Creamy Vegan Polenta With Mushrooms and Kale
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 6cups low-sodium vegetable broth, plus more as needed
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1½cups polenta, medium- or coarse-grind cornmeal, or corn grits
- 3tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 to 2tablespoons nutritional yeast, to taste
- 3tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
- 1small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced ¼-inch thick
- 2teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of red-pepper flakes
- 3tablespoons tomato paste
- ⅔cup full-bodied red wine (see Tip)
- 1cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1large or 2 small bunches curly kale, Tuscan kale or Swiss chard (about 10 ounces), stemmed, then leaves torn into bite-size pieces
- 1teaspoon red wine vinegar
- Chopped fresh parsley, for serving
For the Polenta
For the Mushrooms
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
517 calories; 22 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 1729 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Make the polenta: Bring 6 cups vegetable broth and 1 teaspoon salt to boil in a large saucepan. Gradually whisk in the polenta, then turn the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the polenta has thickened to your liking, 10 to 15 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the butter and nutritional yeast. Season to taste with salt and black pepper; cover and set aside.
- Step 2
Prepare the mushrooms: While the polenta simmers, heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high, and add the mushrooms and rosemary to the skillet. Cook, tossing occasionally and adding a splash of olive oil if the pan looks dry, until the mushrooms have released their water and are tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the garlic and red-pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. (Be careful not to let the garlic burn.) Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring to incorporate, until it turns a rusty brown color and begins to caramelize on the bottom of the pan.
- Step 4
Add the red wine and cook, stirring and scraping the brown bits from the pan, until the liquid is reduced by about half.
- Step 5
Add the 1 cup vegetable broth, and bring to a simmer. Begin adding handfuls of kale, cooking and stirring until the kale wilts. Add ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid in the pan reduces and thickens, about 10 minutes.
- Step 6
Off the heat, stir in the vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste. Reheat the polenta over medium-low, adding a splash of broth to loosen it if necessary. Serve the polenta and braised mushrooms and kale in shallow bowls, sprinkled with parsley.
Tip
- While many wines are naturally vegan, some use egg white or milk-based proteins to aid in the filtration process. Look for wines specifically labeled vegan to be safe.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
wildfyre
Made this exactly as the recipe called for except had to use baby portabella since that’s all that was available. Used the 19 Crimes “the punisher” red wine. This meal did NOT disappoint!! Couldn’t find medium or coarse ground cornmeal either so used the standard fine meal that you can find in standard stores. Turned out perfectly. Perfect Sunday night meal after a long day of rain, I think I’m ready to take on Monday!!!!
Cynthia
For NA households: veg bouillon and a dash of balsamic.
Leigh-Anne
Pomegranate juice with a bit of vinegar would work well.
Ellen K
No need to miss the flavor of Parmesan! Try this super easy vegan "walmesan" (based on recipe from Rich Roll's wife Julie Piatt) 1 heaping cup raw walnuts 1 small garlic clove, finely minced or grated on a microplane 2 T nutritional yeast, or more to taste 1/2 tsp sea salt Big pinch, a good half teaspoon or so of grated lemon zest (provides the tang of Parmesan) Put everything in a mini food processor and process until it's fine crumbs but not yet walnut butter. Good on absolutely everything.
kellyG
Really delicious -but I've made it a few times and there's always waaaaay more polenta than mushroom mixture. It's fine as long as you have other plans for the polenta. But be aware that the mushroom mixture is a little sparse; barely served three of us and at least one is a pretty light eater. Next time I'll double the mushroom part.
Kim
How could I maintain the rich flavor without the red wine? We are an NA household
Martha
A tip for polenta with no lumps: Stir constantly with a dough hook or whisk- not too vigorously- and always in the same direction. I make a lot of polenta and this always works
Emily
i made it with the wine but i think would have been better without, maybe more tomato paste and broth instead at that step
excellent
Great flavor!! Can easily skip the vegan butter for less oil — didn’t miss it at all.
LBiggie
A shake of liquid smoke make this dish perfection in our house. Will definitely cook again.
Lisa McHenry Bendel
I used 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar instead of the red wine (I didn’t have any wine). I also added six vine tomatoes, quartered, when I added the Swiss chard. It was absolutely delicious.
Suz
This was excellent - no notes. Made it exactly as written and I wouldn't change anything.
Patricia
I have loved almost every recipe I have tried from the NYT. This, however, was very disappointing. Both my husband and I found it bland, and not worth the time and effort. We will not make this again.
S
This was excellent. Soaked the polenta for an hour and then baked it covered for an hour at 400 degrees. No stirring, no lumps. The leftovers made a fantastic lunch the next day. As others did, I upped the amount of mushrooms. Will make this again.
nancy
We loved this. Bobs Red Mill polenta with bit of Grana Padana, lg creminis, Better than Bouillion no chicken broth and dry red wine. Had baby rainbow chard from farm mkt. Followed recipe and created a very tasty quick and hearty dinner. Keep the mushrooms in big slices! Bet portobellos would work. I’d like to try a fried egg on top next time.
Nan Dem
Very nice. Delicious as written, mostly (extra garlic and tomato paste because they needed using up).
Amanda G
Used prepared polenta in a tube and made mushroom/kale as in recipe. However, used white wine as I did not have any red wine. This was delicious and a big hit with all of use. Will definitely make again.
Grey
This is delicious - especially with Nora Mill White Speckled ("Georgia Ice Cream") Grits as the base.
SH
I used 1/2 lb mushrooms, crispy cooked (per Alison Roman, this site, Farro+Crispy Mushrooms) and added 1/2 lb tofu in 1/4" dice for protein, plus 1 diced carrot and red pepper, per suggestions here indicating need for more bulk. Didn't have kale, so I used frozen spinach. Very good, but easier if you break it into steps. I prepared everything a day ahead by leaving the polenta to soak overnight so it cooks faster (see Serious Eats), and prepping/cooking the vegetables through Step 4.
Eliza
This vegan recipe looked absolutely delicious - so naturally I added bacon (sorry not sorry?) and it was simply glorious. Used mixed mushrooms and Swiss chard, big spoonful of Parmesan in place of the nutritional yeast, which I didn’t have. Will be making on repeat!
Lex
Guests at Christmas dinner rated this their favorite dish. Shocking since they were the meat eaters! Some even ended up taking leftovers home. Ended up not having as much kale as the recipe called for but there wasn’t much of a loss for this.
El
I made this with mixed baby greens and sun dried tomatoes. Very good.
Nana D
Loved the flavor but missed the meat!
W. Monk
Better if you double the mushrooms and Swiss chard.
Elizabeth M, Stow MA
Interesting to see that No Alcohol households want to avoid cooking with wine. The heat of the cooking evaporates all the alcohol in the wine, leaving only the non-alcoholic flavor components. Perhaps there's another issue I'm not familiar with. I can imagine that Muslim households may be prohibited from keeping alcohol in the home. Families with a recovering alcoholic may need to keep an alcohol-free home to eliminate temptation. What else?
pjor
This was very disappointing. A lot of work for a distinctly bland result.
Nicole
Sub olives and bell peppers for mushrooms
Laurie
Did not add vinegar. Delicious. Did double mushroom veg part for amount of polenta!
kellysmellsfunny
Took some tips from other commenters and halved the polenta while keeping the same “mushroom mix” amounts. Didn’t have kale but subbed for collard greens, keeping everything else exactly to the recipe. We loved it!!! It’s going into our regular rotation, especially when our farm share is overloaded with greens and mushrooms. Super flavorful and hearty without the caloric guilt!
add on’s
i loved making this but i went ahead and added some vegan pesto, a balsamic fig vinegar my grandmother gifted me, and some garlic oil- a new comfort food i crave every so often !! i think they really help to brighten the dish a little !
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