Name: Polenta with Vegetables
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 Servings
Cuisine: Italian

Jule’s Menu Verified

January 22, 2026

This creamy polenta with vegetables and meatballs is a hearty and flavorful Italian-inspired main dish. The smooth, rich polenta pairs perfectly with a colorful Mediterranean vegetable medley and tender, savory meatballs, creating a satisfying and balanced meal. It’s ideal for weeknight dinners or casual gatherings, and can easily be customized with alternative proteins like crispy tofu, grilled salmon, or lemon-roasted chicken.

From the Cook

1/5

Polenta with Vegetables

Jule’s Menu Verified

Ingredients

WarningMilk and 5 other allergens identified

Instructions

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Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F) convection / 200 °C (390 °F) top and bottom heat. Clean the vegetables, quarter the eggplants lengthwise and slice thinly. Halve the tomatoes, and finely dice the celery and shallot.

Meatballs

Place all ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl, season generously with salt and pepper, and knead into a homogeneous mixture using your hands or a spoon.

Shape 15 to 20 evenly sized meatballs, about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, from the meat mixture and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes.

Sautéed Vegetables

Heat the oil in a pan, add the eggplant, celery, and shallot, season generously with salt, and sauté over medium-high heat for 5 to 8 minutes.

Once the eggplant is soft and juicy, add the tomatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until they are also nicely softened. Add the sugar and let it caramelize for 1 to 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat, add the diced tomatoes, and let simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.

Polenta

Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a pot. Stir the polenta (cornmeal) into the boiling water, let it come to a brief boil, then remove the pot from the heat. Cover the polenta and let it sit for 10 minutes to thicken.

Stir the ricotta into the polenta and season with salt. If the polenta is too thick, simply add a splash of milk.

Serve

Wash the thyme, strip the leaves, and add them to the vegetables. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Divide the vegetables and polenta onto two plates and serve with a quarter of the meatballs on each plate (about 3 to 5 meatballs).

Let the remaining meatballs cool, store them in the refrigerator, and use them within 3 days.

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About the Cook

Jule’s Menu

Hi, I’m Julia, and I’m the recipe developer, photographer, and author behind Jules’ Menu. I’ve spent the last eight years perfecting healthy everyday recipes so they strike the perfect balance between healthy and nourishing, simple and practical, and gourmet-level delicious.