This high-protein polenta and cannellini bean stew is hearty, filling, and entirely plant-based. You cook both parts – stew and polenta – at the same time in one Instant Pot, making it an efficient, hands-off meal. The polenta comes out creamy after a quick whisk, while the beans stay rich and flavorful from sun-dried tomatoes, herbs, and aromatics.

Kale gets stirred in at the end for color and added nutrients. The combination of beans and polenta provides a solid amount of protein and fiber in every serving, all with minimal fat. This dish is also suitable if you’re oil-free or soy-free.

The recipe comes from the cookbook Gluten-Free, Vegan Cooking in Your Instant Pot by Kathy Hester. It’s one of those meals that feels like comfort food, but still delivers on nutrition. If you want to batch cook, you can easily double the recipe using a larger Instant Pot. Serve the bean stew over a generous scoop of soft polenta and finish with a little salt to taste.

A standout dinner party dish

Make this cozy polenta and bean stew in one pot for a comforting, protein-rich meal. Creamy polenta pairs perfectly with the tomatoey cannellini stew. Everything cooks together with minimal effort. A simple, wholesome dinner that feels nourishing and filling.

polenta topped with cannellini bean stew with kale and nutritional yeast

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Servings

Ingredients

1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil (or water sauté to make oil-free), plus 2 tsp (10 ml) olive oil (optional)
½ cup (75 g) minced onion
2 tsp (6 g) minced garlic
3 cups (708 ml) water or broth
1½ cups (276 g) dry cannellini or Great Northern beans, soaked overnight drained and rinsed
1 packed tbsp (4 g) minced sun-dried tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups (944 ml) water
1 cup (160 g) polenta
¼ cup (24 g) nutritional yeast
2 cups (134 g) chopped kale
Salt or salt substitute to taste

Instructions

Turn your Instant Pot to sauté. Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of oil and cook the onion until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes.
Turn the sauté off. Add in the water, soaked beans, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme and bay leaf to your Instant Pot. Place a rack with 2- to 3-inch (5- to 7.5-cm) legs into the mixture. This is not the rack that came with your pressure cooker.
You can then place a 4- to 5-cup (960-ml to 1.2-L) Pyrex container or one of the stainless bowls from the stackables you can buy for your Instant Pot. Use a 4- to 5-cup (960-ml to 1.2-L) container that fits on top of the rack and allows the lid to close. In the container, combine the water, polenta, nutritional yeast and 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of olive oil (if using). Whisk well.
You will not cover or put a lid or foil on this.
Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and manually release the pressure the rest of the way.
Carefully remove the top container and set on a trivet. Whisk and whisk some more and the polenta will be the perfect texture.
Check to make sure the beans are fully cooked; if not, place the lid back on and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Stir the kale into the beans, and add salt as needed to both dishes.
Serve the white beans on a bed of polenta.

Reprinted with permission from Gluten-Free, Vegan Cooking in Your Instant Pot by Kathy Hester. Page Street Publishing Co. 2020. Photo credit: Kathy Hester.

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