These crispy polenta fries are super delicious and they are the perfect finger food. This healthy snack is gluten-free, easy to make and plant-based. Enjoy with a creamy cashew garlic dip.
Polenta Fries, the perfect Snack!
Crispy, hearty polenta fries with a creamy cashew garlic dip! Say what?! Yes, this is the perfect finger food snack which is much healthier than most store-bought chips, for example. This gluten-free, plant-based snack is amazing for Netflix evenings or even as a side dish.
It’s a very popular dish in Brazil and I really love it! These crispy polenta sticks are super easy to make and you will have a hard time to stop eating them, haha! The recipe is inspired by tasty !
Cashew-Garlic Dip
I enjoyed the polenta fries with a creamy cashew garlic dip which tastes heavenly! It’s made with cashews (obviously), garlic, plant-based milk, and a couple of spices. You simply need to soak the cashews for a couple of hours OR you can boil them for 20 minutes until they are soft.
Then you’ll just need to process all ingredients in a food processor or blender. I love using my small Ninja Food Processor for all kind of sauces and dips. It works especially great for small quantities and the price was just $30 US.
How To Make Polenta Fries?
Making these polenta sticks is super easy!
- All you need to do is cooking cornmeal in a pot with vegetable broth (with the addition of some spices and nutritional yeast flakes aka nooch).
- Then you’ll need to pour the mixture into a baking dish and let it cool for an hour.
- Meanwhile, you can prepare the breading and the cashew dip but both takes only about 10 minutes.
- Once the polenta mixture is cold and firm, you’ll need to slice it into sticks/fries.
- I prefer to brush each slice with a little of oil and then coat it with the breading. However, it also works without oil!
- Then wait until the fries are baked to perfection and that’s it!
These Polenta Fries are:
- Crispy
- Flavorful
- Hearty
- Plant-based (Vegan)
- Gluten-free
- Easy to make
- The perfect finger food
- Satisfying
- Great snack or side dish
- Low in fat (if baked in the oven)
Baked, not deep fried
These gluten-free polenta sticks will turn out crispy even when you bake them in the oven. The secret is to brush them with a little of oil (you only need a tiny bit) and bake them in the oven until they are golden brown and crispy!
If you don’t want to wait 45 minutes until they are crispy and don’t mind deep-fried food, you could also deep fry them in oil.
Breading
I made my own breading with oat flour (you can use gluten-free oats if you have celiac disease), nutritional yeast flakes, and a couple of spices. You can use Panko breadcrumbs instead of oats.
If you make this delicious snack then please leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out! And if you even take a photo of it, then I would love to see it. You can DM it to me on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag me in your Insta caption + photo with @elavegan and use the hashtag #elavegan and I will gladly check out your post. 🙂
If you love hearty snacks, definitely also check out the following recipes:
- Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos
- Vegan Grilled Cheese
- Oven Baked Potato Wedges
- Vegan Parmesan Fries
- Veggie Fritters
- Cauliflower Patties
Polenta Fries
Ingredients
Polenta Fries
- 1 cup (150 g) polenta (yellow cornmeal)
- 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground oregano
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil for brushing
Breading
- 1/2 cup (45 g) oats ground into flour (gluten-free if needed)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground oregano
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- This recipe has a video for easy visual instructions (see below).
- Pour vegetable broth into a pot, add all spices, sea salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
- Slowly add the cornmeal and whisk constantly to prevent lumps. Cook for about 5 minutes on low heat, then turn off the heat.
- Pour the polenta into a baking dish, lined with parchment paper. I used a 9-inch square pan. Put the pan into the fridge for about 1 hour to set.
- For the breading, simply put all ingredients into a small bowl and mix with a spoon.
- Remove the cold polenta from the pan and cut it into equally sized slices. Scroll up to see the step by step pictures. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Brush the polenta slices with a little vegetable oil and coat with the breading mixture.
- Bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Flip after 25 minutes and spray with cooking spray.
- Enjoy with a dip of choice. Check the recipe notes for my garlic cashew dip recipe.
Notes
- 2/3 cup cashews, soaked (100 g)
- 2/3 cup plant-based milk or water (160 ml)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Juice of 1 small lime
- 1/3 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast flakes
- Sea salt & pepper to taste
- Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
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Can you replace the soaked cashews for cashew butter?
Yes! But you need to reduce the liquid. I would use 50-70% less and add more if needed.
Hi Ela, I want to try this recipe but I have so many doubts! Regular polenta takes 35-45 minutes to cook according to most recipes I’ve read. Do you use instant polenta, or the cooking time to make the fries is less so they are more firm?
Alessandra, the baking time is 40-45 minutes as written in the recipe. 🙂
Doesn’t she mean boiling the polenta and broth takes 35-45 minutes?
Bought my polenta at Trader Joe’s and I can only assume this recipe is actually meant for dry cornmeal rather than the packaged polenta I was able to purchase. A bit more clarity in the recipe would be helpful. Also, the video is unavailable.
Aaron, the recipe says “polenta (yellow cornmeal”). It doesn’t say “packaged polenta” or “tubed polenta”. Also, the video loads fine. It’s right above the photo of the dip.
Hey There 🙂
I suppose these would taste best right out of the oven but do you think I could reheat leftovers with a bit of oil in a frying pan and they would still turn out good?
Thanks!
I think that should work fine, Hannah. 🙂
Hi Ella, My polenta is in the fridge now, I plan to make the fries tomorrow. Can’t wait! But, the above directions state the oven should be at 425F, however the video shows 475F.. Which is it? Thanks!
Hi Kathy, there must be a mistake in the video, thanks for pointing that out! 425F is correct. 🙂
Made these last night – yum! We just dipped them in marinara sauce. My kids and and my husband loved them and said they tasted like fried mozzarella. Thank you for the recipe!!
Wow, that sounds amazing! I am so glad you and your family loved them! 🙂
Did you say how many pieces can be obtained from the batter? Or how many pieces makes up a serving? I cook for someone with chronic kidney disease and we have to count his daily proteins.
Hey! About 14 pieces (you can see the photos in the middle of the blog post. The recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Can I make these a day in advance? Minus the bread coating? Want to make them for Christmas Eve apps but I want to get a lot of my prep work done tomorrow. Think they will be fine if I leave In the pan over night?
Hello, that should be fine! 🙂
hi! This may be a silly question – but, I am just wondering how you grind the oats into the flour for the breading? thank you!!! Your recipes look amazing, I am going to make a few of them this week 🙂
It’s not a silly question at all, Abby. You can simply process oats in a blender or in an electric spice/coffee grinder. 🙂
I don’t think nutritional yeast is available in my region. Can I use cheddar cheese instead ?
Maybe you can buy it online? I don’t think cheddar cheese will work in this recipe. 🙂
Why do we need nutritional yeast flakes? What is the difference between nutritional yeast flakes and active dry yeast?
Yes, there is a difference! Nutritional yeast has a cheesy taste and is furthermore an inactive yeast. 🙂
Made these, they take a while to make but well worth it. Thank you for this beautiful recipe 🙂
So happy you loved the recipe, Hannah! 🙂
These are delicious! Thank you 🙂
I am glad you like them! Thanks, Katie. 🙂
Hi Ela, I’ve tried out this recipe, and I’m really happy with the outcome. Many thanks for sharing it. I do have a couple of questions, though. My fries turned out a bit gooey on the inside. Is that the texture I should be going for? Also, how thick should the polenta batter be before I pour it into a baking dish? Should it be runny or thick?
The Polenta batter should be pretty thick when you pour it into the baking dish. When the fries are still gooey on the inside you should bake them a little bit longer. 🙂
Gotcha! Thank you heaps for the tips.
You are very welcome! 🙂
Omg these look so crisp and delicious!
Will make it for the upcoming superbowl dinner ????????????❤️????
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️
Yes, I will make them as well for the Superbowl!
I hope you will love them! :)❤️
Do you think I could use the same process with grits? I have white grits and not polenta but they’re basically the same thing…right? Thanks!
Hey Laura! I never tried it, however, it should actually work the same! Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
Mmmmmm they look so delicious ????
Thank you very much, Katie! I hope you’ll give them a try. ❤️
This was so good! I had pre-cooked polenta, so I just used the breading and I love it. I’ll be making this often.
Amazing! Thanks for your great feedback, Natasha! 🙂
Definitely need to try to make these they look amazing!!
Thank you, Jess! 🙂
Love your recipes. I no longer can use nutrionional yeast due to causes candida issues.. can I leave this out of your recipe?
Yes, you can leave it out, however, the polenta fries will be less flavorful, of course. Hope you will still like them! 🙂
Nutrtional yeast is deactivated and a different species. It does not contribute to candida.
Zico, you too the words right out of my mouth! Common misperception.
RN, Clinical Nutritionist
Hi Ela! I love all your recipes 🙂 I was wondering if instead of using nutricional yeast in flakes I could use the standard one. It’s hard to get nutricional yeast in flakes where I am. Thanks!
Of course! 🙂
Love your recipes!!! The best
Thanks so much, Donna! Much love 🙂
Oh my my my! It is raining but I am running out to the store to get my missing ingredients!!!! I can taste them now!!!!!!!????
Haha, awesome! I hope you will love them. 😀