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Make Ahead

Blueberry Almond Breakfast Polenta

by:
September 21, 2009
4
2 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 3 to 4
Author Notes

This recipe came to me right as I was about to overextend myself: I'm 8 mos pregnant and, with a day of cooking ahead of me, almost decided to whip up impromptu blueberry corn muffins for breakfast. As I stared at the cornmeal trying to gear up to bake, it struck me: BREAKFAST POLENTA! Such a treat, so very Italian, and (most importantly) quick and easy. I boosted nutrition with almond meal and blueberries and couldn't have been happier with the ridiculously yummy results. Enjoy! - ChowMamaStacie —One Hungry Mama

Test Kitchen Notes

ChowMama Stacie, inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe, starts with a brilliant concept (polenta instead of cream of wheat!) and runs with it. She blends almond meal with the polenta and cooks the two together, later adding vanilla, fresh blueberries and cardamom. A bit of honey lends just the right amount of sweetness -- a light touch keeps it from being cloying. We tried it with hazelnut meal too, and it was fantastic. We think this delicately flavored breakfast cereal would be great with whatever berries are in season. - A&M —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 4 cups milk
  • 3/4 cup quick-cook polenta
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch Cardamom (up to 1/4 teaspoon)
  • Crème fraîche or sour cream, optional
Directions
  1. Bring milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.
  2. Reduce heat to low and add polenta, whisking constantly until smooth. Add almond meal and continue whisking until the polenta thickens to a creamy consistency. Add butter and whisk until it melts completely.
  3. Turn heat off and whisk in honey, blueberries, vanilla and cardamom. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream and an extra sprinkle of blueberries.
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31 Reviews

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Weste December 14, 2021
I made this using the long cooking polenta. Made polenta using microwave and cut cook time by about half then mixed in remaining ingredients except sour cream and +omitted honey) ingredients and poured in a bread pan. Let set up over night, sliced into 8 pieces and pan fried 20 minutes on each side on medium high heat. Served with sugar sprinkled on top. Tasted great.
Erika July 9, 2019
It was delicious, loved the cardamon flavour. Made it for breakfast this morning with a few changes, utilising what I had left in my kitchen. Halved the recipe, used half milk and rice milk. Infused the mixture with the cardamon whilst boiling and at the end added some cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg. Delicious.
Meghan November 27, 2017
This was absolutely delicious! I cut the recipe in half and used almond milk, and instead of berries used bananas. I can't wait to have this again tomorrow morning. I love the suggestion below of adding cardamom.
Carolina H. February 27, 2017
Can I replace the quick-cook polenta with polenta flour?
Diane O. October 13, 2016
I have a b&b. This has become a firm favourite. I would recommend making this in advance so it has time to thicken, because sometimes - for some reason, it doesn't thicken fast enough. It tastes wonderful. I tend to put a little more cardamom because I love the flavour.
Boleyn May 25, 2015
This was very good! I used 3 tbsp of honey and found it sweet enough. I also reduced the butter to 1 tbsp, and will leave it out entirely next time - I don't think I'll miss it. We topped this with homemade, unsweetened apple sauce and everybody loved it. Thanks for sharing!
a R. January 29, 2015
Just made this and halved the recipe. Used only 1 Tbs of honey and 1 Tbs of butter. Topped with blackberries, chopped almonds and a bit of greek yogurt. Delicious... Thank you!
Douglas B. August 22, 2014
glad you also enjoyed it Amy. I served it guests one weekend and it brought one of my guests back to his childhood growing up in the south.
Amy August 22, 2014
This is fabulous and will be a regular for me!
I am single so I knew I would be eating it over the course of a few days, so I left the berries out initially and then stirred them in each day after I had reheated the cereal, which worked great. I didn't have to add anything to thin out the leftovers--It pretty much kept the same consistency. Also, it is possible that I just used regular polenta (I live in Germany and the bag just says polenta). I made it exactly per the recipe and I don't think there were any issues--it looked just like the picture.
aruna August 14, 2014
When I found out how many calories there are in 1/2 cup of almond meal, I changed the proportion to 1 cup of polenta and 1/4 cup of almond meal. Tastes great! I make this regularly.
Douglas B. June 6, 2014
We had some guests from the south over one weekend and they adored this dish
jess C. August 19, 2012
Made this this morning - pretty good for a lazy Sunday morning. Wish I had cardamom on hand to add, I think that it would have had added the extra something it was missing without it. I did use soy milk/butter since that's what I always have on hand but splurged on plain greek yogurt as the topping and thought really added a necessary tang and freshness.

Now I gotta work on my polenta cooking technique - I think I cooked it a bit too long since mine turned out a bit more thick/pasty than rich/creamy.
phoebe's P. July 2, 2012
is it breakfast yet? can't wait to try this tomorrow...running out for local berries
cuceesprouts April 10, 2012
I have made it 3 times in the last few weeks. Now that it is Passover, we are eating it every day. What a great recipe. I did half the butter and honey to make it less sweet and rich. Here is my variation with edited recipe and pictures http://cuceesprouts.com/2012/04/blueberry-almond-breakfast-polenta/
KathyGresko February 25, 2012
Wondering how it would be topped with Greek yogurt instead of creme fraiche or sour cream?
One H. February 25, 2012
i bet great! it's got a similar (enough) tang factor that will work well enough in this context. Tell me how it works!
taylor.troxell February 8, 2012
Awesome! I made this for a large group of folks unfamiliar with the wonderful range of polenta! I used a locally milled polenta & cut the butter amount in half, but used KerryGold Irish butter. I also spiced the milk with the cardamom (1/2 tsp) before adding the polenta which produced a wonderfully intense perfume. Great recipe, thanks!
taylor.troxell February 8, 2012
Awesome! I made this for a large group of folks unfamiliar with the wonderful range of polenta! I used a locally milled polenta & cut the butter amount in half, but used KerryGold Irish butter. I also spiced the milk with the cardamom (1/2 tsp) before adding the polenta which produced a wonderfully intense perfume. Great recipe, thanks!
Gaea8521 April 24, 2011
Loved it. Perfect for a balmy and lazy Sunday..
paul_geils January 25, 2011
I made this for breakfast this morning. Wow. is it yummy!!!! The kids couldn't get enough! Well, my wife and I couldn't either.
CathyB July 22, 2010
This is really good. Since not everyone in my household is a big fan of blueberries, I sprinkled them on top of individual servings. I encourage people to try the sour cream/creme fraiche garnish. The polenta is quite sweet without it. If you skip the garnish, you may want to cut back on the honey a little. I can also report that it reheats well in the microwave.
jess C. August 4, 2012
Oh good! I was wondering about the reheat-factor. This sounds fantastic, but there's no way I could eat this all at once.