This green polenta with broccolini & white beans is the perfect dinner. Filled with so much flavor and absolutely delicious. The polenta is cooked in liquid made with kale, spinach, garlic, and onion giving it not only tons of flavor but also that beautiful green color.
The second recipe in my EAT YOUR GREENS series! I wanted to give you all a bunch of fun ways to eat green vegetables that aren’t boring. So, for the second recipe we are making green polenta with broccolini & white beans. I think this meal feels very elegant and fancy but it comes together quickly and the polenta is just filled with all the nutrients of the kale and spinach. The broccolini and white beans are a perfect pairing and another way to add some greens and protein to the meal. If you missed the first recipe check it out here!
What is Polenta
In case you have never cooked with polenta or don’t know what is don’t be intimidated by it. Polenta is just an Italian dish made from boiled cornmeal. There are different ways to enjoy polenta you can have it like a creamy hot porridge style (how this recipe is). You can also chill it and cut it into pieces and then pan fry it so they get crispy. Either way it is absolutely delicious. Polenta is also completely gluten free.
This is the polenta I like to use. It cooks up really quickly. If the grain size of the polenta is bigger it may take longer to cook. So, just try to find one that says it is more finely ground.
The Greens
I was a little nervous for the green polenta, I won’t lie. BUT I am so impressed with how it turned out. You are going to blend kale, spinach, garlic, onion, nutritional yeast, and salt with water until it basically turns into a juice. Then that is what you use to boil the polenta in, instead of just using water. It infuses the polenta with the nutrients and is a great way to pack in those veggies. Some of the fibers of spinach and kale will be there which didn’t bother me personally but if it will bother you just strain it.
Broccolini
If you have never heard of or had broccolini before you are in for a treat. I absolutely love broccolini. In Italian when you add -ino, ini, ina, ine to and end of a word it means little. So, this essentially little broccoli. The florets are much smaller, however, it does have a longer stem. If you can’t find broccolini you can of course use regular broccoli, broccoli rabe (my original intention for this recipe), asparagus, string beans. Tons of different veggies that would work.
More Polenta Recipes
Comforting Vegan Stew with Polenta
Polenta with Greens and Beans
Creamy Polenta with Balsamic Tofu and Veggies
“Cheesy” Polenta Breakfast Bowl
Green Polenta with Broccolini & White Beans FAQ
- How to store leftovers? The leftovers will stay good for about 4 days. You can just store them in the fridge. I wouldn’t advise freezing this. You can also take leftover polenta and spread it in a pan, chill it and then cut into pieces and pan fry.
- Add ons? I have been enjoy this meal with tofu. You can add tempeh, mushrooms, other veggies or beans – whatever you like.
- Can I sub the polenta? While I would say I don’t want you to because this is a polenta based recipe you can always use a different grain. Quinoa or rice could be delicious. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid for 1 cup of grains though.
Check Out The Other Recipes From Eat Your Greens
ORDER MY COOKBOOK
Looking for more delicious vegan comfort recipes? Order my cookbook Plantiful: Over 75 Vibrant Vegan Comfort Foods! Filled with all types of recipe from bites, breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, desserts and more! Available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, IndieBound, Walmart, also available in stores.
Sharing direct links to recipes and pictures is highly encouraged, please do not copy and paste my recipes or share my pictures without permission. I work very hard on my blog and don’t want to see my recipes popping up anywhere. Thank you so much.
Green Polenta with Broccolini & White Beans
Ingredients
Green Polenta
- 2 ½ cups (85g) kale
- 1 cup (43g) spinach
- ⅓ sweet onion (about 2 ounces/60g), roughly chopped
- 5 cloves garlic (about .5 ounce/15g)
- 1 tablespoon (5g) nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups (960ml) water
- 1 cup (140g) instant or fine polenta *see note about polenta
- 1 tablespoon (14g) vegan butter
Broccolini & White Beans
- 8 ounce (227g) broccolini
- ½ cup (120ml) water
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439g) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 5 cloves garlic (about .5 ounce/15g)
- 1 tablespoon (14ml) olive oil
Garnish
- ½ tablespoon (7ml) oil, for drizzling on top of each dish
- Coarse sea salt
- Microgreens
Instructions
- In a blender combine the kale, spinach, onion, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, and water. Blend for about 1 minute or until everything is broken down and resembles a juice. If you want to strain it you can but you don’t need to.
- In a large deep pan or big pot add the liquid. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove from the heat, add the polenta in and whisk continuously for about 5 minutes or until polenta has thickened. The polenta should be soft. Add in the vegan butter and stir it. Taste and add any additional seasonings. Set to the side covered.
- In a separate pan add the water and broccolini. Cover with a lid and let it steam over high heat for about 8 to 10 minutes until water is mostly evaporated.
- Once water is all cooked out add in the beans, garlic, and oil. Add any seasonings you like salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika – anything you like. Sauté over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Broccolini should be tender and dark green. Beans should be tender and warm.
- Add a generous portion of the polenta onto a plate and then top with broccoli and beans. Garnish each plate with a drizzle of oil, sea salt, and microgreens.
Video
Notes
- I like to use Miyokos vegan butter.
- I used a chili oil on top for drizzling.
- I used this polenta.
- Add on ideas: drizzle with balsamic glaze, vegan parmesan
Plantifully Based® is part of the Amazon Affiliate Partner Program. Links on here may be from Amazon or other affiliate programs. If you decide to purchase through a link I will receive a small commission. This helps to run the blog and make more recipes.
If you enjoyed this recipe please be sure to leave a comment or review, it is so helpful for the blog. Thank you!
Have you ever had polenta before? If not, you need to try it!!
Hello, Can you please update your recipe so it reads “quick-cooking” or “instant” polenta? As an experienced cook, I know polenta doesn’t cook in 5 minutes, but I trusted your recipe and had to spend an extra 15 minutes re-cooking the polenta while my family waited for dinner. Also, I’m not sure where you get your canned beans, but my organic canned beans from Sprouts turned to absolute mush in this recipe. Also, I’m skeptical of using whole cloves of garlic during the last step – not enough garlic flavor. This recipe definitely had potential and overall flavor was fine, but could use some refinement. Thank you.
Hi Janet! Well I’m sorry to hear overall you didn’t have the best experience with the recipe. A few things to address: 1. In the blog post I did cover how different polenta has different cooking times and I did directly link the polenta I used, I’m not sure if you read the full blog post or not. I will add a direct note to make it clearer but it does directly link the polenta in the recipe notes as well. 2. I’m not sure why your beans turned to mush but I don’t use sprouts beans as i don’t have a sprouts near me. 3. You can always add in garlic powder to add a more garlicky flavor if you like.