PUMPKIN POLENTA WITH BALSAMIC ROASTED BEETS

A creamy pumpkin polenta recipe topped with balsamic roasted beets. A naturally vegan and gluten-free meal for fall and winter.
mains

balsamic roasted beets on top of polenta

It is four-thirty.

In the morning.

I am up way too early.

And went to bed way too late.

And, I’m not just up.

I am already at the airport.

I am here catching a flight back home to New York right now.

Because my best friend is getting married!

And so, I am going to try to keep this really short and sweet.

Today is all about pumpkin.

And this creamy pumpkin polenta with balsamic roasted beets. Have you ever worked with or eaten pumpkin in a savory application before? If you haven’t, keep in mind that pumpkin puree tastes nothing like pumpkin spice.

If you’re expecting a crazy, wild, punch you in the face, over the top fall flavor here, then this is not the recipe for you. Conversely, if you are looking for a cozy, comforting, bold, savory fall flavor, this is indeed the right recipe for you.

Pumpkin, as we know, is a member of the squash family. And it has a similar in taste to other mild fall and winter squashes like acorn or delicata. But with the texture closest to butternut squash. So with that combination it is a really dreamy vegetable to work with. And it really is the perfect squash, as far as I’m concerned.

Pumpkin, in my humble opinion, should be used more in savory ways. But this is coming from me, a girl that has never and will never be into pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin spiced drinks of any kind {coffee or tea or espresso or chai or anything really over PSLs always}. Pumpkin should be for pie. Or pumpkin polenta.

This creamy pumpkin polenta topped with roasted balsamic beets is a great fall and winter meal. And comforting in so many ways. The pumpkin polenta is comfy base that holds the vibrant, complex, flavor bomb balsamic roasted beets perfectly. It’s an easy meal that your entire family will love, and it comes together in just thirty minutes.

Today Sara from Cake Over Steak has rounded up about seventy bloggers all in the name of the pumpkin. You can get all the pumpkin recipes by visiting Sara’s blog. And below are some of my savory favorites from today’s pumpkin party.

These pumpkin ricotta gnudi from Sonja at Ginger and Toasted Sesame.

These pumpkin stuffed turnip ravioli from Grace at Earthy Feast.

This pumpkin flatbread from Alanna at The Bojon Gourmet.

This caramelized onion galette from Cynthia at Two Red Bowls.

This pumpkin swirled mashed potatoes from Amanda at Heartbeet Kitchen.

And, this pumpkin goat cheese polenta from Lily at Kale and Caramel.

balsamic roasted beets on a sheet pan

pumpkin polenta with beets in a bowl

creamy pumpkin polenta in a bowl

Yield: 4 servings

Pumpkin Polenta with Balsamic Roasted Beets

creamy pumpkin polenta in a bowl

A creamy pumpkin polenta recipe topped with balsamic roasted beets. A naturally vegan and gluten-free meal for fall and winter.

Ingredients

Beet Ingredients

  • 3 cups beets, diced small
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Polenta Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 medium shallots, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 cup polenta
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (optional garnish)

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
    2. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Place the beets on the lined sheet pan and then pour the balsamic mixture over top. Toss them lightly with your hands to coat and roast for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and flip the beets. Return the pan to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes. When they're done set them aside until plating.
    3. Heat a large skillet over low heat. Add in the olive oil, shallots and garlic and sweat for 2 minutes.
    4. Turn the heat to medium, add in the broth and bring to a simmer. Then add in the polenta one-third cup at a time, stirring constantly to avoid clumps. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes while stirring frequently until the water is absorbed and the polenta is soft.
    5. Turn the heat to low and add in the pumpkin, thyme, sage, paprika, salt and pepper, and stir. Continue to cook the polenta while stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
    6. To plate, portion the polenta into 4 bowls and top each with an equal portion of balsamic beets. Garnish with fresh thyme and black pepper if desired and serve warm.

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© Sher Castellano
Category: mains

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Comments

  5. Love these colors together – they are so representative of the beautiful fall foliage, love love. And pumpkin polenta sounds like just about the coziest thing ever. Have a great time in NY, xo!

    Reply

  6. This is a fantastic idea, and I love that it is vegan. I just bought a blue hubbard squash, so I will give it a go with that. If it’s as delicious as it sounds I hope you don’t mind if I post it on my blog {giving you credit of course}. I’m a new blogger on a restricted diet, and this recipe is perfect for me, and I would love to share it.

    Reply

    • Hi Diane, congrats on starting your blog. I do not allow my recipes to be reprinted, but I don’t mind if you share an image with a link back to my website for the ingredients/recipe in full. Best of luck to you on your blogging endeavors!

      Reply

  8. It’s so cool to see all these takes on polenta! Being Italian, I’ve seen it around quite a lot and never really loved it (I loved the toppings though, especially the stewed beans). Adding in pumpkin actually sounds like a wonderful idea! I think the quality of the polenta really makes the difference in creaminess and taste. In any case, the added pumpkin and that beet topping really makes me want to give polenta another chance.

    Reply

    • Hey Valentina! My mother-in-law lives in Bologna, and used to make polenta for my husband a lot when he was growing up. It was his love for polenta that ignited my own. The pumpkin gives it an extra layer of savory earthiness. I hope you try it and enjoy, xx.

      Reply

  10. Pumpkin polenta 4 lyfe, girlfriend! This sounds amazing. I can totally taste that tangy sweet balsamic beet concoction, and it’s making me salivate. YUM! I think the two of us should just have a pumpkin polenta party, and make a million different kinds. I’m obsessed. It’s so good!

    Reply

  11. Polenta is the way to my heart. I absolutely love the colours in your photos. So gorgeous, Sherrie! You do such wonderful work with the ingredients placed in your care. Thank you for sharing this. I’m virtually ripping it and pinning it on my fridge for future inspiration.

    Reply

  13. What a combination, Sherrie! The colors alone are enough to make me want to dig right in. Perfect cozy meal for the beginning of the cold. Have a wonderful time in NYC. Another beautiful recipe, xx.

    Reply

  14. I seriously just want to sit here and stare at that bowl all night! Okay, so that sounded creepy, right? Seriously, so beautiful and I love how you’ve paired creamy polenta with the richness of pumpkin and those bites of earthy beets. I’m am so making this!

    Reply

  21. Pumpkin and beets are two are my favorite foods, and together?! YUM! I’m definitely going to have to make this. Perfect for a chilly fall day.

    Reply

  22. These scenes are the prettiest! Savory pumpkin FTW. I love how the stain of the beets just jumps off the yellow polenta. And thanks for mentioning my mashed potatoes. I hope you had fun back home at the wedding. I’m sure you miss it! But, the Midwest likes having you here, xo.

    Reply

  25. Made this last night and it was fantastic and just as delicious {with a little crumbled chèvre on top} for a work lunch today. Thanks for the great new recipe!

    Reply

  28. *gasp!* You listed my gnudi as one of your savory faves?! Thanks for the shout out, Sherrie!

    By the way, a creamy base like polenta topped with something roasted and delicious is kind of one of my favorite dishes ever. I make variations of this type of dish all the time but I never thought of adding pumpkin into my polenta. The bright purple-red of the beets is gorgeous on top of that pumpkin polenta, too!

    Reply

  30. This looks devine! Perfect for this rainy east coast weather I have right now. I have a question, is there a difference between polenta and cornmeal? The 1 cup polenta in the recipe, is that just dry cornmeal? I thought polenta was the result of cooking cornmeal, but I just want to clarify. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Jen – you are right. Technically polenta is a dish, not a grain. But, cornmeal is often packaged and sold as polenta, meaning that the grind of corn is appropriate to make the polenta dish. Feel free to substitute medium or coarsely-ground cornmeal instead. I hope this helps!

      Reply

  32. Beautiful photos and styling. I wanted to reach in and have a bite! I’ve never thought of adding pumpkin to polenta, but now I must. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  33. This was okay. I was really excited about the flavor combo but it wasn’t very flavorful (sad face!). In defense of the recipe, I didn’t use veggie broth which would have punched up the flavor quite a bit. I also used canned pumpkin, which I don’t like but forget that every time I use it – I bet fresh would be killer in this recipe. I also wish I had snuck some garlic in with the shallots! It was our first time using beets and we will be roasting them ourselves again, yum! Overall, beautiful dish but I don’t think we’ll make it again. Thank you for the fun recipe and the chance to try something new!

    Reply

    • Hi Kate. I’m glad you enjoyed the beets, and good for you for going outside of your comfort zone! I must say that using garlic, vegetable broth and fresh pumpkin (very different than canned) would have made a big difference in depth of flavor. Thank you for stopping by – I do appreciate your feedback!

      Reply

  34. I love this! I’ve eliminated junk food sweets lately from my diet and this is always what I’m craving but in a healthy way-rich starch and sweet. I used homemade veggie broth and roasted kabocha squash puree. I also cook my polenta by adding a few tablespoons of boiling water to it when it starts getting thick and it comes out super creamy. My beets totally caramelized too, yum! Thank you Sherrie.

    Reply

  35. Sounds delish, but I’m concerned you say to roast the beets on parchment paper with the oven at 450. All parchment I’ve ever used has a top heat range of 420, considering that paper catches on fire at 451, I’ll stay on the safer side and do longer cooking at a lower heat, but looking forward to trying the recipe!

    Reply

    • Hi Britt, I roast veggies on parchment at 450 degrees all the time without any issues, but if this is concerning for you, by all means you can lower the temp to 400.

      Reply

  36. I’m going to a potluck and the theme is “it sounds weird, but its sooooooo good”. I was searching Pinterest for ideas, I knew I wanted something with beets. I stumbled upon this and I’m super jazzed to give it a try. My potluck friends are all foodies so this is right up their alley.

    Reply

  38. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made this tonight (found you through Pinterest) and my family loved it. This is such a lovely, lovely dish. My six year old even said it is now his best favorite meal.

    Reply

  42. Made this for a vegan Thanksgiving menu today. I used Earth Balance to keep a buttery flavor and went with rosemary for my fresh herb (added that with the pumpkin purée), and served it alongside sautéed kale. Outstanding! Will definitely make it again.

    Reply

  43. My daughter and I made this for dinner tonight. We used butternut squash instead of pumpkin and less broth for the polenta. The flavor was terrific and the color contrast between the polenta and the beets was beautiful!

    Reply

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