Name: Pumpkin Polenta With Gouda and Brown Butter Shrimp
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 4 cups chicken stock; 1 cup yellow cornmeal; 1 cup shredded smoked gouda; ½ cup pumpkin purée; Splash of heavy cream; Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg; Salt and pepper to taste; 3 tablespoons canola oil (divided); ¼ cup pumpkin seeds; Handful of fresh sage leaves; 7 tablespoons salted butter (divided); 1 pound shrimp (shelled); Salt and pepper

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Let's enjoy fall comfort food with an hearty bowl of cheesy pumpkin polenta with brown butter shrimp! Real pumpkin purée and melted Gouda make for an extra creamy polenta that's perfect for a fall dinner party or holiday celebration. Topped with fried sage and roasted pumpkin seeds, this fall polenta is one seasonal dish you'll want to make again and again.

Pumpkin polenta with brown butter shrimp, pumpkin seeds and fried sage with pumpkins and fall leaves as decor.

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Why Pumpkin Polenta Belongs on Your Fall Menu
Ingredient Notes
How to Make Pumpkin Polenta
How to Store and Use Leftovers
Variations
Perfect Pairing
Enjoy More Savory Pumpkin Recipes
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Why Pumpkin Polenta Belongs on Your Fall Menu

Your fall is about to get a lot more delicious when this pumpkin polenta is on the dinner menu.

Feels comforting and homey with a gourmet twist to make a special meal that's worthy of company.
Gives everyone fun fall vibes with the real pumpkin addition.
Serve as dinner or skip the shrimp to make it a festive Thanksgiving side dish.
Ultra versatile to suit your individual taste.

Ingredient Notes

The pumpkin polenta ingredients laid out on a cream-colored textured surface before cooking.

Pumpkin purée: Canned pumpkin purée works beautifully, but you can use homemade pumpkin purée if you prefer.

Yellow cornmeal: From-scratch polenta is made from yellow cornmeal, so that's what we're using here.

Gouda: We want Gouda in block form - no slices or pre-grated cheese.

Chicken stock: If you have homemade chicken stock on hand, that works perfectly. Otherwise, I highly recommend making the chicken stock from Better Than Bouillon. It's by far the best store-bought stock.

For the full ingredient list with quantities, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to Make Pumpkin Polenta

Step 1: To start, we boil chicken stock over medium-high heat and then lower the temperature as we frantically stir in a steady stream of polenta until it thickens. This should only take a minute or two.

A whisk combining the polenta with the stock in a large red pot on the stove.

Step 2: Now we cover the polenta and give it a vigorous stir every 10 minutes for the next 30 to 40 minutes.

Step 3: As the polenta cooks, we now prep the other elements of this dish. I like to start with the fried sage and pumpkin. They cook quickly, so it's nice to get them out of the way.

Simply heat some oil in a small pan and add the sage, which will take almost no time. Just fry the sage until the edges start to brown.

The fresh sage leaves frying in oil in a small stainless steel pan on the stove.

We then remove the sage and add the pumpkin seeds. While the pumpkin seeds won't take too long, they require a bit more time. Keep frying those until they start to brown.

The pumpkin seeds frying in oil in a small stainless steel saucepan on the stove.

Step 4: Now we move on to the brown butter. Once it browns, we set it aside and roast the shrimp after the polenta has cooked for about 20 minutes. When the shrimp is good and ready, we pour the brown butter on top and give the shrimp a stir. Just like that, we have brown butter shrimp, and each topping is ready to go.

Tossing the roasted shrimp with a spatula in brown butter in a white baking dish.

Step 5: After 30 or 40 minutes of cooking the polenta, we give it a taste. If the softness of the cornmeal is good to go, we turn off the heat and stir in pumpkin puree, a splash of heavy cream, butter, salt, pepper and smoked Gouda.

A wooden spoon stirring the pumpkin, cheese, and heavy cream into the polenta in a large pot on the stove.

To serve, we spoon the pumpkin polenta into a bowl, top with the brown butter shrimp, sage and pumpkin seeds and enjoy every bite.

How to Store and Use Leftovers

If you have any leftover polenta, allow it to cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. With proper storage, it should last about two to three days.

While you can refrigerate leftover polenta, you don't want to freeze it. The pumpkin can turn too watery, and the texture will degrade.

Variations

Try another squash variety: Butternut squash or acorn squash purée make great alternatives to pumpkin, and they both have a subtle sweetness that offers a nice contrast to the Gouda.

Substitute Gouda for another cheese: Gruyère is my other favorite cheese with savory pumpkin dishes. It has a nice nuttiness that works well.

Make vegetarian: Simply skip the shrimp and swap the chicken stock for vegetarian stock. If you'd still like a hearty topping, roasted carrots or mushrooms work nicely.

An aerial shot of pumpkin polenta with brown butter shrimp, pumpkin seeds and fried sage with pumpkins and fall leaves as decor.

Perfect Pairing

A pumpkin ale may sound like an obvious pairing, but sometimes that's the way it goes. The spices naturally complement the pumpkin and sage, and the sweet, bread-like malt is perfect with the brown butter. That said, you might want to branch out from the pumpkin family. In that case, a winter warmer is a good choice.

When a wine craving hits, I love this pumpkin polenta with an oaked chardonnay. The full body of the chardonnay balances the richness of the polenta, and the buttery wine notes meld perfectly with the shrimp and pumpkin.

Cheers!

Enjoy More Savory Pumpkin Recipes

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Comments

5 from 83 votes (72 ratings without comment)

Pumpkin Polenta With Gouda and Brown Butter Shrimp