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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.
One of our favorites! My milk/water always boils over because I’m usually multitasking, but it’s so delicious!
Hi Aimee,
Happy Wednesday!! 🌸🌤️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it turned out well for you! xT
Seriously one of our favorites! All of your recipes so far have been easy family friendly. It’s gotten my kids to try so many different foods.
Hey Lisa,
Wonderful!!🌴🍍 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, love to hear that it turned out well! xx
Winner winner chicken dinner!!! Easy, quick and delicious. I would not change a thing! I used frozen corn as fresh is out of season. Recipe is good any time of year.
For those of you who found the polenta runny or too wet – remember it’s supposed to be ‘creamy’. If your’s is too wet, just let it reduce down until it’s the consistency you prefer.
Hey there,
Happy Sunday!😃 Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed:) xT
I made this recipe over the summer and loved it! I’d love to make it again but corn isn’t in season. Can I substitute raw corn for frozen? Thanks!
Hey Stephanie,
Totally, frozen corn will work well for you! Let me know how this recipe turns out! Happy Sunday! xx
But she asked about substituting raw corn for frozen and you didn’t answer her about that so I am curious as well.
Hi Julie,
I answered her question in my very first sentence: “Totally, frozen corn will work well for you!”
Let me know if I can help in any other way! Have a great Thursday! xx
Hi Tieghan,
Stephanie (the original poster, not me) and Julie were asking if they could substitute raw corn for frozen, meaning they’d like to know if they could use raw corn INSTEAD of frozen, not the other way around. Hope that clears up the confusion. 🙂
Yes, the recipe already calls for raw corn:)
I adjusted the recipe just a touch to suit my diet and the dish was PHENOMENAL. I think I ate it in 3.5 seconds it was that good. The creamy cajun chicken is just a dream, I will also try that with pasta and it would work with mashed potatoes too. The cornflour step really makes a difference to the flavour. I mixed the cornflour and cajun seasoning together. I also skipped the basil because I didn’t have any.
Hey Catherine,
Happy Friday!!❤️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it was delish! xT
Ok so I have to tell you how incredibly good this is. A few changes …I used instant polenta with chicken broth because I wasn’t sure how the instant polenta would work with milk. Also I used half and half instead of cream and the last thing I didn’t use the basil. Since it was Cajun I justk used the thyme. OMG so so good!
Hey Kelly,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend:)
Can you use instant polenta?
Hey Kelly,
Sure, just follow the package instructions for cooking:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I only made the cheese polenta and the liquid/ solid ratio is way off. It was a soup of milk & water with a little bit of polenta flavor thrown in.
Hi Shelley,
So sorry to hear this, what kind of polenta did you use? Please let me know how I can help! xx
The polenta in this dish is amazing! I used a smoked Gouda and felt that worked really well with the Cajun seasoning.
The chicken/sauce was great, too, but I didn’t think the thyme worked. It detracted from the smoky warmth of the Cajun seasoning. It felt a little like a confused Italian dish lol so I skipped the basil to preserve the Cajun flavor and just added a little lemon zest. It was still delish and I’d absolutely make it again (minus the thyme).
Hey Meredith,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! Sorry about the thyme! xx
Such a delicious, simple, comfort meal. Made this tonight and followed the recipe with Gouda grits and added zucchini. Loved it! Will add to our rotation for sure!
Hey Stacey,
I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was enjoyed!❄️ xx
Absolutely loved this recipe! I was in search of a perfect Fall polenta meal, which I had never made before, and of course I searched first on this website. I made some tweaks to make it slightly healthier by not adding cheese to the polenta and not adding cream to the chicken (without any substitution, and there was plenty of flavor with the homemade cajun seasoning)! I also made it a little easier on myself by using ground chicken instead of having to cut up breasts, which actually lent well to having a bite of chicken, corn, and polenta in every single bite. Highly recommend, as always!
Hey Madeline,
Love it!!🤩 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xx
Really great! Will definitely make it again. I didn’t have smoked Gouda so I used Parmesan. It was good but think I will like it even better w the smoked Gouda. I could also see this being really good with shrimp.
Hey Anna,
Happy Sunday! 🎃 So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
Could I possibly use instant polenta?
Hey there,
Sure, just follow the package instructions for that:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Comforting and satisfying. I used Gouda in the polenta and subbed almond milk for the milk and cream. I think this would be awesome with shrimp, too.
Hey Djienne,
Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was a winner! 🤩
I found a round of “wet” polenta. Do the measurements match?
Hi Kristina,
So sorry, they don’t, you can still use it but I would just follow the package instructions for the polenta. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I love this recipe. I’ve made it multiple times and am making it for guests. My only alterations are to add red or yellow peppers, which work well and up the veg quotient. And I don’t like polenta, so I make a cauliflower mash to go with. It’s so easy and good, especially when the corn in fresh, yum.
Hey Sarah,
Happy Friday!👻 Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try and sharing your review! I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xT