What you’ll need for Polenta Eggs
- Mexican-style chorizo (links or ground), make our turkey chorizo ( or make this or use vegan chorizo)
- Dry polenta or corn meal
- Stock or broth – chicken stock ( or veggie stock)
- Cheese (mozzarella, queso fresco, cheddar, jack)
- Herbs– cilantro, basil or parsely
- Spices: salt pepper and smoked paprika
- Eggs
How to make Polenta Eggs
Start the polenta. In the same skillet, bring chicken or veggie stock to a boil.
Whisk in corn meal or polenta.
Cover and let cook on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add grated cheese… any melty cheese will do- cheddar, jack, parmesan, mozzarella.
Once the polenta has cooked for 15 minutes, stir in the cheese and half of the cilantro (saving half for garnish).
Add half of the browned chorizo.
Add a touch of smoked paprika if you like!
Place the remaining chorizo in the center and crack 4-6 eggs around the edges. I make little wells with the back of a spoon and place the eggs in them. Salt and pepper each egg.
Bake! Place the whole thing in the oven and bake until the egg whites are set and “white” and the yolks are to your desired doneness.
More recipes you may enjoy!
- Baked Eggs
- Moroccan Eggs with Harissa Yogurt
- Breakfast Succotash with Poached Eggs and Herb Oil
- Quick & Easy Egg Bites
Polenta Eggs
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Creamy Polenta with baked eggs, chorizo and cilantro- a flavorful hearty brunch!
Ingredients
- 8 oz Mexican chorizo- links or ground)( or make this Turkey Chorizo or use vegan chorizo)
- 3/4 cup dry polenta or corn meal
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock ( or veggie stock)
- 1 cup grated melting cheese ( mozzarella, queso fresco, cheddar, jack)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 eggs
- hot sauce for garnish
* variations- see below
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400F.
- In a cast iron or oven-proof 10-inch skillet, brown the chorizo and set this aside.
- In the same pan, add the stock and bring to a boil. Turn heat to med-low, and whisk in polenta and smoked paprika, whisking vigorously -to prevent clumping. Once whisked well, cover, turn heat to low and let cook 15 minutes, stirring a few times.
- Add grated cheese, stir to incorporate. Fold in ½ of the chopped cilantro, ½ of the browned chorizo ( or sausage).
- Taste for salt and add if necessary.( If using chicken stock and chorizo, they will naturally be salty, but you may need to adjust- polenta should be flavorful.) Pepper to taste.
- Place the other half of the chorizo on top of the polenta. With a spoon, make small wells in the polenta where the eggs will rest, around the outer edges of the skillet, in a circle. Crack the eggs and place them in the wells. Lightly salt and pepper each egg.
- Bake. Place the skillet in the 400F oven and bake until egg whites are set (and white) and yolks are cooked, but still soft (or cook until your desired doneness).
- I will often broil for just a quick minute. Garnish with hot sauce and remaining cilantro.
Notes
You could add a bed sautéed spinach, sautéed peppers, sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms to this dish, by placing it atop the polenta and under the eggs.
To get the calories down, leave out the chorizo or use the turkey chorizo or try soy chorizo!
You can also use Spanish Chorizo instead- only use a few slices (2-3 tablespoons)- add to the cooking polenta- cut small. No need to brown- it is already cured.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 eggs
- Calories: 445
- Sugar: 0.6 g
- Sodium: 1596.9 mg
- Fat: 34.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.9 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 28.1 g
- Cholesterol: 305.4 mg
Since you are cooking this, I assume you are using Mexican chorizo rather than Spanish chorizo … is that right?
Yes, Lizzy, using Mexican-style chorizo, but I put a little note in the recipe card if you want to use Spanish Chorizo instead- which would also be tasty here!
I didn’t have any sausage or chorizo so just sautéed some onions, garlic and cilantro to flavor the pan a bit before adding the polenta. Then added the onion, garlic and cilantro back when adding the cheese. Delicious!! Simple. Thank you!
Thanks Debbie!
I made this for breakfast using leftover polenta that I had frozen and defrosted. I put it in my food processor with a small amount of broth. It became completely creamy. From there I followed the recipe, adding the cheese and the browned chorizo that I got from our local butcher. It was spicy enough that we didn’t need to add any hot sauce. Both my husband and I loved this dish! Definitely add the fresh cilantro.
Thanks Edith- glad you made this work!
Definitely a winner! Satisfying and tasty!
Did the sautéed onions, peppers and spinach.
Can see using this for more than a brunch paired with a salad a lovely dinner! Thank you!
Looks great. Can you make it with quick cooking polenta?
Yes!
This looks amazing! Any chance the chorizo and polenta can be make in advance and then reheated when ready to bake the eggs?
Hi Cynthia, I worry the polenta will not stay creamy and get hard. You could pre-cook ( brown) the chorizo though first to save time.
Can’t wait to try this!! I’m thinking about adding some shrimp and having it for dinner tonight!
Do it! Sound like the perfect addition! Love it!
For a similar breakfast polenta recipe with crystallized ginger, see my post called Hasty Pudding with Golden Raisins, and Jane Austin, at http://www.cookingthekitchen.com
Any idea how many calories are in this dish?
I just posted the Nutrition Label…definitely would be less with out the chorizo.
can i skip the cheese or would i miss all the flavor??
If you are still using the chorizo, then it should still have good flavor. Give it a try and see what you think?
i love everything in this dish! definitely putting it on my “to cook” list.
Looks great!
I just made this and it came out great! I used porkroll and pepperoni instead of chorizo because we didn’t have any, and also used a LOT more chicken stock; it turned out dry and clumpy when it only had 2.5 cups. My family loved this, I’ll definitely be making it again. Thanks for the recipe!
Is this Spanish or Mexican chorizo?
Mexican…or basically any uncured or uncooked chorizo. 🙂
This looks so good. Polenta is one of those things I don’t make enough and it’s so silly since I love it so much. Need to try this!