Cheesy Breakfast Egg and Polenta Casserole

By Sarah Copeland

Cheesy Breakfast Egg and Polenta Casserole
Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(3,232)
Comments
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If you’ve had the pleasure of a cheesy polenta dinner, topped with a creamy-yolked egg, you can imagine how good that combination is at breakfast. This quick casserole for a crowd is exactly that, made elegant and easy so you can have a perfectly cooked portion for each person with very little work. Layer your polenta with anything you desire, whether salami or ham — or keep it vegetable-centric with spinach or oven-roasted tomatoes. Make nests between your toppings and the polenta where the eggs will cook slowly, giving you a soft-cooked finish that’s loaded with flavor.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • 2tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
  • 1cup quick-cooking polenta
  • ½teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1cup whole milk
  • ½cup/2 ounces fontina or mozzarella, or a blend, shredded
  • 5ounces thinly sliced cured meat, such as hot or sweet Italian sausage, salami or ham (optional)
  • 1packed cup spinach, kale or other leafy green, torn or chopped (optional)
  • 8large eggs
  • ½cup/2 ounces grated Parmesan
  • Ground black pepper
  • ¼cup packed basil leaves, larger ones roughly torn (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

272 calories; 14 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 329 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the center. Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch pan and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta and salt, and cook, stirring constantly until the polenta bubbles and pulls away from the pan, about 3 minutes. Vigorously stir in the milk, butter and cheese until smooth and creamy. (It will seem loose.)

  3. Step 3

    Spread the polenta onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer with meat, greens or anything else you desire. Use the back of a large spoon to create 8 small wells in the polenta. Crack the eggs inside, sprinkle with Parmesan, and bake 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how set you like your eggs. Let stand for 5 minutes; sprinkle with black pepper and basil and serve warm.

Ratings

4 out of 5
3,232 user ratings
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Comments

Diane Bertrand

I did not have unprepared polenta on hand, but did have a roll of Trader Joe's polenta. I sliced it in the bottom of the pan, brushed it with butter and broiled it a bit to brown before adding the other ingredients. I also added scallions and more than doubled the cheese (applying in two separate layers on top of the polenta and over the veggies and meat). Used ten eggs. Cooking time was more like 22 minutes, but I dislike runny whites. Came out great, no texture issues.

Mary Buford Hitz

Super good and simple. Used baby spinach (uncooked), sauteed mushrooms, chopped green onions, parsley, and leftover pieces of Smithfield ham (so I was sparing with salt). It took at least five - seven more minutes at 400 degrees to turn the eggs from see-through to white. Think next time I will cook it at 425 degrees. VERY tasty, and the polenta made a good base. And a little hot sauce was a good touch.

Peter Larson

I've made this three times now, and I am doing it again for a celebration birthday brunch this weekend. I made the polenta a little richer (more milk than water) and made sure the eggs were at room temperature. I'm adding chopped roasted red peppers to it this weekend. This is the one great meal!! I'm serving it with the caramelized citrus with yogurt recipe also from the NYT.

Suzanne

This was a yummy one! I will make it again. I did not put in any meat and added a whole bunch of sauteed veggies. Yum!!

Courtney R

Not my favorite.

Aine

This was delicious! It did take 30 minutes to get the egg whites set at which point the yolks were too cooked, so I may just fry eggs separately next time and top it off with them when I pull it from the oven (I even used my smaller upper oven which runs hot due to its size and is true to temp...I set it at 425 and it was still a half hour). Used sausage and baby spinach, and creme fraiche in polenta along with fontina and mozz.

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