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Creamy Garlic Corn Chicken with Cheesy Polenta. A delicious bowl of late summer comfort food. Chicken and corn cooked in butter with spices and garlic, then finished with cream to create a creamy, spicy sauce. Simple quick cooking polenta that’s perfectly buttery and swirled with sweet gouda cheese. Together you’ve got a flavorful and delicious meal that’s made quick and suitable for any night of the week.
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Really working from the mobile office this week! I’m currently in the Chicago airport and when you read this, I will be in New York, but heading home to Colorado today! I love traveling, but I love heading home too. Although I think I could have stayed another day in New York, I love it here!
Hoping the weather is starting to clear up a bit at home. When I left we were still having a lot of heavy afternoon storms. I’m ready for those late summer sunny days!
With it already being mid-August, corn is very plentiful. So, as I hinted on Monday, I have plenty of new recipes coming with this end-of-summer produce!
And I love this recipe. Funny enough this recipe idea came from a seafood dish I made recently with polenta. I haven’t been using polenta as much lately, but that recipe brought it back into rotation.
We love polenta. But while I love the polenta used in this recipe, it’s more about the chicken, corn, and creamy sauce!
Here are the details
The polenta needs a little more time cook, so we’ll start here!
You need lots of butter and quick-cooking polenta. Regular polenta works too, but quick-cooking is well, quicker!
Start by warming the milk until it is steaming, then whisk in the polenta. The key with polenta is to stir it for five minutes until it gets creamy, then cover. With this dish, before you cover I like to add cheese and butter. Creamy, sweet gouda is my favorite cheese here, but parmesan or a sharp cheddar would be nice too.
Now cover the polenta and let it finish cooking while you start on the chicken and corn.
For the chicken, I like it to be a little on the crispy side. To achieve this, I toss it with cornstarch before cooking, then pan-sear the chicken in butter with cajun seasonings until browned. I love to make my own homemade cajun spice mix, but if you’re in a pinch, store-bought works too.
When the chicken has browned, add the corn, garlic, and fresh thyme. Then stir in the cream and let the sauce warm through. Add a little lemon zest and basil to finish. It takes maybe five or ten minutes from start to finish – tops.
Simple, but so much flavor from all the spices, garlic, and lemony butter pan sauce.
Finish it up
I plate the polenta first, usually in a low pasta bowl. Then spoon the chicken, corn, and sauce over the polenta. Since we have so many fresh herbs right now, I top the bowl with plenty of fresh basil. Then serve with crusty bread and a big arugula salad from the garden.
So quick and simple – so delicious.
As I mentioned earlier, the chicken is the main flavor here, but the polenta completes it. It rounds out the meal and adds another layer of comfort to the dish. I think you’ll all love it!
Looking for other summer recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Lemon Butter Chicken Piccata with Pesto Polenta
Garlic Parmesan Herb Butter Polenta Fries with Lemon Aioli
Zucchini Carbonara with Crispy Prosciutto and Burrata
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Garlic Corn Chicken with Cheesy Polenta, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Garlic Corn Chicken with Cheesy Polenta
Ingredients
Polenta
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup dry polenta
- 1/2 cup gouda cheese, or grated parmesan
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- kosher salt and black pepper
Chicken
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 cups raw corn kernels
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or canned coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Instructions
- 1. To make the polenta. In a medium pot, add 2 cups water and the milk. Bring to a low boil, then whisk in the polenta, stirring until the polenta is soft and thick, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan, butter, and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat off, cover the pot, and let the polenta sit 5 minutes.2. Meanwhile, make the chicken. Toss the chicken with the cornstarch. 3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, chicken, 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning, and a big pinch of pepper. Cook 5-minutes, until browned. Stir in the corn, garlic, and thyme and continue to cook until the garlic is fragrant. 4. Pour in the cream and stir in 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning. Cook 1-2 minutes to warm through, adding water or additional cream to thin the sauce. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon zest and basil.5. Spoon the polenta into bowls, then spoon the chicken and creamy corn sauce over the polenta. Eat and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Made this tonight for dinner and it will be on constant rotation. It is sooo easy and comes together in a few minutes. The only cheese I had on hand for the polenta was Gruyère which I was afraid would be too strong but it wasn’t! I think any cheese for the polenta would be good (except maybe blue but honestly that would probably be good too.) You hit this one out of the park Tieghan!!!!
Hey Lisa,
Amazing!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! Hope you’re having a great Friday! xx
This dish is a tasty treat! I made the Cajun seasoning and it was delicious.
Hey Tena,
Happy Friday! Thanks a ton for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was a hit! ?Tieghan
Just made this for dinner tonight! Super quick and easy to make and so flavorful! I love polenta and the creamy, spicy corn goes so well with it! I served it with some quickly sautéed broccoli rabe with garlic and lemon zest. I’ll definitely make this again!
Hey Lesly,
Perfect!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for trying it out! Happy Friday! xx
Made this tonight and it has to be one of my faves now! The garlic and lemon and Cajun seasoning was just an amazing combo of flavors. Thank you for working with all these fun flavors and sharing with us all!!
Hey Kylie,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xx
In your video it looks like you only use milk for the polenta, but in the recipe you say to use 2 cups water and the milk. So I just wanted to verify that it is 2 cups milk and 2 cups water for the polenta?
Hey Chandra,
Yes, you will want to use 2 cups of water plus the milk. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
I love all your recipes ! What would you suggest i substitute the milk for in the polenta, i need a non dairy alternative. I wouldn’t want to change the taste too much .
Thanks !!
Hi Danielle,
Any non-dairy milk will work well for you! I hope you love this dish, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Could you use polenta from the store?
Hi Genevieve,
Yes, that’s where I get mine:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Making this tonight. Question recipe calls for 1 tablespoon 2 teaspoons Cajun spice but instructions says to only add 1 tablespoon. Where does the other 2 tsp go?
Hey Judy,
So sorry for any confusion, the other 2 teaspoons are in step 4. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Oh my heavens!! This was just amazing and a hit with the entire family, even the picky eaters. I used Sharp Cheddar as that is what I had on hand. It was delicious and this will be on the rotation of dinners for us. Thanks again for another great meal.
Hey Francina,
Happy Friday! Thanks a ton for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was a hit! ?Tieghan
This looks absolutely delicious! This may seem like an obvious question but how do I get raw corn kernels?
Im thinking you would purchase fresh corn on the Cobb and then cut the kernels off of the cobb then cook them in the sauce. 🙂
Thanks Danielle!
Hi Kathy,
You can slice the corn from the cob or use canned corn. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this tonight as I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, namely a lot of corn. It’s also cooled down a bit so I don’t mind turning on the stove. Followed recipe pretty closely, though used parm vs Gouda in the polenta bc that is what I had. It came together pretty easily and was delicious and very flavorful. My (picky) husband went back for thirds. It’s critical not to multi-task and spend the first 5 minutes constantly whipping the polenta over the low heat to get a smooth texture.
Hey Alexis,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner and really appreciate you making it:) xTieghan
Do you think I clime sub shrimp for the chicken? Would you follow the recipe as is if you subbed shrimp or would you make any changes?
I would cook your shrimp separately and stir it in at the end
Hey Kristen,
Sure, shrimp would be great! I would actually just follow this recipe:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/spicy-garlic-lemon-butter-shrimp/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Absolutely DELICIOUS!!! So simple and good. Got corn polenta from azure Standard, specifically for your recipes ??
Hey Taylor,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner and really appreciate you making it:) xTieghan
Could you sub fontina for the cheese?
Hey Melissa,
Sure, any cheese you like would work:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Is it ok to use corn meal if I can’t find polenta?
You could but polenta is more dense. So you will end up with a “polenta” that’s less think and doesn’t hold form.
Hey Christina,
Sure, that will also work well for you! I hope you love this dish, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Could grits work in place of polenta?
Hey Lindsay,
Sure!! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx