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4.50 from 2 votes

Cheesy Polenta and Shrimp Recipe

This cheesy polenta and shrimp will take your holiday entertaining up another notch! It’s an easy recipe that will make any dinner guest ask for more.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Keyword: best, cheesy, creamy, mexican, polenta, shrimp, spicy, with tomatoes
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 531kcal

Ingredients

Shrimp

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion diced small
  • 2 large cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or 1/4 jalapeno pepper minced and seeded (optional)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tbsps tomato paste
  • 3 roma tomatoes diced
  • 1 cup vegetable or seafood broth
  • 2 lb small raw frozen or fresh shrimp cleaned, shelled, deveined and thawed
  • 1/2 cup cilantro chopped

Cheesy Polenta

  • 5 cups water
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cup polenta/ corn grits/ coarse cornmeal
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cup Cache Valley® Four Cheese Mexican (8oz)
  • 3 tbsps salted butter

Instructions

Shrimp

  • In a deep cooking pan, over medium heat, warm up the olive oil. Add onions and garlic and saute until it is translucent (about 5 mins).
  • Add cumin, paprika, salt, cayenne pepper and tomato paste and stir. Add chopped tomatoes and jalapenos and cover skillet with lid and cook for 5 minutes to let the flavors mix.
  • Add broth, stir it and cover with lid. Cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add shrimp and stir. Cover with lid and cook for 10-15 minutes or until shrimp is no longer grey - it should look a light pink/salmon color.
  • Add cilantro and mix. Remove from heat.

Cheesy Polenta

  • Boil the water and salt.
  • Reduce the heat. Pour the polenta in gradually while whisking. Continue whisking until polenta is a thick paste and water is absorbed by the corn grits.
  • Add heavy cream, butter, black pepper and Cache Valley® Four Cheese Mexican and continue to whisk until smooth and the cream is absorbed.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Notes

 

To serve this recipe, plate the polenta and form a little mound in the middle. Place shrimp on top and sprinkle with cilantro or extra cheese. Enjoy it!

Nutrition

Calories: 531kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 364mg | Sodium: 2003mg | Potassium: 303mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1375IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 382mg | Iron: 3mg