This polenta lasagna recipe couldn’t be easier. Using just a few ingredients like polenta from a tube, creamy ricotta, and classic marinara sauce, this simple recipe is incredibly delicious. The hot Italian sausage can be omitted to make this recipe vegetarian. Plus, this lasagna can be made ahead of time and freezes beautifully!
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I love polenta. Love it. I’m a sucker for smooth textures. Mashed potatoes are my favorite side, I always order the grits, and polenta is a major draw when it’s on the menu.
One of my friends told me she had polenta lasagna at a restaurant and I was like YES MUST MAKE. And it was as good as it sounds. It’s quickly become one of our favorite dinner recipes. Even better: this recipe utilizes the polenta in a tube that’s pre-made so it takes little effort from you.
Fun fact: this very polenta lasagna recipe was featured on the Polenta episode of The Ringer’s Recipe Club podcast!
What You’ll Need to Make Polenta Lasagna
You’ll want a good baking dish but other than that, you only need a few ingredients to make polenta lasagna:
- Marinara sauce. Store bought or homemade, no judgement here.
- Pre-made polenta. Yep, the kind in a tube. You can get it at most grocery stores, including Trader Joe’s.
- Ricotta cheese (with an egg mixed in!)
- Shredded mozzarella or Italian blend
- Hot Italian Sausage. You can use mild if you prefer. I use hot Italian chicken sausage (available locally in Portland at New Seasons). If you want to make this dish vegetarian, simply leave it out!
How to Make Polenta Lasagna
All you have to do is layer the ingredients and repeat! Frankly, the order doesn’t matter much, but I suggest:
- Marinara
- Polenta discs
- Sausage
- Ricotta
- Italian blend
- Repeat!
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 25 minutes. The longer you bake it, the more tender the polenta will be.
Click here to see the step by step Google Web Story.
Tips for Success
- Want to make this vegetarian? Just omit the sausage.
- Hot Italian chicken sausage makes this dish a little lighter.
- Don’t skip the foil: the top will cook way more quickly than the interior.
- The longer you cook the lasagna, the more the polenta will fall apart. I like it pretty tender.
- You can assemble this dish 3 days in advance and keep it in the fridge.
- This dish freezes really well!
- Use a 9×13 inch baking dish for this. Like my dish? Get it!
What to Serve with Polenta Lasagna
If you want some bread to serve, try my quick and easy focaccia bread. To make sure you get some veggies in with this hearty dish, whip up my Warm Brussels Sprouts Caesar. This dish goes great with a bold, Italian red. Might I suggest a tempranillo?
Can I Freeze This?
If you’re a meal prepper (and you know I am: have you checked out my latest cookbook, Sous Vide Meal Prep?), this is a fantastic option for you. Some ways you can prep it in advance:
- Assemble and freeze
- Assemble and refrigerate to cook later
- Freeze leftovers
When I do this, I like to freeze it in one of those foil baking trays to make life easy!
Polenta Lasagna Recipe
Get the Recipe:
Simple Polenta Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 25 oz jar marinara
- 1.5 18 oz tubes polenta
- 2 lbs hot Italian sausage, browned
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1.5 cups Italian blend cheese
Equipment
- Baking Dish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Slice polenta logs into slices a little thinner than 1/2 inch.
- In a small bowl, mix the ricotta with the egg and set aside.
- Spoon about 1/4 cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9×12 inch baking dish and spread it evenly.
- Arrange polenta slices to cover the bottom of the baking dish. You may need to slice some of the rounds in half to fill in gaps.
- Cover the polenta layer with half of the cooked Italian sausage.
- Top with spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture, then a layer of Italian blend cheese.
- Repeat the layers, ending with the cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 25 minutes, until top is browned and bubbly.
- Let cool on counter for 15 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.
Notes
- Want to make this vegetarian? Just omit the sausage.
- Hot Italian chicken sausage makes this dish a little lighter.
- Don’t skip the foil: the top will cook way more quickly than the interior.
- The longer you cook the lasagna, the more the polenta will fall apart. I like it pretty tender.
- You can assemble this dish 3 days in advance and keep it in the fridge.
- This polenta lasagna freezes really well!
This looks DELICIOUS! I love polenta, too. I’ve been known to buy the stuff in a tube, slice it up, top it with some marinara and shredded parm, and then just broil the crap out of it. *Italian finger kiss thing*
I just showed this to my husband and he is on board. Can’t wait to make it!
I added about a 1/4 cup extra ricotta and 1/2 cup extra mozzarella because I used 9×13 baking dish. It was so delicious and easy.
Am I missing something? Where is the rest of the marinara sauce used?
I made this tonight (with plant-based meatballs) and really like it. Thanks for the fun twist on lasagna.
What a great idea for a meatless version! So glad you liked the recipe.
Made this tonight and immitted the sausage and added spinach to the ricotta!! I did use more ricotta as well, but yummy!