Side Dishes

October 20, 2022

Sheet Pan Polenta Panzanella

Sheet Pan Polenta Panzanella is one-pan, simple late summer supper, or a beautiful side dish for an end-of-the-season cookout. It’s a great way to use lots of fresh garden tomatoes and basil!

Or, if you’re in a part of the country like I am in the Pacific Northwest where summer just won’t quit this year, this Sheet Pan Polenta Panzanella is a great way to use the endless cherry tomatoes and bonus basil harvest! It’s a nice transitional dish, with the combination of fresh garden produce and comforting, creamy polenta marrying late summer and early fall gorgeously. 

Panzanella is traditionally made with toasted cubes of crusty bread, which soak up the juices of the tomatoes and the olive oil, but in this variation, the bread is replaced with cubed polenta. It’s a cozy touch, and a nod to the approaching colder evenings, as I tend to think of polenta as a hearty fall and winter dish. 

This Sheet Pan Polenta Panzanella is hearty enough for a simple supper, or makes an easy side dish alongside a protein such as grilled chicken or fish. No matter how you serve it, it’s delicious and the best part? Hardly any dishes to clean up!

Ingredients assembled for Sheet Pan Polenta Panzanella
Assemble your ingredients.

Cubed polenta and whole cherry tomatoes toss with olive oil and spices in a large glass bowl
Cut the polenta into cubes. In a large bowl, toss the polenta, cherry tomatoes, olive oil and spices.

Stages of roasting the polenta and tomatoes
Roast on a sheet pan in the oven until the cherry tomatoes burst and the polenta begins to turn golden brown.

Roasted polenta and tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella pearls and basil leaves
Allow to cool slightly, and then scatter with fresh mozzarella pearls and roughly torn basil leaves.

Sheet Pan Polenta Panzanella drizzled with balsamic glaze and served in a shallow white bowl with a fork
Drizzle generously with balsamic glaze and serve!

Sheet Pan Polenta Panzanella next to a red and white striped bowl and wooden spatula
I'm going to miss tomato and basil season, but this is a perfect send off!

Sheet Pan Polenta Panzanella

Sheet Pan Polenta Panzanella is one-pan, simple late summer supper, or a beautiful side dish for an end-of-the-season cookout. It’s a great way to use lots of fresh garden tomatoes and basil!

Author:

Kira Freed - The Joyful Plateful

Prep:

5

min

cook:

35

min

total:

40

min

Ingredients

1 16-ounce tube prepared polenta

1 pint ripe cherry tomatoes

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls, drained

Generous handful fresh basil leaves

Balsamic glaze, for drizzling

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lined a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment, and set aside. 
  2. Cut the prepared polenta into 3/4-inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the whole cherry tomatoes to the bowl. Drizzle the polenta and tomatoes with olive oil, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and black pepper, and toss again until everything is evenly coated. 
  3. Transfer the polenta-tomato mixture to the baking sheet. Roast at 450 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, until the cherry tomatoes have mostly burst and the polenta is beginning to turn golden brown. 
  4. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and allow to cool about 5 minutes. 
  5. Scatter the drained mozzarella pearls evenly over the roasted polenta and tomatoes. Tear the basil leaves and scatter evenly over the mixture. Drizzle generously with balsamic glaze, and serve warm. 
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