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A plate of polenta lasagna with layers of polenta, cheese, sauce and peppers, topped with melted cheese.
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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.
Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Vegetarian casserole, Vegetarian Dinner, Vegetarian entree
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: lasagna, polenta, polenta lasagna, vegetarian casserole
Servings: 6
Calories: 299.7kcal
Author: Susan Pridmore

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