Cheesy Polenta with Chicken and Swiss Chard is a delicious, healthy meal that is packed with delicious flavour! So creamy and satisfying!
The Other day, I came across Swiss Chard at the grocery store and got super excited to bring it home and start making dishes! I love Swiss Chard and its mild flavour that goes well with so many different dishes!
I decided to sautee one of the bunches I brought home and enjoyed it as a side dish with our lunch. Their was still plenty left over and I was pretty happy about it!
I had a dentist visit that afternoon and as I sat in that chair unable to talk or really do much of anything, I dreamed of ways to use up the rest of my Swiss chard. And boy am I glad I had that time!
From my thoughts in a dentist chair comes this creamy, delicious dish. I have had polenta on the brain for a couple of days now and was planning on whipping some up to serve with a bolognese sauce. Welp, we took a detour and wound up here and I am not mad about it!!
This dish is so satisfyingly creamy and flavourful! It is easy to make and pretty darn healthy, making it a meal you can really feel good about!
Making this dish!
Cheesy Polenta with Chicken and Swiss Chard is relatively easy to make. Although their are three components to this dish, it really isn’t too hard to do. I’d start by making the swiss chard and setting it aside. In my case, the swiss chard had already been made from earlier that day. You could totally make it ahead of time too!
Next, I recommend cooking your chicken. I start by browning it in a skillet for 3 minutes on each side. Then I pop it in the oven to finish up while I begin making the polenta.
Polenta is easy to make and their are varieties that are instant which could make this even easier for you to do! I do it the old-fashioned way with cornmeal. It is still easy but requires some babysitting as you have to keep stirring it as it cooks (for about 15 minutes).
Bon appetit!
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Cheesy Polenta with Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes
Cheesy Polenta with Chicken and Swiss Chard
Ingredients
For the Swiss Chard:
- 1 bunch Swiss Chard (or rainbow chard)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 large sweet onion finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
- lemon juice freshly squeezed
For the Chicken:
- 4 small chicken breasts
- 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the polenta:
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3/4 cup grits or polenta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- pepper
Instructions
For the Swiss Chard:
- Seperate the leaves and stems on the Swiss chard. To do this, I like to fold the Swiss chard in half and use a knife to cut off the thicker parts of the stem. Roughly chop the leaves as you would lettuce for a green salad. Place them in a large bowl or salad spinner and wash and drain them.
- Rinse the stems and trim the ends. Slice the stems.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the Swiss Chard, onions, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for approximately 5-7 minutes or until the onions and stems soften.
- Add the leaves and saute until they begin to wilt ans soften, approximately 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (as much as desired). Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
For the Chicken:
- Preheat oven to 375F. Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper and dried basil.
- Heat olive oil in an oven safe skillet* over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 3 minutes or until it begins to brown nicely. Flip and repeat on the other side.
- Transfer the skillet into the oven and cook until the chicken is fully cooked, approximately 10-15 minutes (cook time will vary depending on the size of your chicken breasts).
For the polenta:
- While the chicken is cooking in the oven, bring 3 cups of chicken broth to a boil. Add the polenta and lower to medium heat. Cook for approximately 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter, Parmesan cheese and pepper.
- Spoon polenta into 4 dishes. Top with the Swiss chard and chicken breast. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan if desired.
Notes
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
