Sausage & Polenta Casserole

Polenta is not frequently used in casseroles – and I have absolutely no idea why. It is such a nice change from pasta or rice casseroles. You get a different texture and flavor that your family is going to adore. Sausage & Polenta Casserole is a simple weeknight meal, that is very quick to put together.

I used ready made polenta – which comes in a tube (looks like breakfast sausage) and is usually found in the produce section. You can also swap out for instant polenta, adding in the same chicken broth, heavy cream and mozzarella. Fun fact – grits and polenta are essentially the same thing, in terms of how it created. The only real difference is the type of corn that is used. Polenta is typically made from yellow corn, while grits are usually made from white corn. If you can’t find polenta in your grocery, you could swap out for grits. But I would add some salt by way of parmesan cheese.

This is a very filling casserole, so you probably won’t need a side dish. Especially since you have your meats, cheese, veggies and starch all in one. But you could always add in some steamed broccoli, a Caesar salad or some garlic bread.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Sausage & Polenta Casserole

A creamy cheesy polenta, sausage and spinach casserole with a quick red sauce.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Italian Sausage, mozzarella, polenta, red sauce, spinach

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 2 cups Fresh Spinach
• 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 2 lb Italian Sausage

For Polenta

• 2 18oz tubes Ready-made Polenta
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese

For the Red Sauce

• 1 15oz can Tomato Puree
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 tsp Salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375degF
• Add sausage to a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook and crumble until no longer pink.
• In a sauce pan over medium heat, add polenta, chicken broth and heavy cream. Mash and mix until polenta is reconstituted. Stir in cheese. Once melted, remove pan from heat.
• In a bowl, combine sauce ingredients.
• Add ⅔ of polenta to 13×9 baking dish. Top evenly with cooked sausage. and sprinkle with ¾ of spinach. Evenly pour red sauce over top. Then add remaining polenta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Roughly tear spinach into pieces and sprinkle over top. Bake for 30 minutes. Let rest at least 10 minutes before serving.