Polenta for Breakfast

Polenta - a dish of boiled cornmeal - is usually a savory dinner side, or a bed for greens or meat. But not always - look at our breakfast!

We are traveling in Los Angeles, and we had breakfast at LAMILL Coffee. This Silver Lake coffee boutique is almost too hipster for its own good, but they do take their food and coffee seriously. We had a big bowl of polenta cooked with butternut squash, topped with candied pecans and a dollop of whipped mascarpone.

The dish was so warm and sweet (but not too sweet), creamy and tangy, delicate and airy. It was so delicious that we scraped every bite we could reach out of the bowl.

And yet we don't need to go to a fine eatery for a bowl of polenta in the morning; this breakfast was truly inspiring to us. Polenta only takes a few moments to cook - it's much quicker than our beloved steel cut oats. We think we may give it a try soon.

Do you ever eat polenta for breakfast? Here are a few recipes to try.

Polenta for Breakfast
• Breakfast Polenta - at 101 Cookbooks
• Breakfast Polenta with Figs and Mascarpone - at Martha Stewart
• Breakfast Polenta with Mascarpone - also with cinnamon, almonds, and chocolate.

Related: Recipe: Sweet Morning Potato

Comments (11)

Mmmmm, I've been eating polenta for breakfast with the cooler fall weather lately. I make it with whole milk instead of water, and top with either brown sugar and dried cherries or leftover cobbler.

i love polenta for breakfast. with an egg, truffle oil and some chopped asparagus.

This just ends up being like cream of wheat which is a delicious breakfast

My mom calls polenta "mush" and she grew up really poor in Florida and they ate it for breakfast all the time. She thinks it's really funny that people call it polenta and it's sort of considered a fancy food now.

er, isn't polenta for breakfast pretty much grits?

I make it with chicken broth and then eat it with reduced fat cheese, canadian bacon and sometimes an egg.

@gretchenalexis: Not exactly. Grits are a much coarser grind than mush, and made out of alkali-treated corn.

In the south this is quite common, although probably with nothing so fancy as squash and pecans. I usually make mush in the microwave with a bit of butter and salt and maple syrup. Simple and easy. You can also pour it into a small loaf pan, put it in the fridge, and once it's cold it can be sliced and fried.

Having grown up on it as a breakfast food especially during hard times, I agree with Nikita's mom... I have trouble imagining it being anything fancy!

ooh this looks delicious. I made my weekend oatmeal yesterday morning with a dollop of Trader Joe's pumpkin butter, but this, with pecans and mascarpone, sounds perfect for fall!

Jamaicans eat this for breakfast all the time. We call it "corm meal porridge" and prefer it with a bit of salt, sweetened with condensed milk.. and a bit of vanilla/cinnamon.

Where I come from it's called "grits".

polenta (or grits) is an amazing choice for breakfast! toss in some butter for creamier texture and richer flavor!