Instant Pot Polenta! A delicious healthy side dish that is quick and easy to make in your pressure cooker! Vegan adaptable and totally gluten-free!
Hey friends, here’s another very convenient use for that Instant Pot of yours! Instant Pot Polenta. This recipe requires very little hands on time, can be made vegan and is perfect for busy weeknight dinners. I think of this as a “building block” recipe, one that has a myriad of uses.
For example, while the polenta is cooking away in your pressure cooker, you could be roasting salmon, or pan-searing wild mushrooms, or roasting root vegetables. You could be making this Sheet Pan Ratatouille  to serve overtop. The possibilities are endless here – and really your only job here is to comb through your fridge and decide what you want to serve with it! Keep it super simple if you like, perhaps braising some spinach and poaching and egg. You get the idea.
Here above,  it’s topped with farmers market wild mushrooms, garlic and sage. So simple, so easy!
And here below it’s topped with simple roasted root veggies, then drizzled with Gremolata.
You could also make this simple Sheet Pan Ratatouille to serve overtop.
And if you prefer a more hearty “meaty” meal, scroll down for more ideas from our catering business.
So think of the Instant Pot Polenta as your “base” or foundation, then layer it however you like!
Sometimes, I’ll blister some cherry tomatoes with a little garlic and olive oil in a skillet and call it good.
Or like I said before, wilt some greens, like kale or spinach, and top the whole thing with a poached egg.
MMMMMMMMM.
Often in our catering business we would serve this with slow-braised lamb shanks, elk osso bucco, Â or slow-braised beef short ribs – all good pairings if you’d like something meatier.
I also really like this with simple roasted salmon and veggies.
And this sheet pan recipe would go really nicely.
The nice part- many of these options can be made vegan! And I know you will come up with many more ways to use the polenta, once you see how easy it is to make in the Instant Pot.
I can’t wait to see and hear about them! ( Tag them on instagram #feastingathome, so I can seeeeeee! Or comment below.)
Happy delicious week!
xoxoxoxo
PrintInstant Pot Polenta
Instant Pot Polenta! A delicious healthy side dish that is quick and easy to make in your pressure cooker! Vegan adaptable and totally gluten-free! Use this as a delicious healthy base for your own creations!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3 ½ cups 1x
- Category: instant pot, side dish, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free
- Method: pressure cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 cups water or veggie broth
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion power
- 1 teaspoon dried herbs ( Rosemary, herbs du Provence, Italian herb blend) Â or 1 tablespoon fresh herbs
- 1 cup polenta ( corn meal)
Add your choice of:
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- optional cheese- you could swirl in ¼-½ cup of cheddar, goat cheese, sour cream, thick greek yogurt, smoked mozzarella, or whatever meltable cheese you have on hand. Start conservatively, add more to taste.
Instructions
Set instant Pot to “Saute” function. Add the water (or the broth) and salt, spices & herbs and bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes.
Once the water is simmering, slowly pour in the polenta, a little at a time, while whisking vigorously as you pour to prevent any lumps. Once incorporated, set instant pot to 8 minutes, on high pressure.
Manually release, covering the steam spout with a kitchen towel.
Give a good stir. Add the olive oil (or butter). You could stop here and keep this vegan.
Or swirl in your choice of cheese for extra richness, starting conservatively. Add more to taste.
I like adding sour cream, so I’ll usually add a dollop ( ¼ cup) which also gives it a subtle tanginess.
Keep it on the warm function until ready to stir, stirring occasionally. If polenta sits too long, and feels too firm, you can always “loosen” it by whisking in hot water. Â Taste and adjust salt.
Notes
Serve this with:
 Wild Mushrooms, Garlic and SageÂ
or  Simple roasted Root Vegetables with Gremolata
Keywords: instant pot polenta recipe, polenta in the pressure cooker, easy polenta recipe, instant pot polenta, pressure cooker polenta, vegan side dish, gluten free side dish,
I just made this and it is delicious!
★★★★★
Deelicious polenta!
I posted about using the vegan smoked gouda (Daiya) for dairy free…it melted beautifully added just enough fat to make it sumptious (I used about 3-4 slices diced). I cut the recipe in half since it was just my husband and I. Topped it with sautéed mushrooms and garlic, perfect, no left overs!
★★★★★
Thanks to much Romy, glad you liked it!
I discovered a bag of cornmeal in the cupboard and thought, Polenta! Great timing…
Love the convenience of the Instant Pot. A suggestion which I intend to try is to use a vegan cheese of choice. The Daiya Smoked Gouda would be amazing I believe, or Violife’s “Mature Cheddar”.
★★★★★
This was so good!
★★★★★
Does this keep well for later in the week? Thanks!
It keeps, but I often find leftover polenta is hard is to get creamy again. Whisk in a little liquid while warming.
Hi! I’m trying this now…so double checking to do a manual quick release at the end of the 8 minutes? No waiting for any natural release? I see so many grains that need 10 minutes of natural release so wanted to double check.
Yes manually release!
I made this on the stove and it came out perfectly. The herbs are a nice touch. I jut used herbes de provence. We ate it with oven roasted vegetables and coconut yogurt sauce. Great, easy weeknight meal.
Thanks Elizabeth! So happy you enjoyed this!
My polenta started to burn, luckily by Insta pot flashed a sign. I think med. would be better. Also If you put the polenta in the water or broth while it’s cold you don’t have to worry about lumps.
★★★★
That is a good point with the cold water. I’ve never gotten the burn signal, so will have to test this over the weekend. My Instant pot doesn’t have a “med” setting? Hummm… has anyone else had problems with this one?
Oh my gosh…this was to die for. I only used garlic, no sodium chicken bouillon, tsp provence herbs and when done added 1/4 cup parmesan…I don’t want to share!!!! Used spray margarine for each serving. Will fry mushrooms and sage when I get at grocery store….thanks so much for recipe. As an Italian, my mother would load up on three different cheeses and I can still see her with her hugh cast iron pot stirring and stirring and when it was time to each we would put spagetti sauce over it and that would be our dinner.
Came out perfect! who knew?!
★★★★★
Do you think you could double or triple the amount of polenta you make in the instant pot? It sounds like it would be a lovely dinner party dinner because it would be so easy!!!
I haven’t tried to double, but don’t see why not? If you do try it, let me know, and if I get a chance here, I’ll give it a go too, and report back.:)