Baked Fries with Polenta, Parmesan and Marinara Sauce – a 5 Ingredient Appetizer

By Krimkus

All it takes to make this 5 ingredient appetizer is a tube of polenta, garlic, parmesan cheese and a jar of marinara sauce. A plate of baked fries doesn't get any easier or tastier!

It's 5 Ingredient Friday again, and while Mr. Mike was away on a fishing trip I baked up this plate of polenta fries and ate the whole batch!

Of course, it took me the weekend to finish off the batch, but I managed with a significant amount of difficulty. I also finished off the two glasses of wine you see in the photo, but who's counting? Mr. Mike's not home!

By the time Mike left for his fishing getaway, I had a craving for fries, wine and a movie of my choice. But my go-to baked sweet potato fries weren't interesting on this evening to myself, so I marched off to the store to get a tube of polenta.

I'm a cook and a food blogger, so when inspiration hits I answer the calling, and that craving for fries turned into these baked polenta fries topped with Parmesan cheese.

See those crunchy edges on the sides of my polenta fries? Those are completely delicious Parmesan munchies. Don't toss them away, serve the fries as they are and I guarantee you'll love every bite!

This plate of baked fries rivals my go-to sweet potato fries. It's definitely a toss-up as to which I'll make the next time my hubby goes fishing!

Before I leave you on this 5 Ingredient Friday, I want to remind you that I'm conducting a giveaway for Sprout Living, so head on over to this blog post to enter for your chance to win a bag of Epic Protein Powder.

Happy 5 Ingredient Friday!

Parmesan Garlic Polenta Fries with Marinara Sauce

  • 1 tube polenta, slice uneven ends off, then slice into fry pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic, shred with a Microplane, or finely mince
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup marinara sauce
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Combine garlic and parmesan in a medium sized bowl and mash gently with your fingers to incorporate the garlic into the parmesan.
  3. Spray a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray.
  4. Gently toss polenta fries into the parmesan mixture and place on the cooking sheet.
  5. Take remaining parmesan and sprinkle on top of polenta fries.
  6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until lightly browned and sizzling.
  7. Serve with marinara.