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There’s a distinct smell to my Grandmother’s very blue kitchen that I remember: Baked Beans. Thinking back, I feel like nearly every time I went over to her house, she had a pot of beans on and almost my entire family loved them. I came later in life to my love of beans. This sweet corn polenta topped with baked beans is my nod to her (complete with ‘cornbread’ base). It’s a simple dish but a perfect bowl of comfort.
Polenta
When it comes to the polenta, I almost always go with dried polenta and cook it for awhile. You could, however, use the premade polenta found it tubes. It would drastically reduce the cook-time for this recipe and help you get dinner to the table in about 15 minutes.
Sweet Corn: your options
Polenta topped with beans could easily become a boring texture. Enter the fresh sweet corn! Even after cooking the polenta for 20 to 25 minutes, the sweet corn holds a bit of it’s texture. This slight crispness cuts through the polenta and the beans, making the whole dish even more interesting.
Cheese
I think the best part, beyond the beans, is the cheese. I like using a sharp cheese mixed into the polenta. Try using sharp cheddar, gruyere, or an aged gouda.
- 1 recipe for baked beans
- 2 large ears of sweet corn
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cups broth or water (see note)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup dried polenta (see note)
- 1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Black pepper (for topping)
Prep the bean recipe ahead of time or an hour before starting.
Get the the sweet corn ready. Remove the husks and silk then carefully cut off the kernels. Heat a decent-sized pot over medium heat. Add the butter, followed by the sweet corn. Cook for about 5 minutes, just to get the raw texture off the sweet corn.
Add in the broth and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and stir in the polenta. Cook, stirring often, until the polenta has thickened and the flavor from the polenta has melded in with the sweet corn, 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese.
While the polenta is cooking, heat the beans until hot. When the polenta is done, top with the beans and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Prep Time: 4 minutes minutes
Cook Time :30 minutes minutes
Love the idea of adding corn to polenta for a bit of sweet texture. I've never tried homemade baked beans but I sure will now!
Man, all the recipes I've tried on your blog so far have made such good leftovers. I made the summer vegetable frittata the other day and slapped a slice between two halves of a bagel the next day. Made this this week and used the leftover polenta (no beans involved -- husband and I wanted some kick so we made chili beans on the side; still excellent) for cheesy-polenta fritters that I snacked the next two days. 10/10 for being tasty day-of and the strong leftover game.
Hi there! This looks delicious and I am looking forward to making it. Question-- If I use polenta found in the tube, do I still need to add the same amount of broth/water and adhere to the same cook time?
Not at all! Go with what's on the package instead.
In the recipe you cite a note next to the broth but I am unable to find a note for this in the rest of the post. Could you clarify please?
Strange- it disappeared. The note just stated you could also use sweet corn broth if you felt like making it.
I featured this recipe on my blog as a vegetarian dish for this week (with credit and link to your recipe) and I just made it. It is fabulous!!!! This is another solid winner of yours.