Butternut Squash Polenta With Sausage and Onion Recipe (2024)

I'm a big fan of polenta and its variations. I would have given this recipe 5 stars if it weren't for all the work involved with the squash. My shortcut is to roast the squash till tender, scrape out the pulp, then mash the pulp into an already cooked polenta.

I followed the directions the first time, and it was great. The next time I made it, I wanted more squash, so I sauted 1/2 diced squash (about 2 cups) in the butter and olive oil, and when it was almost done, I put it in the polenta as it was cooking. I put the fennel and rosemary into the onions as they cooked. I liked it even more.

This is a favorite recipe for the middle of the week. The beautiful flecks of butternut squash in the polenta somehow retain their "squashy" taste. Prep tip - I peel only the top half of the squash. Then I hold on to the bottom, rounded half of the squash, and grate the top half on a box grater. No grated knuckles! I save the bottom half for another dish.

i found that the polenta needed a flavor boost. added grated parmesan and then a dollop of creme fraiche for creaminess. other than, what a great flavor combo!

Wonderful recipe. For the "green" factor I threw in some good frozen spinach into the caramelized onions before returning the sausage. It did not add unnecessary moisture, and made a more complete one-pot meal.

This was great for a weeknight dinner. Based on previous suggestions, I roasted the butternut squash separately and added it to the polenta later - super easy. Also cooked the polenta in chicken broth instead of water and tossed in a parmesan rind, and stirred in creme fraiche at the end. We loved it!

This was delicious, and actually done in 45 minutes. I took Melissa's suggestion and put a fennel bulb in with the onions, sliced slightly thinner than the onion, and garnished it with fennel fronds. The one thing I did on my own was to deglaze my cast iron skillet with about 1/3 cup white wine, because that fabulous fennel/onion/sausage fond could not be denied! I have filed this recipe away as potential dinner party entree for four. And I have just a tiny crush on Melissa (blush emoji).

I roasted the butternut and then stirred into the finished polenta as another suggested. It was delicious! And much easier than shredding raw butternut. This was a wonderfully comforting fall dish. Butternut flavor without the sweetness that so many butternut dishes have.

It's not hard to peel and cut a butternut squash if you have a sharp chef's knife. First, slice through the squash horizontally above the bulbous part, to remove it. Then cut off the top by the stem. This will give you an even cylinder, easy to peel. I use the chef's knife, cutting from top to bottom in strips. You can then easily cut into whatever kind of pieces you want. For this recipe, I cut it into chunks and grated them in my food processor.

Cooked this tonight for 3 professional chefs. Our agreement is/was that the butternut squash could have been kicked up by a factor of 2. And (maybe) a smidge of brown sugar worked into the polenta toward the end to provide a stronger juxtaposition to the spicy Italian sausage. Otherwise a well-formed dish.

Comfort food at its finest! I took another cook's suggestion and added in sauteed chopped squash at the end, also added a diced red pepper that I cooked with the onions. I didn't add the fennel seeds, instead added 4 minced fresh sage leaves. This dish is really a pallet for your imagination (and refrigerator!) I hate it when people comment on a recipe, but changed it on their ow, but this recipe wants you to be creative.

I expected to love this (salsiccia, sauteed onions, polenta and Butternut squash - what's not to love???) but we didn't care so much for this. Not bad, and everyone ate it, but not a recipe that will stay in the box. That being said, the recipe reawakened my interest in polenta!

I just did this. Fantastic ! I didn't have butternut squash so I used grated sweet potatoes.

I couldn’t find polenta in the store so I made this with yellow grits and it was great! Roasted the squash in the oven before adding it as others have done.

The first time I made this, I cooked the polenta as though it was risotto: constant stirring and adding water as I went. The result was a watery mess. Non pro tip:Think of polenta like pudding: you want that thin skin on top. To accomplish this, after boiling, keep the heat low, but hot enough so the polenta is constantly bubbling, like a sauce you want to reduce. Don’t add water unless it is cakey and dry. Throw in butter during the last five minutes of cooking.

Great recipe! I love finding more ways to add vegetables to my diet. I didn't have sausage, so I made little meatballs. Sauteed mushrooms and added to cooked onions, seasoned with Berbere, fennel seeds and a splash of red wine. PD good!

Pretty basic, but very tasty. I couldn't really taste the butternut squash, so would use more next time or, as another suggested roast and mash and then add (I added about 1/3 c. grated parm to polenta so maybe even that small amount overwhelmed the squash flavor - ?). Smaller hunks of sausage - or even taken out of the casings and sauteing the ground meat - would have been better. Caramelized onions rule.

Made mostly as written - as several suggested, I increased the squash. Grated 1 cup into the polenta as the recipe called for, cubed 2 cups and roasted in the oven until a little crispy around the edges and then added on top of the sausage mix for some nice texture and more veggies. Used 1 lb bulk spicy Italian sausage instead of rounds since I didn’t read the recipe fully. It was delicious. Will definitely make again.

Love this recipe with the suggestion of roasting the butternut squash instead of grating it. I did it with the grated squash first and it took forever for the squash to soften. Second time I made it, I split the butternut squash and roasted the 2 halves, added all the cooked squash at the end of the cooking of the polenta along with some grated parm. Also cooked the polenta in chicken broth instead of water. Added fresh spinach to the onions. Wonderful comfort food for a cold November supper

I made mine vegetarian. I sauteed blue oyster mushrooms with the herbs instead of sausage. I used truffle salt and parmesean to obtain the salty umami flavor the sausage brings. It was so yummy!!

I added some mushrooms to the onions, and a (drained) 14oz. can of fire roasted tomatoes.

Oh this is a keeper thank you Ms. Clark. I took note from some of the comments and baked the squash, added some parmesan cheese to the polenta and sauted a bulb of fennel with the onions. Just bloody delicious

This is delicious. I added more squash to the polenta(my first polenta) and so more water as well. I used ground chicken with added rosemary and fennel to taste of sausage. I think the onions should be cooked earlier in the recipe. Everything is already done by the time you begin cooking them. Yummy!

Couldn’t tell when the polenta was done and the squash was too subtle/nonexistent- even when doubling the amount. Just ok recipe.

I dropped a tablespoon of butter into the polenta before serving. This was delicious.

Tummy but I added some sautéed shredded kale along side because it needed some green and some crunch.

Took advice of others and roasted squash in oven and coated with some brown sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper before putting in the food processor. While water boiled to cook polenta added squash then before cooking polenta 5 minutes and letting sit for 2. Added fennel bulb w onions. Deglazed sausage onions and fennel w dry white wine. Amazing!

I have some really excellent heirloom grits I have been wanting to use. I know they are more coarse, but they should work, no?

Not super interesting, although unusual. Might need to try a different kind of sausage next time.

This is a keeper. When I make it again, I'll add more squash as the flavor didn't really come through in the polenta.