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Creamy, buttery Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas …a delicious bowl of late summer comfort food. This simple pesto polenta is made in under an hour, uses just one sheet pan and one pot, and is a great way to use up those garden herbs. The polenta is creamy, perfectly buttery, and swirled with pesto. The wild mushrooms and chickpeas are slowly roasted together with fresh thyme and garlic. When spooned over bowls of creamy polenta, it makes for a simple, healthy-ish, and delicious dinner that’s great for any night of the week.
This post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.
And just like that, September hits, my oven is on, and I’m roasting mushrooms.
It’s crazy how much I love this time of year. I live for these golden September days, and my creativity thrives once fall really sets in. I know it’s only early September, but I’m slowly ready to start incorporating a bit more “coziness” into everyone’s kitchens.
It’s all getting started with this polenta, which I personally think is the perfect cozy…ish, transitional recipe to welcome the cooler days ahead.
One of my favorite parts about this recipe?
It’s so quick and easy to make. It uses just one sheet pan and one pot, and allows the oven to do all the work for you! Love a more hands-free recipe.
So here are the details on how I like to prepare this colorful, delicious dinner.
Your first step is to get the mushrooms and chickpeas roasting in the oven. After a lot of trial and error, I found the perfect method for getting insanely flavorful mushrooms and perfectly crisp chickpeas…slow roasting.
Start by tossing the mushrooms and chickpeas with olive oil, plenty of fresh thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper. You’ll want to make sure to coat everything well in olive oil to ensure the mushrooms turn golden and the chickpeas are crisp. The key here is to first roast the chickpeas at a lower oven temperature. Then crank the heat up for the final few minutes of cooking. This chars the mushrooms on the edges and gets the chickpeas golden and crispy.
While that’s happening, make the polenta on the stove. If you’ve never made homemade polenta, I’m excited to introduce you to it. It’s delicious and so easy to make.
I like to use instant polenta to keep the cooking process quick and effortless. Simply boil water, whisk in the polenta, and allow to cook for a few minutes until it’s thick and creamy. It’s that simple.
The most important ingredient when making polenta – the butter. If there’s one thing my mom taught me about cooking polenta…if you really want it to taste delicious…add butter! Yep, she’s pretty smart.
So, I turned to one of my favorites, Land O Lakes® Butter with Olive Oil and Sea Salt.
What I love about this butter is that it quickly melts into the polenta, flavoring it with hints of sweet cream, savory olive oil, and flaky sea salt. It’s the perfect balance and really helps to highlight the flavors and creaminess of the polenta.
Beyond delicious.
Since I wanted to keep the recipe full of healthy ingredients, I stirred in green kale…a superfood powerhouse. If you don’t love kale, spinach is an equally great alternative.
By the time everything is finished roasting, the polenta will be ready. Now it’s time to serve everything up. You know me, I have to go a little above and beyond, so here’s exactly how I plate this dish.
Spoon the polenta into your favorite bowls…I’m all about making things extra pretty. Swirl a few spoonfuls of pesto over the polenta, then add burrata cheese. You might not think the cheese is necessary. But if you really want to do this dinner right, trust me, add the burrata.
Next, spoon those thyme-roasted mushrooms and crisp chickpeas over the polenta. Finish with a pat more of butter…you must do this, it’s just too good not to. And a pinch of flaky sea salt.
The perfect bowl of polenta – topped with golden roasted mushrooms, crisp chickpeas, and just a little burrata too. It does not getter better.
My suggestion to you? Once that first cool afternoon blows in, plan to make this. It’s such a great bowl to cozy up to when the weather cools off.
If you make this Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas, 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!
Watch The How To Video:
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
{This post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}
Made this last night. Loved it and it felt kind of fancy and definitely company worthy. The pesto and burrata totally elevate this!
Hi Hannah,
Fantastic!!🌻 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
Delicious!! I made my own lemon pesto from the HBH Super Simple book and I like the lemon flavor in it!
Hey Kendall,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xx
This is my most-made recipe from the whole website! We don’t always have burrata on hand, and it’s still good without. Regular cremini mushrooms are still delicious if fancy once aren’t in the budget.
We ALWAYS double the amount of chickpeas, though!
Hey Sarah,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xx
This is exactly what I was looking for. Easily comes together and is as tasty to eyes as it is to the palette. I highly recommend this and it’s good enough to serve at a dinner party
Hi Lori,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Happy Holidays!? xx
absolutely delicious!!!!I LOVED LOVED LOVED IT. only thing the grits need to cook way more like 30 min to make it amazing, then add the greens
Hey Inna,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
My husband and I love this! We also make just the mushrooms and chickpeas as a side at least once a week. It pairs really well with almost any meat and veggie dish and I love it for lunch the next day as a bowl with some greens and quinoa or sweet potatoes. We’re making it tonight over cheesy grits.Can’t wait!
Hi Fatima! Thanks so much for trying out this recipe and taking the time to leave a kind comment. Hope you have a lovely day! And Enjoy those yummy cheesy grits 🙂 xTieghan
I made this tonight using snap peas instead of mushrooms and ricotta rather than burrata. So so good and easy! Thanks again for a great recipe.
Hey Deb,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
Love everything but the mushrooms ?. What would be a good sub or should I just leave them out?
Hey Robin,
Really any other veggie that you enjoy would work well here. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I’m not a cook and eat immediately kinda person. Made the polenta and put spinach on top after burner turned off to wilt. Put all in a bake pan, topped with a boiled leek I had and cheddar cheese. Cooked chickpeas separately first for 15 min and turned off oven. Added 1 Red Bell pepper sliced and mushrooms in warm oven to chickpeas. When ready to eat, turned oven to 425 for 10 min. Drizzled was with home made basil chimchurri. I thought it was outstanding. My husband doesn’t like hard beans and wanted meat.
Hey Marian,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
i had this for dinner last night, just subbed grits for polenta. Really good and enjoyed by everyone.
Hey Tina,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a fantastic week! xTieghan
Our family savored every bite of this delicious meatless Monday meal!!
Hey Laura,
I am so glad you have enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! Have a great week! xTieghan
Delicious! Will make again. Didn’t have burrata but it was great with shredded parm and pecorino. May add crispy pancetta next time.
Yes! I am really glad these turned out so well for you, Marisa! Thank you so much! xTieghan
So.dang.delicious. Added 4 strips chopped bacon to the chickpea and mushroom roasting pan which crisped up nicely at the end. Used stock and milk in the polenta. My first experience with burrata and it definitely does make the dish. Thanks for sharing this recipe, I will certainly make this dish again!!
Thank you Erica!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan