The Pioneer Woman’s Meatball & Polenta Casserole Is a Fresh Take on Your Typical Pasta Night

Nothing gives you that warm and comforting feeling quite like a plate or bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, or stuffed shells. These dishes are just so savory and filling, that there’s no way you’re stepping away from the table still hungry. The Pioneer Woman (a.k.a. Ree Drummond) loves a good pasta night, too, but her meatball and polenta casserole is a new spin on those classic Italian meals and it looks so good and cozy, you’ll have to give it a try this week.

Drummond first starts by making her meatballs from scratch. She uses ground beef and pork, seasoned breadcrumbs, milk, eggs, grated parmesan, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic to create a flavorful meat mixture that she rolls into balls about the size of an ice cream scoop.

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Then, in a baking pan, stir together a can of chopped tomatoes, olive oil, basil, oregano, and more garlic, and line your meatballs up at the bottom of the pan. Bake everything until the meatballs are browned.

While the meatballs are in the oven, you can make the polenta. Drummond likes to start her polenta with four tablespoons of butter melted in a Dutch oven with oregano, garlic and onions cooking until softened. Then, pour in some chicken broth and bring everything to a boil before adding your coarse cornmeal. When the polenta is just about done, add in cream, ricotta, and Parmesan and season with salt and pepper.

It’s finally time to assemble the casserole. First, remove the meatballs from the baking dish and pour the polenta in their place. Top the polenta with the meatballs and top with more Parmesan cheese before baking everything again for another 40 minutes. Finally, you’re ready to dive in.

“What!?! Brilliant!” one person commented on Drummond’s post. “I made this today. Fabulous,” another commenter wrote.

Head over to Food Network’s website to grab Drummond’s full recipe (which also includes freezing instructions) and taste just how delicious this casserole is. Your traditional pasta night just got a lot more interesting!

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