I hadn’t anticipated what a hit these would be for the little one. He ate so much that he ate what would have been my leftovers for lunch the next day! The base is canned tomatoes, white beans, spinach, and basil topped with a polenta cake and melted cheese. It was an easy meal to prep in advance for a quick #meatlessmonday !
I liked the warm & comforting nature of this dinner, especially for a cold night. I imagine it would have reheated nicely, but some three-year-old I know ate about 4 servings-worth. Seriously, what am I going to do when he’s a teenager?
Ok, onto my soap box: go get some Pastene Kitchen Ready Tomatoes. Not sponsored- they have no idea who I am. These are the best for pizza sauce and as an everyday tomato sauce. I looooove that there isn’t any sugar, check out your go-to tomato sauce. It likely has tons of sugar, and prob a surprising amount of sodium. Jazz it up however you like but I promise you’ll love it!
Tomato Basil Polenta Bowls
Ingredients:
~2 cups Pastene Kitchen Ready Tomatoes, or tomato sauce
1, 15 oz can of white beans, drained & rinsed
2 cups spinach, chopped
6-8 basil leaves, chopped chiffonade
1 cup instant polenta prepared, or 1- 18 oz tube sliced into disks
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
salt & pepper
Directions:
If using dry, instant polenta, prepare according to directions and pour into a baking dish. (I used instant and prepared it the morning before serving. I covered and refrigerated until dinner time.)
Add Kitchen Ready Tomatoes, white beans, chopped spinach, salt & pepper to a large pan over low heat. Cook for ~10 minutes to warm through, stirring occasionally. Add in basil at the end.
In a small skillet, pan fry disks of polenta in a drizzle of olive oil, just until crisped and warm. (I used instant polenta that I cut out with a biscuit cutter- or maybe it was a slider ring, who knows.)
Flip and top with shredded cheese. Pop under a broiler for just a minute to melt.
Serve polenta cake on top of the bean mixture. Enjoy!