One-Pan Roasted Vegetables and Polenta
Updated October 8, 2025

- Ready In
- 1¼ hr
- Rating
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Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
1 cup medium-grind yellow or white cornmeal
Salt and black pepper
6 ounces brussels sprouts (about 2 cups), trimmed and quartered or halved if large
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
2 shallots, halved or quartered if large
4 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese or feta
¼ cup chopped parsley leaves
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Step 2
Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil into a 10- to 12-inch cast-iron skillet or 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add 2 cups water, the cornmeal and 1 teaspoon salt and whisk well. Bake, uncovered, until it has set but still has a little bite, about 15 minutes.
- Step 3
While the polenta bakes, combine the brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, shallots, garlic, sage and lemon zest and juice in a medium bowl. Pour in 2 tablespoons oil and toss with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Set aside.
- Step 4
Crumble the polenta with a wooden spoon or fork into large clumps. Add the vegetables plus any liquid in the bowl and toss with the polenta. Sprinkle the entire dish lightly with salt and pepper. Using oven mitts or a dish towel, cover tightly with foil and return to the oven.
- Step 5
Bake until the sweet potato is fork-tender and the sprouts are wilted, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Step 6
Remove the skillet from the oven and remove the foil. Turn the oven to broil. Crumble the polenta again and drizzle the entire pan with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Step 7
Transfer to the broiler and broil, keeping a close eye on the top, until the vegetables are dark brown and crisp around the edges, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Step 8
Top with the cheese, parsley and a drizzle of olive oil and serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
Why are you folks still promoting the use of aluminum foil? The mining of it is even more polluting than what comes after its discarded or “recycled”.(I use recycling bins whenever possible, aware that this is no guarantee that objects will be recycled. When they are, this consumes large amounts of energy, and produces its own pollution. If one isn’t able to invest in covers for oven-able pots, shallow pans turned upside down or cookie sheet-type pans can protect foods from burning on top.
I made this last night, and the benefit of how the recipe is written is that the polenta is cooking while you prep the veggies, so it is actually more time efficient to cook as written. If your goal is to have crispy veggies, then roasting them separately would be more effective. We really enjoyed the flavours (especially the zing of the lemon) and would have it again with a variety of root veggies plus sautéed greens I would prep while the rest is in the oven.
I’ve been oven-baking or just microwaving polenta for years. So much simpler. If you make it with canned pumpkin, it’s even more autumnal. Agree that I can’t see why you’d bother to mix veggies into polenta. Roasting them away from all that liquid is what gives them their delicious crispness.
great recipe! The first time i made this i forgot to add the teaspoon of salt to the veggie bowl and it turned out perfect. i made it again tonight and added the salt where directed and it was too salty. next time i make it will cut the amount if salt in half and just season to taste after. the two teaspoons of salt are too much for this dish.
This is a satisfying meal and easy way to use up fall root veggies. We topped it with a fried egg and Sriracha. It will make a hearty breakfast as well.
Tasty but not worth the effort.
