sun-dried tomatoes. Think of it as a porridge/oatmeal. You can really stick anything in there that you want. The possibilities are endless! Hope this gives you some ideas.

Oh, one last thing, I tend to add a little bit of vegan margarine to add creaminess, but I don't always have that around so it depends. If you're looking for a little bit more robust of a taste from your polenta, you could try adding some of the ingredients above, letting it cool, slicing it, and frying it.

Thanks for the positive reviews! I made this recipe back in high school and now that I revisited it I'm not too impressed, but it's good for a tight budget, which I'm on (yet again!).

[atomikkitty]

i heart this!  its my go to cheap recipe... i can change it up by adding different veggies/seasonings and its always good!  thanks!

[lobsteriffic]

I really liked the idea of this recipe. When I made the polenta, I added lots of seasoning (salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, cilantro, cayenne) and nutritional yeast. I then let it cool in the fridge. I sliced the polenta and baked it on each side. For the topping, I used onion, black beans, chipotle salsa, lots of spices, hot sauce, corn, and bell pepper.

[smbolisnch]

I wasn't crazy about this. I added corn and a potato to the beans, and while the topping was pretty good, the polenta was just too plain and dense. I liked the topping enough that I think I will make it again and pour it over a baked potato instead. 

[saveyergeneration]

I'm not on much for polenta, but this was probably the best way I'd ever eaten it.  I didn't have dry cornmeal and made it with the moistened stuff sliced into coins. Not bad.

[Shiitake]

I have to agree, this is some good polenta 
I look forward to the left overs 

[ladiedreamweaver]

I made this recipe for my girlfriend who has never had Polenta. It was a huge success!!! I added organic white sweet corn and peppers to make it a Black Bean and Salsa type dish and it turned out great. Great recipe, we will definitely be making this one again! 

[keital]

I added a generous amount of Parmesan to the polenta, along with some garlic and onion powder. The whole thing had a nice comfort food taste, and was much better than it looked. :x

[Grindcore Michelle]

Made this lastnight and cannot wait to make it again! I have never had polenta, and we could not find the dry stuff, so we bought the premade roll. We made a few alterations:

(1) 15oz can of black beans
(1) 4oz can of chopped green chiles
1/4 cup of ketchup [instead of tomato paste and as a sweetener!]
onion powder, salt + pepper to taste

My omnivore husband said this was his favorite vegan recipe yet, so we are both excited to work this dish into our rotation!

[thedeadlyoctopus]

Thanks everyone for all the kind replies. I wrote this recipe back when vegan parmesan wasn't quite as easy to get, but it would indeed be an excellent addition, as would all these other suggestions. I'm glad you guys like it so much!

[Rx_addictedtobreathing]

I had a can of open white beans and some corn, so I added that to the bean mix.
I also first sauteed some onions garlic and green peppers before adding the beans.
I didn't have any tomato sauce, so I used some tomato and red wine balsamic vinaigrette sauce + barbecue sauce + garlic chili sauce. I added a bunch of seasonings that I had too...

For the Polenta, to season it, I added a veggie bouillon cube to the boiling water and added garlic powder, minced onion, and some of an Italian herb mix i had in the house. It gave it a great flavor, and I liked eating it by itself.

This was definitely an awesome recipe and my fiance (non veg) enjoyed this as well!   

[erinmonster5]

With a few additions, this was delicious!
I cheated and used pre-made polenta - basil flavored - and baked the little circles in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.
As for the black bean sauce, I added onion, roasted red peppers, tons of cayenne, chili powder, a little nutritional yeast, a little cumin, and cornstarch to thicken it up.  I also melted some FYH Nacho Cheese and poured it on top of the crispy polenta.  It was so good!