This creamy vegan polenta is topped with jammy caramelized onions, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, and crispy baked chickpeas. It’s a warm and comforting dish perfect for those late summer or early fall evenings when you’re craving something hearty yet vibrant.
📝 Why You’ll Love This Creamy Vegan Polenta:
- Taste: A nice corn flavor from the polenta, sweetness and depth from the caramelized onions, bright tanginess from the sun-dried tomatoes, and nutty notes from the crispy chickpeas.
- Texture: Creamy polenta, melt-in-your-mouth onions, chewy sun-dried tomatoes, and crispy chickpeas.
- Difficulty: Easy.
- Customizability: Very customizable. Swap in your favorite veggies like mushrooms for sun-dried tomatoes or spinach for kale.
- Time: About 40-45 minutes.
- Why We Love This Vegan Polenta: As a kid, I grew up eating both grits and polenta, not realizing that they both actually start with the same core ingredient: cornmeal. This recipe reminds me of childhood dinners. I love how a bit of oat milk and dairy-free cream transform this childhood favorite into a comforting vegan base for a cozy dinner!
Ingredients:
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Polenta: You can buy bags of cornmeal labeled Polenta. Often bags will be labeled with “grits, also known as polenta”. Polenta typically has a coarser ground than grits. I used polenta by Bob’s Red Mill in this recipe.
- Yellow Onions: You’ll want to use yellow, sweet or Vidalia onions for the caramelized onions. Avoid using red onions or white onions.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes: I used oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes that I roughly chopped. These add nice acidity and flavor to the dish. They can be swapped out for other ingredients like mushrooms or even red bell pepper.
- Tuscan Kale: This is also called lacinato kale. You can swap the kale for spinach or another dark leafy green.
- Red Pepper Flakes: These add a bit of heat to the dish. You can also use extra fresh ground black pepper.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice adds acidity and brightness to the polenta. I don’t recommend omitting this!
- Vegan Half and Half: I used Silk’s Half and Half in this recipe, but you could also make your own homemade vegan heavy cream or you could use cashew cream.
Helpful Equipment
Here are a few tools that will make creating this recipe extra easy:
- Medium Pot: For making the polenta
- Large Skillet: For making the onions
- Baking Sheet: For the crispy chickpeas
Step-by-Step Instructions
*Ingredient Quantities are in the Recipe Card Below!*
STEP 1: Bring the water, oat milk, and the dairy free half and half to a boil.
STEP 2: Add the salt and slowly stir in the polenta. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
STEP 3: When ready to serve, stir in the remaining ¼ cup of vegan half and half and 1-2 tbsp of vegan butter.
STEP 4: Add the thinly sliced onions to a large pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes. After the onions are caramelized, add the kale and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until wilted.
STEP 5: Season the chickpeas and bake for 20-25 minutes until crispy and golden brown.
Serving Ideas
Once all the components are finished cooking, it’s time to assemble the bowls of polenta! I like to spoon the vegan polenta into my serving dish and top it with the caramelized onions, the kale mixture and baked chickpeas.
I definitely recommend serving with a bit of basil, red pepper flakes for heat and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste.
This dish is fresh and vibrant yet cozy. It makes a delicious end of summer or early fall dinner.
Storage
The polenta can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. After chilling, some of the liquid may separate from the polenta. This can be drained away or mixed back in when ready to reheat.
Polenta thickens as it cools and chills in the fridge. To thin it back out, you can add oat milk or more vegan half and half to taste.
You can also use the thickened and chilled polenta to make these polenta fries!
Helpful Tips For The Best Vegan Polenta
❶ Stir the Polenta Frequently: Be sure to keep an eye on the polenta as it cooks and stir it frequently to prevent it from burning or bubbling up and splattering.
❷ Cook the Onions Low and Slow: The trick to caramelizing onions is patience. Be sure to cook them on low heat to prevent them from burning and stir them frequently to prevent them from sticking to the pan.
❸ Add Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, Lemon and Vegan Parmesan: The dish isn’t complete without these garnishes. They add the salt, acid, heat and fat necessary to balance out all the flavors!
More mediterranean Inspired Vegan dishes:
- Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant with Burst Cherry Tomatoes
- Lemon Herb Couscous Salad
- Vegan Cherry Tomato ‘Feta’ Baked Pasta
- Vegan Calzones
- Pastina Soup
Did you make this Creamy Vegan Polenta with Chickpeas?
I’d love to know! Leave a star rating and comment below!
Creamy Vegan Polenta with Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
Creamy Vegan Polenta:
- 2 cups water - or vegetable stock (decrease salt by ¼ tsp if using broth)
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened oat milk
- ¾ cup dairy-free half and half - divided, like Silk's Half and Half
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup yellow polenta
- 1-2 tbsp vegan butter - optional, like Country Crock Plant Butter
Caramelized Onions & Sundried Tomatoes:
- 3 large yellow onions - thinly sliced (550g)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 cups tuscan kale - roughly chopped, also called Lacinato kale
- ½ cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes - roughly chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
Serving:
- ½ cup fresh basil - chopped
- Red pepper flakes - to taste
- Squeeze of lemon juice - to taste
- Grated Vegan Parmesan - to taste like Violife Just like Parmesan Wedge
- 1 recipe Crispy Baked Chickpeas - optional, see notes
Instructions
To Make the Polenta:
- Bring the water, oat milk, and ½ cup dairy-free half and half to a boil.2 cups water, 1 ½ cups unsweetened oat milk, ¾ cup dairy-free half and half
- Add the salt and slowly stir in the polenta. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. Remove from heat and cover when finished. When ready to serve, stir in the remaining ¼ cup of vegan half and half and 1-2 tbsp of vegan butter.1 tsp salt, 1 cup yellow polenta, 1-2 tbsp vegan butter, ¾ cup dairy-free half and half
To Make the Onions, Kale & Chickpeas
- Add the thinly sliced onions to a large pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and caramelized.3 large yellow onions, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- While the onions cook, bake the chickpeas according to the recipe in the notes section.1 recipe Crispy Baked Chickpeas
- When the onions are caramelized, add the kale, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until slightly wilted. Add a ¼ tsp of salt, to taste, on top of everything.3 cloves garlic, 2 cups tuscan kale, ½ cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, ¼ tsp salt
To Serve:
- Spoon the polenta into bowls. Top with the caramelized onions, the kale mixture, and the crispy baked chickpeas.
- Sprinkle fresh chopped basil on top. Add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. Grate fresh vegan parmesan on top and enjoy!½ cup fresh basil, Red pepper flakes, Squeeze of lemon juice, Grated Vegan Parmesan
Notes
- 2 15 oz cans chickpeas
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika, optional
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of ½ a lemon, to squeeze on after baking
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the salt, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, dried basil, dried parsley and black pepper on top. Drizzle on 1-2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.
- Toss to coat and spread the chickpeas out in a single layer.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crispy.
Nutrition
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