Polenta Croutons

Polenta croutons are a fabulous addition to any salad or soup recipe! Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, these tasty polenta croutons can be air fried or baked in minutes! And they are gluten-free!

I love croutons on my salad or top of a bowl of soup. Something extraordinary about a crunchy topping on a salad or soup brings it all together. Tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside, these polenta croutons are a gluten-free alternative to traditional bread croutons.

Jump to:

• What is Polenta?
• Crouton Ingredients
• Ingredient Substitutions
• How to Make the Croutons
• Ways to Use Polenta Croutons
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• Other Suggested Recipes.
• 📖 Recipe

What is Polenta?

Polenta is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. The dish comes from Italy. It may be served as hot porridge or allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled.

Although polenta is easy to make, premade polenta is readily available in the pasta section of the grocery store or the refrigerated section. One big benefit of pre-cooked, tubed polenta is how well it stays together after it's been sliced. This makes grilled polenta an unexpected but delicious side dish. And premade polenta is perfect for polenta croutons.

Crouton Ingredients

• Premade Polenta: Premade polenta usually comes in a tube wrapped in plastic. Polenta tastes a lot like corn since that's what it is! It has a similar flavor to grits and is even comparable to the flavor of cornbread (but not the texture).
• Italian Seasoning: Italian seasoning usually consists of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram.
• Onion Powder: Onion powder is a seasoning made from dehydrated ground onions. This potent-smelling spice is often used in dry rubs and marinades to get concentrated onion flavor without the moisture and bulk of the onion bulb itself.
• Garlic Salt: Garlic salt is a mixture of ground garlic and sea salt or kosher salt. The ratio of garlic powder to salt is one part garlic powder to three parts salt

Ingredient Substitutions

• Make your own polenta and all it to cool before cutting it into bite-sized cubes.
• Choose different varieties of seasoning combinations for other salad or soup recipes.
• Substitute onion salt for onion powder, but only use garlic powder instead of garlic salt.
• Make your own Italian seasoning blend, or add the herbs from individual bottles if you don't have an Italian seasoning blend.

How to Make the Croutons

Begin by cutting the polenta into bite-sized cubes. To make them uniform sized, use the large chopper blade of a vegetable chopper.

Then, transfer the polenta cubes to a bowl, add the herbs and seasonings, and toss the sticky cubes.

Although many people use oil when cooking polenta, it isn't necessary. The polenta is naturally sticky, so the seasonings stick well to the polenta croutons.

Next, decide which cooking method works best. For example, I air-fried my polenta croutons, but baking also works well.

Air Frying

• Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees.
• Place seasoned polenta croutons on the air fryer basket/pan.
• Cook for 10 minutes.
• Flip the croutons over and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
• Cool on the baking sheet until ready to use, or once cool, transfer to a container, but do not cover the container.

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Cook the seasoned croutons in a single layer on the baking sheet for 35-40 minutes until the polenta croutons are crispy.
• Cool on the baking sheet until ready to use, or once cool, transfer to a container, but do not cover the container.

Ways to Use Polenta Croutons

Without a doubt, polenta croutons taste fabulous on salads and soups. So, if you want a little healthy crunch added to any salad or soup, just add a handful of these crunchy nuggets, and enjoy! Not only are these polenta croutons gluten-free, but they are also low in calories.

• Try adding nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan cheese to the polenta croutons and add to the top of vegan tomato soup. It tastes like a mini grilled cheese floating in a bowl of hot tomato soup.
• Or, try the croutons on Southwest salad and season with chili powder and cumin.
• Recently, I made a large green salad with vegan ranch dressing and topped it with polenta croutons, and served it with a loaded sweet potato. My family raved about the whole meal!

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Refrigerating the pre-made polenta makes it even firmer than its original form.
• Use a large vegetable chopper blade to cut perfectly uniform croutons.
• Do not cover the polenta croutons after baking; they get moist and lose the crunchiness if covered with plastic wrap. Instead, allow them to cool completely on the baking pan and use them when ready.
• Choose any seasoning blend.
• It isn't necessary to toss the polenta cubes in oil. The polenta will crips on its own when air fried or baked.

You will love these bite-sized polenta croutons as a salad or soup topper. However, watch out for people with sticky fingers. My polenta croutons kept disappearing from my baking sheet!

Other Suggested Recipes.

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📖 Recipe