This easy Italian sausage and polenta recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free. The simple, stove-top preparation uses only a few ingredients.
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Hi there! Guess what?! I finally have a recipe index on the site. I think it’s very exciting, don’t you? After months of trying to figure out what to do and how to switch all of my posts over to this new widget, it’s finally done.
Now you can search all of my recipes on the recipe page. No more scrolling back through three years of recipes to find that salad I made that one time. Search by ingredients, courses, or tags. I vowed not to add another recipe until I had all of my recipe posts completely converted so now here we are.
I’ve had this little gem of a recipe with Italian sausage and creamy polenta from Lidia Bastianich ready for you for a while, but it seems like a pretty appropriate time to finally post it, because recipes with Italian sausage are so comforting when it’s cold out and you’re stuck in an ice-maggeddon like we were this weekend.
Aaaaand it’s nice to have an Italian sausage recipe without pasta for my gluten-free husband.
This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free and it’s very easy to make, but don’t be fooled by its simplicity. Amazing flavor comes from just a few ingredients.
And you might even say – well can I make it even simpler by just using a jar of marinara and call it a day?
No, you cannot. This sauce has secrets. The secrets of centuries of Italian grandmothers. And they must be revealed to you.
(But you can use canned beans. I did.)
Italian Sausage with Creamy Polenta and Cannelini Beans
Adapted slightly from Lidia’s Italy
This is a great Italian sausage recipe without pasta. Gluten-free comfort food at its finest!
To make the Italian sausage recipe part of this dish, you will need a VERY large skillet – a deep one about 12 inches wide. This is a one-pan plan, but it’s a BIG pan. You could use a dutch oven if that is all you have, just be diligent about getting the sausages nice and browned.
Are you wondering how much polenta will feed your crowd?
1 cup dry polenta corn grits will yield about 3 cups of cooked polenta. So think about the number of people you are serving and adjust accordingly.
How to make creamy polenta
There is no milk, no cheese, no butter in this polenta recipe. The creaminess comes from cooking the polenta itself, it’s completely dairy-free.
Use one cup dry polenta to 4 parts water or chicken stock.
In a large, deep pot, bring liquid to a boil, add salt to taste.
Slowly whisk the polenta into the boiling liquid, stirring constantly to get rid of any lumps.
Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook polenta, stirring frequently, until it is soft and creamy and pulling away from the sides of the pot.
How to cook the Italian sausages and tomato sauce
Place the skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and sauté bacon until it begins to render fat. Drop in the sausages and let them begin to brown. Add the onion and bay leaves, keep turning sausages so they brown on all sides.
Once meat and onions have caramelized, clear a space on the pan bottom and drop in the tomato paste. Stir it in the clear spot until it begins to sizzle, then spread it all around the pan and be sure to coat the sausages.
Make another clear space in the pan, then add the red wine vinegar, allow it to sizzle and evaporate for a few seconds, then stir everything together once again.
Pour 1 cup of the hot water into the pan, raise the heat and deglaze the pan as the water begins to bubble. Scrape up any remaining bits of fond from the bottom of the pan.
Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Rinse the can with the remaining cup of hot water and pour into pan. (You don’t want to miss all of that good, expensive tomato residue that you just paid good money for.) Stir in a 1/4 tsp of salt and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer at a gentle bubble for about 10 minutes, then add the beans.
Return to a gentle boil and simmer for about 10 more minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly. It should be a loose sauce that covers the beans and sausages. Season with additional salt if needed and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve over freshly made creamy polenta.
More italian recipes
Ingredients
- 6 sweet Italian sausages
- 1 onion small, chopped
- 3 slices bacon diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 cups hot water
- 1 28-ounce can tomatoes preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand
- 1 can cannellini beans
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- cracked black pepper
- polenta 1 cup dry = 3 cups cooked
Instructions
Italian Sausage Recipe
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and sauté bacon until it begins to render fat. Drop in the sausages and let them begin to brown. Add the onion and bay leaves, keep turning sausages so they brown on all sides.
- Once meat and onions have caramelized, clear a space on the pan bottom and drop in the tomato paste. Stir it in the clear spot until it begins to sizzle, then spread it all around the pan and be sure to coat the sausages.
- Make another clear space in the pan, then add the red wine vinegar, allow it to sizzle and evaporate for a few seconds, then stir everything together once again.
- Pour 1 cup of the hot water into the pan, raise the heat and deglaze the pan as the water begins to bubble. Scrape up any remaining bits of fond from the bottom of the pan.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Rinse the can with the remaining cup of hot water and pour into pan. (You don’t want to miss all of that yummy, expensive tomato residue that you just paid good money for.) Stir in a 1/4 tsp of salt and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer at a gentle bubble for about 10 minutes, then add the beans. Return to a gentle boil and simmer for about 10 more minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly. It should be a loose sauce that covers the beans and sausages. Season with additional salt if needed and freshly ground black pepper.
Creamy Polenta Recipe
- Use one cup dry polenta to 4 parts water or chicken stock. In a deep pot, bring liquid to a boil, add salt to taste.
- Slowly whisk the polenta into the boiling liquid, stirring constantly to get rid of any lumps.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook polenta, stirring frequently, until it is soft and creamy and pulling away from the sides of the pot.
Notes
- To cook the Italian sausages and tomato sauce, you will need a VERY large skillet – a deep one about 12 inches wide. This is a one-pan plan, but it’s a BIG pan.
- When cooking polenta, use a large, deep pot, as it bubbles and splatters when it cooks.
- You’ll want to use freshly cooked, soft and creamy polenta for this recipe, not the firm polenta that you slice.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy here.
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