Crispy and irresistible, air fryer polenta sticks are a tasty and quick snack, perfect for a savory snack or as a treat to serve with an aperitif. Ready in a few simple steps – especially if you opt for pre-cooked polenta, also handy for crostini, canapés, or fried polenta – these polenta sticks would usually require deep frying to become crispy. However, with an air fryer, you can achieve the same appetizing result, saving time and calories and avoiding the mess and bad smell typical of frying, all in just over 15 minutes. If you prefer not to use pre-cooked polenta, you can prepare firm polenta with cornmeal, letting it cool in the fridge overnight; after all, these crispy polenta sticks are also a great way to use any leftover polenta from other recipes! Fast and versatile, air fryer polenta sticks will win everyone over at the first taste.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 3 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 132.51 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 22.57 (g) of which sugars 0.25 (g)
- Proteins 1.18 (g)
- Fat 4.73 (g) of which saturated 0.67 (g)of which unsaturated 0.01 (g)
- Fibers 1.25 (g)
- Sodium 307.64 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Air Fryer Crispy Polenta
If you are celiac, make sure the polenta (whether pre-cooked or the cornmeal) has “gluten-free” on the label.
- 8.8 oz cooked polenta (or 2.8 oz polenta flour)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Brush
- 1 Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Paper
How to Prepare Crispy Polenta Sticks in the Air Fryer
For the English version of this recipe click here!
To prepare air fryer polenta sticks, I used pre-cooked polenta, which is bought at the supermarket in the refrigerated section (also available with “gluten-free” label). This has the advantage of already having the right consistency to be cut and fried, but if you prefer you can cook the polenta yourself: to get 8.8 oz of already cooked polenta, you will need about 2.8 oz of polenta flour (traditional or instant). Cook it in boiling water until you get very firm polenta, pour it into a rectangular container lined with parchment paper, and let it cool first at room temperature and then in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours, better yet overnight.
Then proceed to cut the polenta sticks: first, dry it well with a paper towel (even packaged pre-cooked polenta is always a bit moist), then cut it into slices about 1/4 inch thick, and from these, cut out sticks of the same thickness (1). With a kitchen brush, brush them with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (2).
If you have it, instead of the brush you can also use an oil sprayer, in this case, a couple of sprays will suffice. Line your air fryer basket with a sheet of air fryer parchment paper and arrange the polenta sticks, trying to overlap them as little as possible (3).
Cook them at 392°F for 15-20 minutes (preheating the air fryer is not necessary). The cooking times may vary depending on the thickness of the sticks and also their arrangement: it took me 15 minutes, but if your air fryer is less spacious than mine and you had to overlap the sticks more, it might take a few more minutes, and it will also be a good idea to stir them halfway through cooking. When they are golden, remove the basket (4) and transfer the polenta sticks to a serving tray.
Season the polenta sticks with a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper and serve them while they are still hot.
Storage
If there are any leftovers, you can store the polenta sticks in the fridge for a couple of days and reheat them briefly in the microwave or the same air fryer.
Tips and Variations
You can flavor the polenta sticks with chopped rosemary added at the end of cooking. Here’s also a fun idea for an unusual appetizer: prepare a cod cream following this recipe and divide it into small serving glasses, garnished with a couple of polenta sticks.
