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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.

overhead photo of Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas with 3 bowls in photo

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.

overhead photo of raw mushrooms and butter

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.

overhead photo of Mushrooms and Chickpea on baking sheet before roasting

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.

overhead photo of Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas on baking sheet

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.

overhead close up photo of Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas

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.

overhead photo of Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas with spoon in bowl and 2 bowls in photo

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:

Pesto Polenta with Thyme-Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 649 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds wild mushrooms, roughly torn
  • 1 can (14 ounce) chickpeas, drained and patted dry
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 6 cloves garlic, smashed
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Creamy Polenta

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Position the oven rack in the upper 1/3 of
    the oven.
    2. On a rimmed baking sheet, combine the olive oil, mushrooms, chickpeas, thyme,
    garlic, and a pinch each of salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
    Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Increase the heat to 475
    degrees F. Toss the mushrooms and chickpeas, then return to the oven and
    continue baking another 5-10 minutes until crisp on the edges. Watch closely.
    3. Meanwhile, make the polenta. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil
    over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the polenta, stirring until the polenta is
    soft and thick, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter with olive oil, kale, and 2
    tablespoons pesto, stirring until the kale has wilted, about 3 minutes. If the polenta thickens too much, thin with additional water.
    4. Divide the polenta between bowls and break the burrata over the polenta. Spoon the mushrooms and chickpeas over tip. Drizzle with addition pesto. Enjoy!
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horizontal photo of Pesto Polenta with Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Chickpeas and butter in photo

{This post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This turned out so delicious! I sautéed up some pancetta with leaks and then roasted that with the mushrooms and chickpeas. So delicious….everyone loved it at the Super Bowl party!

  2. 5 stars
    Made this last night. Loved it and it felt kind of fancy and definitely company worthy. The pesto and burrata totally elevate this!

    1. Hi Hannah,
      Fantastic!!🌻 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT

  3. 5 stars
    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!

    1. Hey Sarah,
      Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xx

  4. 5 stars
    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

    1. 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

  5. 5 stars
    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

    1. 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

  6. 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!

    1. 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

  7. 5 stars
    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.

    1. 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

  8. 4 stars
    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.

    1. Hey Marian,
      Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan

    1. Hey Tina,
      Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a fantastic week! xTieghan

  9. 5 stars
    Delicious! Will make again. Didn’t have burrata but it was great with shredded parm and pecorino. May add crispy pancetta next time.

  10. 5 stars
    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!!