I gave you my favorite creamy polenta recipe a few weeks ago and although I love the taste of polenta made that way, I think what you can do with the leftovers might be even more delicious. Fried polenta makes for an excellent breakfast substitute for pancakes or waffles and can be topped with syrup, jam or even just butter.
Fried Polenta Recipe
This is more of a technique than a recipe, but we need to start off by heating up our fat. I prefer bacon fat, but you can certainly use vegetable or corn oil. Get that started by heating it up in your sturdiest skillet.
Once that has started to melt, you’ll want to get your leftover polenta out of the fridge. After settling, your polenta should be pretty much a corn-based brick, that’s perfect it will make for easy slicing. Go ahead and cut the polenta into half inch thick slices. 
Time for frying!
Gently place the polenta slices into the pan, they are a bit fragile at this point and you don’t want to break them. From this point on, your eyes will be your guide. Make sure to get each side nice and brown, but don’t let it get too brown because burned polenta tastes horrific. If you’re picky, you can hold the slices on their sides to get the edges, but it’s really not necessary. 
Once everything is the way you like it, take the polenta slices out of the pan and let them rest for a minute on a paper towel. That will help to absorb some of the grease and allow the outside to be every crispier. 
Finishing & Serving your Fried Polenta
You’ve just finished making your new favorite breakfast food. The polenta slices will be crispy and crunchy on the outside, but creamy, smooth in the middle. It’s the best way to start your day.
While they can be eaten plain, so can pizza, but when was the last time you had plain pizza? The salty crunchiness is the perfect compliment for a sweet topping like syrup, jelly, jam or even powdered sugar.
Tagged with: fried polenta recipe • Polenta recipe
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December 9th, 2008 at 9:56 am
I discovered the “country” version of this dish at Bob Evans a few months ago – Fried Mush as it is discribed on the menu (btw, the Fried Mush camp needs a better marketing campaign as Fried Polenta sounds much more appetizing!). This is good stuff though…I’ll have to head back there or make some at home.
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December 10th, 2008 at 10:00 am
These can also be eaten as an appetizer in the winter months. With just a little coarse salt and eaten still very warm, they are great with a little glass of wine. Hubby is a retired soldier and when we lived in Pisa, Italy, the restaurants served fried polenta as an appetizer in the winter. It was filling and even went well with a bowl of soup or pasta.
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December 15th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Every time i check to see if there’s an update i end up all “yuuuuum, fried polenta” for the next few hours. Must not give in to your mind control.
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January 24th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
I have been eating Polenta for 80 years. I was told at the time that it was a Austrian recipe.
I eat it at any meal. I like it for breakfast as a cereal or fried topped with Syrup.
I have had it at dinner in place of potatoes or rice. I also like it with cheese and a glass of wine.
It is also very economical.
So happy to see that so many people are eating it today.
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November 24th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I’ve eaten fried mush all my life. I slice it 1/4″ thin, dust the slices with flour and fry until golden brown. Just pass the butter, please; it needs no other topping. Butter, man, no fake chemical stuff at our house. A glass of orange juice is the only other accompaniment. Eat until full and know that it is economical, healthy, comfort food like no other.
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December 5th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Just for some balance here in response to Momo G, fried anything, topped with butter, washed down with fruit juice, eaten on a daily basis, isn’t “healthy”–it’s an autobahn to coronary artery disease and diabetes. Knowing that the foods you’re eating are harming your arteries shouldn’t be “comforting” to anyone. If you want a great, hot, economical breakfast, boil up some steel cut oats and add some fresh fruit and cinnamon. Don’t want to cook? Just splash some almond milk onto some old fashioned rolled oats (not the “quick” or “instant” oats, and definitely not those packets of oatmeal) and add some fruit.
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sassy Reply:
July 17th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
You’re a bitch stfu [shut the fuck up]
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sean Reply:
November 11th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
i agree with you. its not like you would eat this everyday. its a treat. if you dont like it. stfu.
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Sharon Reply:
November 17th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Robert, you’re being a PITA with your “balance” comment.
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May 17th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
I love polenta! A friend and I made ours with garlic and a little cayenne and fried it like you.
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July 21st, 2011 at 10:18 pm
I had noted it in some recipes, but I never tried it. Finally, I purchased a bag for 1dollar not a lot in case it didn’t turn out. I love it, I am now ready to move on to a five pound bag.
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November 13th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Thanks for the nutritional value Robert; I wondered how healthy this is compared to pasta. Just made it for the first time from the tube form. Friend in a little buter w/olive oil topped with marinara sauce with little cheese. LOVED IT. Polenta will now become a staple in my house. I’m assuming its healthier than pasta.
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