Sausage and Polenta Breakfast Casserole

I made this last week for the first time and absolutely loved it. It is so hard to find dishes that are low calorie and still give that yummy fattening taste. I made it exactly as written except I had 2 percent milk on hand so that's what I used. I guess I added a couple of calories, but this was exceptional! I'm making it again right now for breakfast tomorrow. I'm sure it will be lunch and dinner too, just like last week. 

For those of you who have already made this does it have the consistency of grits or of that of the more firm mush? Thanks!

After seeing a play based upon Jane Austin’s Sense & Sensibility, I posed a similar polenta based recipe that includes some crystalized ginger and pepitas. Check out my post athttp://www.cookingthekitchen.com/hasty-pudding-breakfast-jane-austen/

Needed more flavor.  Like others said you needed a good quality sausage to bring some flavor to the dish.  I used Italian chicken sausage, but it still needed more zip!  Should have increased the thyme and added some fresh rosemary.  Hubby said "not for me"  Will use the andouille next time.

I heard this from about 5 different guests at our book club brunch. Maybe it's the eggs? Anyway, it's the first time I've had zero leftovers. I used red wine & garlic chicken sausage (because I am a spice wimp), and instant polenta instead of quick cooking. I found I had to use a lot more milk to get a creamy texture. It was worth the effort. I baked it in a 2.75 qt round dish. I will definitely be making this again, and again, and again.

Made this for Christmas breakfast and my family loved it. It was a race for the leftovers the next day. Very easy to prepare and love the make ahead aspect. Last thing I want to be doing on Christmas morning is running around making breakfast. Glad I decided to give this casserole a try.

I used buffalo sausage and some spanish chorizo (it's what i had in the house), sub-ed out green onion for red onion and added a jalapeno. I also followed others suggestions to skip the thyme, and use a bigger pan. It was pretty tasty! I didn't plan ahead so i just cooked it straight after the cooling step and it all worked out great.

It could use a richer flavor. Unfortunately, that would add fat. This is a strong recipe and I agree with others that the type of sausage makes a difference. I purchased a fancy sausage and it helped but i also think the addition of thyme overpowered the dish. I will adjust and try again.

Just tried it this morning and it's really good! I was wondering how firm/runny it's supposed to be? I cooked it the recommended time and then left it under the broiler a little longer, and I wasn't sure how to make sure it is done in the middle.

This was an outstanding breakfast, but would be great for dinner too. My instant polenta had the same grain:liquid ratio, but only required 2-3 minutes to cook, and it was definitely ready far before 7 minutes, but other than that I made this just as written. Reheats well too, so next time I will make a bigger tray and use for weekday breakfasts.

This was fabulous for those who like Polenta, for the non foodie it was too far out there, oh well more for the rest of us. I used Portobello chicken sausage which was a perfect marriage. I had a sweet and savory casserole for the brunch, this rocked the savory category.

I actually made this for dinner. It was great because I made it Sunday afternoon and then cooked it on Monday night for a fast, make ahead dinner. I used chicken chorizo from Whole Foods. I also used regular cornmeal/polenta because that's what I had. I did 4 cups of milk, and then just added water until the texture looked right (about 1 cup). I had the leftovers for breakfast the next day, it was really good and re-heated well in the microwave. You definitely need to pick a good flavorful sausage, because that really flavors the whole dish.