I love making polenta bakes. I also love spicy tacos. So spicy taco polenta bake? I'm all in! Polenta bakes are so versatile. I make so many versions of this it's ridiculous. Taco, enchilada, nacho, BBQ, buffalo chicken, spinach and goat cheese, chorizo, carnitas- you name it, I've made it. The process is essentially the same in each recipe, only the ingredients change. Which is probably why I make them so much. I run on auto pilot when I make these now. It's what I go to for meal prep when I'm short on time and energy. This recipe is gluten free and you can also make it dairy free to meet your dietary needs by just skipping the cheese.
What is Polenta?
I really had no idea what polenta was until a few years ago when a friend of mine (Hey Jill!) told me about how she made a carnitas polenta dish and I was like, "What is this polenta you speak of?" So I investigated and long story short, a love of polenta was born. It's basically just corn meal. That's it. But the taste is pretty neutral so it works perfectly as a base for so many dishes.
One thing to note is that the polenta I use comes in a plastic wrapped tube. I get it from Trader Joe's. I crumble it up with my hands and then press it into the bottom of a 9x9 casserole dish to get the base of the casserole. You should end up with something like this.
How To Prepare Taco Polenta Bake
Once you have the base as shown above, it is ready for the oven. I bake it for 15 minutes first so the polenta slightly comes together. After 15 minutes of baking, you can start to layer your other ingredients. Once you have everything your little heart desires on top of your polenta crust, it's ready for the final bake.
Ingredients
For this taco version of the polenta bake, you need ground beef, taco seasoning, black beans, diced green chilis and shredded cheese. Feel free to be creative here and use your favorite type of cheese. I love using mozzarella. You can make this spicy taco polenta bake with ground beef, ground turkey or shredded chicken-all delicious! Sometimes I switch things up and use pinto beans instead of black beans or add corn. It's really customizable to whatever sounds good to you.
Other Taco Inspired Recipes You May Like
Meal Prep Taco Breakfast Scramble
Spicy Taco Polenta Bake
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Main Dishes, Casserole
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Ingredients
- 1 pkg polenta (I get mine at Trader Joe's)
- 1 lb ground beef (I use 96/4 or 90/10)
- 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed
- 1 4 oz can of diced green chiles
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup diced white onion
- ¼ cup sliced back olives
- 3 tbs taco seasoning (I like Primal Palate)
- ½ TBS avocado oil
- Toppings: green onion, cilantro, avocado
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Remove polenta from packaging and crumble with your hands and add salt and pepper to taste. Push down into a 9x9 casserole dish greased with cooking spray to form the base. Bake for 15 minutes.
- While polenta is baking, begin preparing the ground beef. Add oil to a heated skillet along with onions and sauté for 1-2 minutes
- Add ground beef, diced chiles and seasonings to skillet, breaking into crumbles until cooked through
- When ready, remove polenta from the oven and layer with ground beef, black beans, cheese, olives and green onion
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Top with green onions and cilantro and serve!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of recipe
- Calories: 442
- Fat: 16
- Carbohydrates: 28.5
- Fiber: 7.8
- Protein: 41.8
Susie says
Love you Jen! You are awesome!
Jen says
Thank you Susie!!! Love you tooo 🙂
blaireck says
What an amazing idea! I love love love this!
Jen says
it's definitely one of my favorite meals!
Naomi Goodnight says
Would this work prepped ahead of time? And pulled out of the fridge for the final bake?
Jen says
Hmmmm well I bake the polenta alone first for 15 minutes and then add the toppings and do the final bake. I'm not quite sure how it would be if you skipped that part but I definitely think it can wait for a final bake in the fridge after than initial bake is done!
Carly White says
Sounds delicious and will try it BUT i'm really interested in how you make the spinach and goat cheese version?
Judy says
Love this recipe. Easy to make and super tasty. I’ll be making this again for sure.
Jen says
I am so happy you enjoyed it!!
Jolene says
My family absolutely loved this recipe!
Megan says
Has anyone tried to do this with a bag of polenta instead of the tube?? Of course my store was out.
Erika says
Hi Megan,
I've made it with the boxed/bagged dried polenta. I prepared the polenta on the stovetop according to the package directions, then put it in the dish and baked it according to the recipe here. Came out great! Love this recipe!
Jen Lopez says
thats awesome! good to know if works with that type of polenta too!
Stephanie says
I'm adding this to the menu planning for the week.
Jackie says
This had good flavor (we used our favorite hot sauce) but chefs beware the recipe. Ingredients not listed in order of use. 2nd step should be grease the dish & 5th step should include green chilis, not onions. Step 7 should include avocados if you planned to use them. It was a bit of a fumble making this as I read, but will rewrite and use again.
Jen Lopez says
Hi Jackie, Thanks for the catch on the chiles. The onions still go in where I said they did. I made sure t add the chiles to the step where the seasoning was added.
Christina Goodpaster says
Does this refrigerate well? For meal prep for the week?
Jen Lopez says
Yes! I make it for meal prep all the time!
Robin Parker says
SO good! We are vegan so I used taco tofu for a meat substitute and also replaced black beans with Amy’s smashed black beans. It was SO good! Thank you for this recipe!
Jen Lopez says
so glad you enjoyed it!
Grey Ghost says
This looks delicious! Did I miss any other posts with a version with carnitas?
Christine Arendas says
Great recipe! I added diced heirloom tomatoes on top of the beans, just seemed to need something.
Anyway, the tomatoes were a great addition due to the avocado. I made my own polenta and baked it as suggested by another reviewer and it was perfect with grated Parmesan cheese added to the polenta for even more flavor. Next time I will try cheddar and/or pepper jack cheese instead of mozzarella. Thanks for the recipe.
sharon George says
Very happy to find your recipe. Years ago I read similar recipe in The Riverside Press Enterprise by a Chef who made this with cornmeal and many of the same ingredients you included. I made it and loved it but eventually lost it after several moves. It will be fun to make with polenta, which I also love. So glad you shared. Will rate it after I make it, and seriously expect five stars.
Marie says
This was so easy to make and so delicious. I made completely as directed. No substitutions. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks so much.
Tracy says
Wow - 1/4 of the whole 9x9 casserole dish is 442 calories? Am I reading that right?
Jen Lopez says
Yup! It is a very large piece with all the layers but you can cut it into 6 pieces if you're looking for something smaller.