Rosemary Polenta Cornbread

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!

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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 has a nice texture since we are using coarse ground polenta instead of cornmeal and this recipe comes together in 40 minutes in either a regular baking dish or in the cast iron skillet. 

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.

Polenta 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. 
• 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. 

How to Make The Best Polenta Cornbread

All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. Step three. Pour the polenta cornbread batter into the prepared pan, spreading everything out evenly. 
4. 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:

1. Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes then add 1 – 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil. 
2. Pour the cornbread batter into the hot skillet then spread it out evenly.
3. 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 Polenta Cornbread

• Butter and honey
• Instant Pot Chili
• The Best Ever Chili
• Beef and Barley Soup
• Turnip Greens with Turkey Bacon
• Fried Chicken without Buttermilk

Tips and Tricks

• 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  —

Looking For More Recipes?

• Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread
• Jalapeno Honey Cornbread
• Sweet Potato Cornbread
• Creamy Polenta with Thyme
• Creamy Polenta With Sauteed Greens and Mushrooms
• Turnip Greens with Turkey Bacon
• Grandpa’s Southern Turkey Cornbread Dressing

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Polenta Cornbread

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!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, American/ Southern, Midwest, Southern

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 slices

Calories: 371kcal

Author: Tonya Fowler

Cost: $5

Equipment

• 1 9.5-inch pie dish
• 1 Large mixing bowl

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
• ½ cup unsalted butter(1 stick) melted (or ½ cup olive oil)

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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.

 

Tips and Tricks

• 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 795mg | Potassium: 152mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 692IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 192mg | Iron: 2mg

All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.