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Rosemary polenta cornbread is a savory and comforting side dish for the holidays or weeknight meals! This easy cornbread recipe is made with polenta for extra texture, melted butter, dried rosemary, and cane sugar for a hint of sweetness!
As a true Southerner living in the Midwest, cornbread is a must with any bowl of soup or any holiday dinner. My Grandfather’s Cornbread Dressing is always a family favorite!
I switched up our usual cornbread recipe to use polenta instead of cornmeal, and oh my, it has to be the best homemade cornbread ever!
Polenta is coarse ground cornmeal so it gives incredible texture and flavor to this homemade cornbread recipe. With the addition of dried rosemary and buttermilk, it is very soft, flavorful, and perfect for dunking into a GIANT bowl of chili! Truly comfort food at its finest!
This is such a great recipe for the holidays or just whenever you are needing an easy side dish for busy weeknight meals. It is light and tender with a subtle sweetness. It’s a polenta cornbread recipe that comes together in 40 minutes in either a regular baking dish or in the cast iron skillet.
Jump to:
What is polenta?
Polenta is basically coarsely ground cornmeal. Just like cornmeal, polenta can be made from either yellow or white corn but the key difference is that the corn kernels aren’t ground nearly as fine as regular cornmeal.
This coarse ground cornmeal has great texture and because of that it is often used as the dusting flour for pizza. I love the nice contrast it adds to the bottom of my homemade sourdough bread or sourdough pizzas.
Polenta is most popularly used to make creamy polenta porridge. I love to enjoy it plain mixed with dried thyme and topped with butter or served with sauteed greens and mushrooms. Again because of its texture, it doesn’t break down as much as regular fine cornmeal would when boiled, so it makes an excellent and satisfying side dish for roast chicken or fish.
Recipe Ingredients
Dried polenta - gives great flavor and texture to the cornbread.
All-purpose flour - regular flour is mixed with the polenta to give a nice texture and crumb to the cornbread.
Baking powder - to give a nice lift to the cornbread.
Salt - to season and balance all the other flavors.
Dried rosemary - Added to the batter to give incredible flavor to this recipe.
Melted butter - I used a stick of butter to give extra flavor but feel free to replace it with olive oil, or avocado oil instead.
Buttermilk - Use storebought or homemade buttermilk. I’ve included instructions on how to make homemade buttermilk down below. You can also use regular whole milk if you prefer.
Large eggs - bind all the ingredients together and give a moist and light tender to this recipe.
Cane sugar - to provide the right amount of sweetness.
How to Make Recipe The Best Polenta Cornbread:
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step one. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9.5-inch round baking dish with melted butter or olive oil then set aside.
Step two. Into a large bowl add dried polenta, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and dried rosemary, stirring to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter, then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir batter until there aren’t any more streaks of flour. The batter should be thick, but pourable. If it’s too thick stir in 1- 2 tablespoons of extra milk.
Step three. Pour the polenta cornbread batter into the prepared pan, spreading everything out evenly.
Step four. Bake the cornbread for 25 - 30 minutes or until the top and edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve warm with melted butter alongside your favorite main dishes. Enjoy!
Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread Instructions:
Step one. Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven for 5 - 10 minutes then add 1 - 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil.
Step two. Pour the cornbread batter into the hot skillet then spread it out evenly.
Step three. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the sides are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
What to serve with Rosemary Cornbread with Polenta
- Butter and honey
Recommended Tools
9.5 inch Glass Pie Pan or 10-inch Cast-Iron Skillet
Pro Tips
- If the cornbread batter is a little too thick add 1 - 2 tablespoons of extra buttermilk or milk.
- Use any leftover cornbread to make Cornbread Dressing for the holidays
- Use milk or buttermilk for the best results. When I used water the cornbread turned out crumbly and not as moist.
- Use room-temperature eggs so that they will bind with the other ingredients more easily.
- If you don’t have buttermilk you can make it at home. Into a measuring cup at 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar and 1 ¼ cup of milk. Mix and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes or until it starts to curdle, then use it in this recipe.
How To Store/ Make Ahead
Store any leftover cornbread in the refrigerator for up to a week wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or inside an airtight container. If you want to store it in the freezer, make sure it’s wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored inside a freezer-safe bag. It will keep for several weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions —
Yes! It is a coarser version of regular cornmeal and gives great texture to your cornbread.
Almost! Polenta and cornmeal are both made from corn the only difference is that polenta is ground to a more coarse texture and cornbread is much finer. Because of its texture, polenta won’t be as mushy or break down as much during the cooking process as cornmeal tends to.
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Print📖 Recipe
Polenta Cornbread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Side Dish
Description
Rosemary polenta cornbread is a savory and comforting side dish for the holidays or weeknight meals! This easy cornbread recipe is made with polenta for extra texture, melted butter, dried rosemary, and cane sugar for a hint of sweetness!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried polenta, or cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 - 2 tablespoon cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk or whole milk
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted (or ½ cup olive oil)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, then grease a 9.5-inch glass baking dish, set aside.
- In a large bowl combine polenta, flour, cane sugar, baking powder, salt, and dried rosemary together.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients then stir to combine and until you don’t see any more streaks of flour. The batter will be a bit thick but still pourable. If it’s too thick stir in 1 - 2 tablespoons of extra milk.
- Pour cornbread batter into a prepared baking dish spreading everything out evenly. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until it is golden brown on top and around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Serve warm with melted butter. Enjoy!
Notes
Cast Iron Skillet Instructions: Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet for 5 - 10 minutes then add 1 - 2 tablespoons of melted butter or olive oil. Make the cornbread batter like usual then pour it into the hot pan. Bake until golden brown on the sides and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Store any leftover cornbread in the refrigerator for up to a week wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or inside an airtight container. If you want to store it in the freezer, make sure it’s wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored inside a freezer-safe bag. It will keep for several weeks.
Keywords: cornbread, Homemade, Homemade cornbread, polenta cornbread, rosemary cornbread, rosemary polenta cornbread
Sherrijean says
I made this yesterday, and it was really good. Such a difference from plain cornbread. My husband enjoyed it as well. Really fluffy and not as compact as my usual cornbread and not too flaking and dry.
Tonya | The Midwest Kitchen Blog says
I'm glad you and your husband enjoyed the cornbread Sherrijean! We love how much texture and flavor the polenta gives!