Rice Cooker Polenta with Zucchini

Learn how to make perfect rice cooker polenta that’s creamy and delicious with this Italian cuisine-inspired recipe.

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Traditional polenta recipes require a lot of stirring, but making polenta in a rice cooker is a breeze! Polenta is made from coarsely ground cornmeal and can be served creamy—or cooled, cut into squares, and then baked or fried. A nice alternative to pasta or rice, it can be seasoned to complement different kinds of cuisine.

How to Make Polenta in a Rice Cooker

Instead of being a slave to the stove, you can “fix it and forget it” in a rice cooker with just three simple steps:

1. Add water to rice cooker
2. Stir in polenta (and any seasoning)
3. Cook on the white rice setting

It’s that easy! The recipe calls for vegan “parmesan”—or what my family calls “shaker cheese”. Here are a couple of ways to make it. 

Vegan “Parmesan Cheese”

I often use a recipe I found on Minimalist Baker. It’s super easy. You just blend the following ingredients until they become fine crumbs:

• ¾ cup raw cashews
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¾ tsp Himalayan cooking salt

This option works best for this recipe. However, some people need to avoid nutritional yeast. If you are one of them, try this next option.

Vegan “Parmesan Cheese” – without Nutritional Yeast

Blend the following:

• ½ cup Brazil nuts or cashews
• ½ teaspoon Himalayan cooking salt
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cloves of garlic

The fresh raw garlic option provides an extra kick! Feel free to adjust the measurements in either recipe to find the ratio you like best.

The Perfect Comfort Food

This creamy polenta recipe favors its Italian origins with a simple mix of zucchini, tomatoes, onions, navy beans, garlic, oregano, basil, marjoram, parsley, and the vegan “parmesan” of course! The blend of textures and flavors creates the perfect comfort food!

Print Pin

5 from 1 vote

Creamy Polenta with Zucchini

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup coarsely ground corn meal
• 4 cups water
• 2 cloves garlic crushed and divided
• 1 cup plant milk I use organic fortified rice milk
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• ½ cup vegan Parmesan cheese plus additional for topping (see options above)
• 2 medium zucchini diced ½ inch cubes
• 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes with zesty mild green chilies – with juice
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 15.5 oz canned low sodium navy beans rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• ½ tsp. dried marjoram
• sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Polenta

• Add 4 cups of water to rice cooker.
• Add cornmeal and 1 clove of crushed garlic and stir lightly.
• Close rice cooker and cook polenta on white rice setting (will take about 20-30 minutes).

Zucchini Topping

• While the polenta is cooking, add zucchini, onions, tomatoes, oregano, basil, marjoram and remaining clove of crushed garlic to a 5-quart sauté pan, cover and cook on medium high for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Reduce heat to medium if necessary.)
• Add navy beans to mixture in sauté pan and continue cooking for another 10 minutes on medium, stirring occasionally. Leave uncovered to reduce some of the liquid.
• When rice cooker beeps carefully open lid and stir polenta. It should be thick and creamy. Add plant milk, ½ cup vegan Parmesan cheese and dried parsley and stir to mix thoroughly.
• Cover and leave rice cooker on keep warm setting until zucchini mixture is done.

Serving

• Place 3-4 ladles full of polenta into 4-5 pasta bowls.
• Use a large slotted spoon to top each serving with 3-4 spoonsful of zucchini mixture.
• Sprinkle with additional vegan Parmesan cheese and sea salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Notes

Note: Nutrition information is a rough estimate for special dietary needs. I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.

Nutrition

Calories: 547kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 924mg | Potassium: 1048mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 421IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 200mg | Iron: 7mg