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.
Crispy Polenta Fries – Baked or Air-Fried!
Crispy, hearty polenta fries with a creamy cashew garlic dip! Say what?! Yes, this is the perfect finger food recipe which is much healthier than most store-bought snacks. This gluten-free, plant-based snack is amazing for Netflix evenings or even as a side dish. If you love snacks, make sure to also check out these crispy onion bhaji, pakora, or air-fried oyster mushrooms.
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! Check the full instructions in the recipe card below.
- 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.
- Bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes (425 °F/220 °C), or until golden brown. Flip after 25 minutes and spray with cooking spray.
Air Fryer Polenta Fries
First, spray the basket with oil, then spread a single layer of the fries, leaving space in between, and lightly spray them with oil, too. Air fry at 375 °F/190 °C for 15-20 minutes (based on their size and thickness) or until golden brown and crispy. Make sure to flip them halfway.
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. The method for air fryer polenta fries is mentioned above.
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.
More Vegan Snacks
- 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 the oven to 425 °F (220 °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
- Check the blog post for the air-fryer method.
- 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
Alessandra
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?
Ela
Alessandra, the baking time is 40-45 minutes as written in the recipe. 🙂
Vicky
Doesn’t she mean boiling the polenta and broth takes 35-45 minutes?
Aaron
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.
Ela
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.
Hannah
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!
Ela
I think that should work fine, Hannah. 🙂
Kathy
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!
Ela
Hi Kathy, there must be a mistake in the video, thanks for pointing that out! 425F is correct. 🙂
Erin
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!!
Ela
Wow, that sounds amazing! I am so glad you and your family loved them! 🙂
Betsy
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.
Ela
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.
Jypsy Stylee
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?
Ela
Hello, that should be fine! 🙂
Abby
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 🙂
Ela
It’s not a silly question at all, Abby. You can simply process oats in a blender or in an electric spice/coffee grinder. 🙂
George
I don’t think nutritional yeast is available in my region. Can I use cheddar cheese instead ?
Ela
Maybe you can buy it online? I don’t think cheddar cheese will work in this recipe. 🙂
Divya
Why do we need nutritional yeast flakes? What is the difference between nutritional yeast flakes and active dry yeast?
Ela
Yes, there is a difference! Nutritional yeast has a cheesy taste and is furthermore an inactive yeast. 🙂
Hannah
Made these, they take a while to make but well worth it. Thank you for this beautiful recipe 🙂
Ela
So happy you loved the recipe, Hannah! 🙂
Katie
These are delicious! Thank you 🙂
Ela
I am glad you like them! Thanks, Katie. 🙂
Gosia
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?
Ela
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. 🙂
Gosia
Gotcha! Thank you heaps for the tips.
Ela
You are very welcome! 🙂
Bianca Zapatka
Omg these look so crisp and delicious!
Will make it for the upcoming superbowl dinner ????????????❤️????
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️
Ela
Yes, I will make them as well for the Superbowl!
I hope you will love them! :)❤️
Laura
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!
Ela
Hey Laura! I never tried it, however, it should actually work the same! Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
Chocolate Covered Katie
Mmmmmm they look so delicious ????
Ela
Thank you very much, Katie! I hope you’ll give them a try. ❤️
Natasha
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.
Ela
Amazing! Thanks for your great feedback, Natasha! 🙂
jess @choosingchia
Definitely need to try to make these they look amazing!!
Ela
Thank you, Jess! 🙂
Nancy
Love your recipes. I no longer can use nutrionional yeast due to causes candida issues.. can I leave this out of your recipe?
Ela
Yes, you can leave it out, however, the polenta fries will be less flavorful, of course. Hope you will still like them! 🙂
Zico
Nutrtional yeast is deactivated and a different species. It does not contribute to candida.
RenegadeRN
Zico, you too the words right out of my mouth! Common misperception.
RN, Clinical Nutritionist
Melina
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!
Ela
Of course! 🙂
Donna forte
Love your recipes!!! The best
Ela
Thanks so much, Donna! Much love 🙂
Arnita
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!!!!!!!????
Ela
Haha, awesome! I hope you will love them. 😀