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    Home » MAINS

    Cheesy Polenta Lasagna

    Modified: Jun 5, 2023 by Susan Pridmore · This post may contain affiliate links · 34 Comments

    This delicious vegetarian lasagna is made with layers of polenta, cheeses, peppers, spinach and marinara sauce for a perfect gluten-free lasagna casserole on chilly nights.

    Make the polenta ahead of time, or use store-bought polenta to make this super easy on a busy weeknight.

    Jump to Recipe
    A plate of polenta lasagna with layers of polenta, cheese, sauce and peppers, topped with melted cheese.

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    Jump to:
    • ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
    • 🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
    • 🔪 Recommended Equipment
    • 📝 Instructions Overview
    • ⏰ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
    • 💡Ideas for Possible Variations
    • 🍽 Side Dish Ideas
    • 📇 More Casseroles You Might Like
    • Cheesy Polenta 'Lasagna'

    Polenta is more versatile than you may think. We're all familiar with a cheesy polenta to use for toppings. But you can morph it into a polenta cake dessert, which is super easy and delicious. Or swap wheat noodles out in place of polenta layers in a lasagna.

    ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

    • It's gluten free.
    • Use a big shortcut and use store-bought polenta in place of homemade.
    • Use your own favorite veggies to make it perfect for your family.
    • Totally kid-friendly.

    🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes

    For the all of the ingredients, measurements and directions, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.

    Homemade Polenta

    • Vegetable broth - I use Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Paste
    • Mustard - Dijon or country mustard
    • Cornmeal - either fine or medium gain

    Lasagna Layers

    • Yellow onion - white onion if fine too, but red onion is too sweet.
    • Peppers - a combination of red and orange bell peppers, and poblano pepper.
    • Baby spinach - I purchase pre-washed baby spinach in a plastic container or bag.
    • Cheeses - a combination of chevre, ricotta, Parmesan and fontina on top. Use mozzarella on top, if you prefer it.
    • Marinara sauce - make your own or purchased. When I purchase it, I use Rao's Marinara Sauce.

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.

    🔪 Recommended Equipment

    • Baking sheet - for the polenta
    • Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot - for the polenta
    • Medium sauté pan
    • Small mixing bowl
    • 8" X 8" casserole pan

    Four photos of process shots from making the polenta, layering, and baking, with text overlay.

    📝 Instructions Overview

    Detailed instructions for making this polenta lasagna are in the recipe card below, but here's a brief overview!

    Step 1

    Make the polenta. Skip this step if you're using store-bought polenta in a tube.

    Step 2

    Sauté. Sauté the onion and peppers. Add the baby spinach at the end, and stir to wilt.

    Step 3

    Cheese. Whisk together the cheeses except for the fontina.

    Step 4

    Layer. Layer the lasagna in a casserole dish with the marinara sauce. Top with fontina cheese.

    Step 5

    Bake. Bake for a total of 40 minutes.

    ⏰ Tips to Simplify and Save Time

    • Purchase pre-made polenta, and thinly slice for the layers.
    • Purchase the marinara sauce.

    💡Ideas for Possible Variations

    Use mozzarella cheese in place of fontina.

    Add cooked beans for more protein, or add cooked plant-based crumbles such as available from Beyond Beef.

    🍽 Side Dish Ideas

    All you need is garlic bread and a simple leafy green salad.

    📇 More Casseroles You Might Like

    Meatball Casserole

    Stuffed Pepper Casserole

    Creamy Feta and Asparagus Casserole

    Cauliflower Tetrazzini with Poblanos

    Cheesy Grits and Greens, which can be served as a casserole or separately.

    Don't have time to run to the grocery store? Order the ingredients for this recipe using Instacart (affiliate link). Just click on the Instacart button in the recipe card below, and the ingredients will all be organized for you on their site. Plug in your zip code, choose the store you prefer, and select the ingredients you want delivered to your home.

    Want to Save This Recipe?

    Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!

    Save Recipe
    A plate of polenta lasagna with layers of polenta, cheese, sauce and peppers, topped with melted cheese.
    5 from 15 votes

    Cheesy Polenta 'Lasagna'

    This lasagna uses polenta as the layers in place of pasta. The polenta is layered with cheese, marinara sauce, peppers and baby spinach.
    Print Recipe Save Saved! Pin Recipe Add to Recipe Collection Go to Collections Add to Shopping ListGo to Shopping List
    Prep Time35 minutes mins
    Cook Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
    Total Time1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
    Course: Vegetarian casserole, Vegetarian Dinner, Vegetarian entree
    Cuisine: Italian
    Keyword: lasagna, polenta, polenta lasagna, vegetarian casserole
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 299.7kcal
    Author: Susan Pridmore
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • baking sheet
    • Aluminum foil
    • Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot
    • Medium skillet
    • Small mixing bowl
    • 8" X 8" baking pan

    Ingredients

    Polenta

    • 2 ¾ cups vegetable broth
    • 1 teaspoon country Dijon mustard
    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
    • 1 cup polenta cornmeal or medium / fine cornmeal
    • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

    Layers

    • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1 cup diced yellow onion about ½ of a large onion
    • 1 red pepper diced
    • 1 orange pepper diced
    • 1 poblano pepper diced
    • 4 cups baby spinach
    • ¼ cup chevre
    • ¼ cup ricotta cheese
    • ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
    • 1 ⅓ cups your favorite marinara sauce
    • 3 ounces sliced Fontina cheese

    Instructions

    Polenta

    • Line a baking sheet with foil.
    • Bring the broth to a simmer in a heavy pot and gradually stir in the mustard, salt, and polenta / cornmeal.
      Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the polenta, stirring often, until it's thick and not crunchy to the bite, about 20 minutes. There will be texture to the polenta, but it should be soft.
      Stir in the butter and pour the polenta onto the prepared baking sheet. Smooth it out using the back of a metal spoon and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

    Layers

    • Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
    • Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and peppers, and sauté until softened, about 20 minutes. Stir in the baby spinach until wilted.
    • Whip the chèvre, ricotta and Parmesan together in a small bowl using a fork.
    • Remove the polenta from the refrigerator and slice in half. Smear a little marinara sauce on the bottom of an 8" X 8" baking pan and lay one of the polenta halves on top.
    • Spread half of the cheese mixture over the polenta and cover with half of the pepper mixture. Spread half of the remaining marinara sauce over the top.
    • Repeat with a layer of polenta, cheese mixture, peppers and sauce. Top with slices of fontina cheese.
    • Cover the baking pan with foil, being sure not to touch the fontina cheese, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until bubbly.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 299.7kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 12.2g | Fat: 13.9g | Saturated Fat: 7.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4.7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 34.7mg | Sodium: 1722.6mg | Potassium: 498.9mg | Fiber: 3.3g | Sugar: 6.7g | Vitamin A: 4080.8IU | Vitamin C: 78.1mg | Calcium: 189.7mg | Iron: 1.9mg
    « Cranberry Orange Cake Recipe
    Cauliflower & Tomato Gratin »

    About Susan Pridmore

    Susan Pridmore is an award-winning cookbook author and the owner of The Wimpy Vegetarian. She has been featured in Huffington Post, Healthline, BuzzFeed, and has written for and developed recipes for The Food Network and Parade Magazine. She is professionally trained and focuses on easy vegetarian recipes for busy lives, bread-baking, and tips for new vegetarians. Susan lives in the mountains in Lake Tahoe with her husband and mini-labradoodle.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rita Held

      January 27, 2015 at 12:14 am

      5 stars
      OMG Susan. Are you trying to make me fat??! This looks and sounds dee-licious! Seriously.

      Reply
    2. Jane, The Heritage Cook

      January 27, 2015 at 2:35 am

      5 stars
      What a fabulous main course for our Progressive Dinner Susan! And I especially love it because it is gluten-free! Yee Haw! 🙂 I can't wait to give this a try and I know it will be a mainstay for our "cooler" months (and I use that term loosely this year!). Brava on your first month and stepping up to the plate so quickly!

      Reply
    3. Liz

      January 27, 2015 at 4:03 am

      Thank you so much for hosting us with this fabulous theme, Susan! Yeah, I'm happy to skip the skiing, park myself by the fire and eat a big helping of your splendid lasagna!

      Reply
    4. Viviana

      January 27, 2015 at 4:11 am

      5 stars
      I love polenta´s versatility and you honor it with your amazing recipe, liked specially adding mustard to the broth, must give it a distinctive flavour. I´m a great fan of polenta in every way (made a lemon polenta pudding last week!) so I´m saving this one for later!

      Reply
    5. Emma

      January 27, 2015 at 5:17 am

      What a great idea for lasagne! Also, great spin on the usual veggie spinach lasagne 🙂

      Reply
    6. Jenni

      January 27, 2015 at 6:40 am

      What a fantastic theme, Susan! I'm not so much about the skiing, but I am all about the comfort food! Polenta + goat cheese + marinara + all the rest of the goodness? What a great main course! I'm so glad you're a part of the Progressive Eats group, and thank you for hosting your first month out! xo

      Reply
    7. Ansh

      January 27, 2015 at 7:01 am

      Thank you for a wonderful theme and for hosting us this month. Now if only I could reach out and get my share of lasagna from the screen. Looks incredibly good.

      Reply
    8. Lynda

      January 27, 2015 at 7:09 am

      This looks divine. I will don my t-shirt and flip flops to make it. Luckily we got a bit of skiing in over xmas!

      Reply
    9. lizthechef

      January 27, 2015 at 8:40 am

      5 stars
      This looks yummy - but I share your feeling about the weather. We got a shower yesterday, pretty much the only rain we have had all month...

      Reply
    10. Wendy Read

      January 27, 2015 at 9:13 am

      5 stars
      I am so going to make this! I have printed this and have everything here at the house, so excited! Love polenta. Gorgeous pics as well!

      Reply
    11. Barbara @ Barbara Bakes

      January 27, 2015 at 9:50 am

      Thanks for picking such a fun theme. Your lasagna looks like the perfect main dish to warm up with after a day on the slopes.

      Reply
    12. TerriSue

      January 27, 2015 at 10:32 am

      I love polenta. This looks fantastic!

      Reply
    13. Tiffany @ Triple Crème Decadence

      January 27, 2015 at 11:11 am

      You had me at cheesy! This looks incredibly comforting and I love your addition of swiss chard!

      Reply
    14. Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living

      January 27, 2015 at 2:13 pm

      This sounds and looks so good, I wish I could just dig into the screen and grab a bite. Thanks for hosting our Progressive Dinner this month!

      Reply
    15. Lana | Never Enough Thyme

      January 27, 2015 at 2:33 pm

      We love polenta but I often forget how many ways it can be used! Like this absolutely incredible sounding lasagna. Oh my word, I don't ski but I'd come to the party just for a taste of this!

      Reply
    16. Suzanne

      January 27, 2015 at 6:13 pm

      Sounds like a fun group Susan and I love your lasagna, using polenta for the layers is brilliant. It had to be so delicious, Did you get your snow? Maybe your prayers to the snow Gods were for the wrong city, we got slammed in Brooklyn and snow is only pretty for a minute here.

      Reply
    17. cheri

      January 27, 2015 at 6:28 pm

      Hi Susan, Lake Tahoe is such a beautiful place, envy you this time of year. Love this lasagna, the use of polenta sounds delicious!

      Reply
    18. Choc Chip Uru

      January 27, 2015 at 9:10 pm

      Your polenta lasagna is a fantastic idea, delicious recipe 😀
      I can't wait to try swiss chard again!

      Cheers
      Choc Chip Uru

      Reply
    19. Alana@Sweets Occasions

      January 27, 2015 at 10:28 pm

      My mouth is watering! Looks super yummy.

      Reply
    20. GiGi Eats

      January 27, 2015 at 10:38 pm

      5 stars
      THAT SAUCE is captivating!!! I need it in my next meal!

      Reply
    21. Dana @ Foodie Goes Healthy

      January 27, 2015 at 10:39 pm

      5 stars
      I love this idea. I have been looking for a way to jazz up polenta, and this is perfect. Love the virtual progressive party too, great fun!

      Reply
    22. kiano

      January 28, 2015 at 1:42 pm

      I've been needing new ways to prepare polenta!

      Reply
    23. kiano

      January 28, 2015 at 1:43 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve been needing new ways to prepare polenta!

      Reply
    24. Nutmeg Nanny

      January 28, 2015 at 6:04 pm

      I love that you used polenta in this dish. What a delicious twist.

      Reply
    25. Laura @MotherWouldKnow

      January 28, 2015 at 7:26 pm

      5 stars
      I've had a delicious version of polenta lasagna at a friend's house, but never made it myself. Your version looks so enticing. I can't imagine anything more satisfying on a wintry evening. (While you're complaining about too much heat and sun, we're in a cold snap on the East Coast, so I'm all for a hot casserole right now.)

      Reply
    26. amanda @ fake ginger

      January 28, 2015 at 7:55 pm

      5 stars
      I am with you about the weather. We've usually got snow every couple days in January but we beat our record high yesterday with 67! Craaaaazy.

      These look so delicious! I don't cook polenta often enough, totally want to make this!

      Reply
    27. Mila

      January 29, 2015 at 2:20 am

      5 stars
      That lasagna looks very tasty and sooo cheesy! using polenta in it is something interesting! 🙂

      Reply
    28. Barb | Creative Culinary

      January 31, 2015 at 9:27 am

      5 stars
      This looks amazing; nothing wimpy here!

      Great theme and perfect timing too; who knew snow would create a ski trip ambiance for so many?

      So glad you've joined Progressive Eats and thanks for jumping right in and hosting. I owe you!

      Reply
    29. Norma Chang

      February 04, 2015 at 5:54 am

      5 stars
      A wonderfully delicious and comforting gluten-free dish.
      I will be more than happy to send you our snow, it been snow on top of snow and more is predicted.

      Reply
    30. Oui, Chef

      February 13, 2015 at 3:43 pm

      Sorry, I guess we've stolen all of Tahoe's snow here in Boston. Would you like to have some of it back? 😉 I'll trade you some for some of this gorgeous lasagna!

      Reply
    31. cathy branciaroli

      March 13, 2015 at 2:00 pm

      I love chard -- this looks great Susan!

      Reply
    32. Liz

      March 16, 2015 at 4:24 am

      Thanks for the recipe! I find I don't cook enough with polenta, but I always enjoy it when I do.

      Reply
    33. Scott Williamss

      March 29, 2017 at 3:01 pm

      5 stars
      This lasagna was delicious and had such unique ingredients . What kind of camera did you use for these awesome photos?

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        March 29, 2017 at 3:09 pm

        I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I used a Canon Rebel for the photos - thanks very much for the compliment 🙂

        Reply
    5 from 15 votes (1 rating without comment)

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    Susan at The Wimpy Vegetarian

    about the author:

    Susan Pridmore

    Hi there! I'm an award-winning cookbook author, culinary school graduate, professional photographer and recipe developer. My cookbook Simply Vegetarian was named #1 best cookbook for new vegetarians, and I want to make it easier for you to cook fabulous vegetarian meals. Come join me in the kitchen!

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