This polenta cornbread loaf is a cornbread made with instant polenta instead of regular cornbread. It's a very nice option when you have polenta cornmeal over and you don't want to eat it as actual polenta again. Made in a loaf pan, this cornbread is a crowd pleaser and a fantastic complement to a hearty meal.
Traditionally served for Thanksgiving, I find it incredibly suited year round. Entirely gluten free, it is an excellent option for gluten intolerant guests. I was raised on polenta, but didn't have cornbread until my first Canadian Thanksgiving in my twenties. It's so amazing how different uses can culinary traditions make of a same ingredient.
Enjoy it with some olive oil and butter spread!
Ingredients & equipment
- Instant polenta
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Eggs
- Milk
- Honey
- Butter
For detailed quantities, refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
As for the equipment, to make polenta cornbread you will need 2 mixing bowls, an electric mixer, a silicone spatula and a loaf pan.
How to make Polenta Cornbread
1. Grease the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with butter and dust with polenta. It's good to take care of this step now, so the pan will be ready.
Melt the butter and set aside. Combine the cornmeal, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
2. Crack the eggs in another bowl and whisk at medium speed for a minute before adding the milk, honey and melted butter. When combined, lower the speed and mix in the cornmeal mixture. Leave for a couple of minutes in order for it to thicken.
3. Pour cornbread batter into the loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven at 220°C (428°F) for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden and shows some nice cracks.
Let it rest in the loaf pan for a couple of minutes before flipping it onto a cooling rack.
Polenta cornbread tips
Instant polenta is made with polenta that has been precooked, then dried and ground. Regular polenta is ground corn - basically, cornmeal. While there can be variations in polenta types (finer or coarser ground, wholegrain, stone-milled, etc), instant generally is only one type. It is a medium grind, and the fact that it's been precooked makes it very prone to absorbing liquids.
Can you use regular cornmeal in this recipe? Not really, if you want to keep the proportions as they are. As stated above, instant polenta absorbs more liquids than regular raw milled corn, so this recipe has more liquids to adapt to this ingredient. Cornbread made with cornmeal uses less milk.
Can you use regular polenta? Again, you could but it's not recommended. Instant polenta has been precooked, and will become soft quite quickly when combined with liquids. Regular polenta will not behave the same, leaving you with a grittier bite.
For the maize lovers
Here are some more recipes for those of you who love corn! Be it in the form of polenta, or as corn kernels, corn is a fantastic ingredient. I love its sweet flavour and its versatility. So click on the pictures below and enjoy more wonderful recipes! Thank you.
If you tried this recipe, let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you're planning to try it another time, pin this recipe to Pinterest. Please consider subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Instagram and on Pinterest.
Originally posted in November 2017, updated October 2026.
Polenta Cornbread Loaf
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Electric mixer
- Spatula
- Loaf pan
Ingredients
- 250 g instant polenta
- 15 g baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 500 ml milk
- 20 g honey
- 40 g butter
Instructions
- Grease the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with butter and dust with polenta. Melt the butter and set aside. Combine the cornmeal, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
- Crack the eggs in another bowl and whisk at medium speed for a minute before adding the milk, honey and melted butter. When combined, lower the speed and mix in the cornmeal mixture. Leave for a couple of minutes in order for it to thicken.
- Pour cornbread batter into the loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven at 220°C (428°F) for 30 -35 minutes or until the top is golden and shows some nice cracks. Let it rest in the loaf pan for a couple of minutes before flipping it onto a cooling rack.
Notes
I wonder what cornmeal is best... Coarse or fine ?
I used fine. I generally make polenta from coarse, while for this bread I used a cornmeal that had the texture of flour rather than that of semolina.
What is conversion of all ingredients
Hey Rosie! I recommend that you find a converter on google so you can get the quantities suited to the kind of measurement you need.
Hey, I just made this and it’s absolutely delicious! Just wondering if you’ve tried any variations of this with yeast rather than baking powder? I’m gluten free and thrilled to find something I can make with no flour substitutes, but find I can often ‘taste’ the baking powder flavour in non-yeast mixes so am keen to explore
Hi Anita! Thank you very much for taking the time to leave me a comment. It's always great to hear from someone who has enjoyed a recipe I have here! I have unfortunately not tried making this with yeast, so I have no expertise to share. I'm really sorry about that.
Hi! Do you think this recipe could be cooked in any dish other than a loaf pan? Do you think that would change the oven temperature and cooking time?
Hi Ellen! I think you can use a different pan, like a round cake pan without problems. I myself often bake muffin recipes in a small round pan and it usually works. I wouldn't change the oven temperature as that is optimal for this batter, but the time definitely needs to be adjusted. Like, when I make my muffin recipe in a single pan, baking time goes from 20 to 45 minutes, since it's much more. Same if you were to bake this batter into a muffin tin, then baking time would need to be shortened. So keep an eye as it bakes to adjust baking time, but keep the same oven temperature. Good luck!
Hi Eva,
Will this recipe work with Polenta, instead of cornmeal?
Thanks!
Hi Richelle, If you have the instant Polenta flour (the one that makes polenta in a few minutes), then I'm afraid it will not be the same thing because the composition of instant Polenta flour is different than regular cornmeal.