How to Make Polenta Chips: baked & gluten-free

Polenta chips are delicious and a fun alternative to potato chips. Polenta chips are oven-baked and gluten-free.  It's crispy and easy to make, just a little prep. and planning. Firstly, boil up the polenta in vegetable stock until thick, then place it in a lined tin to cool and set it for at least an hour in the fridge. Then cut, brush with oil and a sprinkle of polenta and bake for 30 minutes until crunchy and golden.

Inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe. I always thought that polenta chips were hard to make but they take a little planning as they need time to rest but it is worth the effort.

To make this recipe dairy-free and vegan replace the parmesan cheese with 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast.

Takes = 10 minutes prep plus chill time in the fridge
Bakes = 30 minutes
Makes = 15-18 thick chips (double for a family)

Ingredients

• Vegetable stock – 400 ml (about 2 UK cups)
• Quick/fine polenta – 150g ( + a little for dusting)
• Parmesan cheese* or nutritional yeast – 40g (1/3 cup)
• Parsley or oregano – 1-2 tsp
• olive oil for baking

Method

1. Boil vegetable stock and slowly add in your polenta, and a pinch of salt and whisk continually until thick, it will start to pull away from the sides.  Once thick, add in the finely grated parmesan cheese and stir in herbs if desired.
2. Pour the thick polenta mixture into a greased and lined 20cm square tin and cool on the bench for 30 minutes. Then chill in the fridge to firm up for at least 1 hour or overnight and cook the next day.
3. Preheat your oven to 220˚C/ 200˚C fan.
4. Remove the chilled polenta from the fridge and into chip-like chunks and brush with 2 tablespoons of olive oil—dust with the extra polenta. Arrange on a greased baking tray in a single layer and bake for 30 minutes or until crisp and golden.
5. Serve the hot polenta chips with a little extra Parmesan grated on top, and your favourite dip on the side or enjoy just with salt.

Baking Tips

• Feb 2024: update I have now doubled this recipe and for a vegan option – replace the cheese with nutritional yeast. You could also add a zest of some lemon.