Black Bean & Polenta Casserole is one of my favorite recipes! I was first introduced to this casserole at The Juice Bar Collective in Berkeley California. I worked next door and would pop over and grab a slice for lunch on most days. Creamy polenta topped with seasoned black beans, cheese, salsa, and sour cream.
When I was in my 20’s I lived in Oakland, CA and worked in Berkeley. I truly believe that my love of food started in that university town. I went from living in a tiny little town in Northern California with 1 Mexican restaurant to a large sprawling city with choice upon choice of every ethnicity or style of cuisine. One of my favorite spots to grab lunch was The Juice Bar Collective. It’s a tiny little hole in the wall on Vine Street near Shattuck and is still there. They make their version of this black bean casserole with fresh everything. You can absolutely taste it in every bite. The crunch of fresh cilantro and the sweetness of tomatoes that are perfect. How I wish I could hop a plane right now and just go there for lunch. Most of their menu is vegan but you can get items with free range turkey and others with cheese. This is my adaptation of their wonderful dish. It does contain cheese, so if you’re lactose intolerant or vegan, then omit and just add some fresh salsa instead. I hope you give it a shot and let me know what you think.
I’m counting down the minutes until lunch time. Tick tock tick tock.
Black Bean & Polenta Casserole
Description
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 1 ½ cups polenta
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- ½ medium red pepper, seeded and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups black beans
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil and slowly add the polenta while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk until the polenta is thick and begins to bubble in the center, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a 13×9 glass baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking spray. Refrigerate until solid, a few hours or overnight.
- In a large saute pan coated with cooking spray, add the onions and peppers and saute until they begin to get soft. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder and salt and stir to combine. Add the black beans and stir to incorporate.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Spoon the black bean mixture on top of the polenta and top with the cheese. Heat in the oven for 10-15 minutes until just warm. Serve with fresh salsa, avocado and sour cream if desired.
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Recipe By:
Co-Founder at Spiceology | More About Heather…
Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.
I really love this recipe and hope you will too!
Our son, and daughter-in-law both worked at the Juice Bar while students at UC Berkeley in the 90’s. Jon made this casserole for the restaurant and it became a family favorite. I’m happy to see the recipe written. Your intro brings back wonderful memories, and I’m eager to try your other recipes also
Awe…I probably crossed paths with Jon as I worked next door in the 90’s as well. I love that this recipe has brought so many positive comments. Who knew polenta had so much love power! ◡̈ Thanks for stopping by!! ~heather
I’m so excited to try this!! I was looking for a polenta and black bean recipe but couldn’t remember what inspired me. Now I remember the Juice Bar!!! I also worked in N. Berkeley in my 20’s and this was one of my go-to lunch places.
I wonder if we were standing in line together? ◡̈ Thanks for commenting and reminding me that I need to make this oldie but goodie again ASAP.
i dont have glass baking dish. why must it be glass?
The recipe was tested using glass. Cooking times will vary if you use metal, but it’s totally possible to do that, just watch it for signs of burning.
I worked in the Walnut Square for four years and ate at the juice bar almost everyday, this was one of my favorites! I just ran across your post, haven’t had this tasty dish in 21 years, I am so excited to make, thank you for posting!!!
It was my fave too and thanks for commenting on it because now I need to make it right away…and maybe take a new pic. haha Hope you enjoy it Lori. Which shop did you work at in Walnut Square? I worked at Earthly Goods for a year or so. Such a fun place and cool people.
Thanks, for posting this recipe, Heather. I developed it when I worked at the Juice Bar back in the 80’s.
Amazing. I too ate daily at JBC during college. My friends absolutely loved your interpretation of this recipe for black bean pollenta casserole, it was a total hit. Thank you.
I miss that place. I need to do a roadtrip to CA just to eat there again. So glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂 Thanks for letting me know! Happy Friday! ~Heather
Haha Kim…that’s awesome. Well I hope mine does justice…it’s hard to beat JBC’s version. Their salsa is wicked delicious! I miss that little hole in the wall!! Thanks for stopping in! 🙂
xo
Heather
I.cannot.believe.this. I just googled “polenta black bean casserole recipe” because I was just in Berkeley for vacation (I live in DC) and I wanted to make something resembling this recipe. Your recipe was the first to pop up. I did not mention Berkeley in the search. How is this possible? Everything there was amazing. Thank you for this!
I’m more of a grits girl myself, although as much as I love both black beans and grits, I had not considered putting then together! I’ve been trying to get back into doing Meatless Mondays again. This looks like a good, quick entree!
These are all lovely flavors. I think polenta is a fantastic base for this casserole. Great post!
LOL Barbara! If you didn’t live so far away I’d invite you over to have some. Still plenty left over! 🙂 You could bring corned beef with you! haha
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