Vegan Arepas Made with Polenta

What a delightful surprise! We are a family of gluten intolerants and we are always on a search for tasty and healthful meals! We were very pleased with this original and intriguing repast! Thank you for sharing! (we do cook our own dried beans (rather than canned) and always have them 'on the ready'!) Excellent!

I made this without the tofu or salt. The fruit in this arepa takes some getting used to, but is tasty! Next time for more color, I will use a red onion! Thanks for the recipe!

This is an outstanding recipe! I wasn't sure how all of the different flavors would come together (mango and tofu?) but both my husband and I loved it. My husband added about 1/2 teaspoon cumin, a dash of sesame oil and a dash of soy sauce to the beans, which was really good. This is something we'll serve often because it's simple and a unique dish to serve to guests.

Hubby and I LOVED this! It was also quite possibly the prettiest thing I've ever made. I cut up the avocado and mixed it in with the mango salsa which kept it from turning brown. We really enjoyed the mix of savory (in the beans) and the sweetness of the banana and mango. It made great leftovers and the salsa was 10 times better the next day.

I really liked this recipe! I kind of just threw it all together and next time I won't add the tofu - I didn't think it really needed it since it already had so much texture and flavor. Thanks for the recipe!

I was skeptical of how these unique flavors would mesh, but everything complements everything else quite nicely! I made fresh polenta, which needed a few more minutes under the broiler. I had never broiled polenta before and the crispiness was fantastic! Makes for an interesting dish to serve skeptical crowds!

I'm so glad that I made these. The flavor combinations were so unique with each bite and the textures were fantastic. I sprinkled McCormick Jerk Seasoning on the tofu and used spiced basil polenta. Surprisingly filling, I'll make these again for sure!

Great starting point but I did make a few changes to spice things up so I'm not giving 5 stars on that basis - but the finished product was great! Marinated the tofu in a sauce of blended chipotle pepers, oil, and garlic. Made polenta from scratch with soy milk, oven roasted tomato, and diced jalepeno. Seared both the final sliced polenta and tofu instead of broiling. Followed the directions to plate and really enjoyed the flavors!

This was pretty darn yummy! I used blueberries in place of the mango. The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because the tofu itself was a bit bland. Next time I will marinate it for an hour before broiling. Not sure what flavors I'll try for the marinade, something mild but definitely with garlic. Otherwise delish!

Awesome. I will be making this again and again. Good as leftovers, and pretty enough for guests.

This was delicious, easy to make, and looked great! I used frozen cubed mangos which made it a lot easier than peeling and seeding a fresh one. I also used silken tofu. The first time I plated it according to the directions, the tofu kept sliding off of the polenta because of the black bean sauce. The second time I put the tofu on the polenta then spooned the sauce over the tofu.

Best meal I've had in a year! I don't have good luck with mangoes, so I used a can of pineapple chunks in its' place. I also marinated the tofu with the pineapple juice and some soy sauce. Fabulous and easy. Thanks :)

You can use store bought mango salsa if you can't find a good mango. Everyone I've made this for loves it! Meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans!

SO GOOD! I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised how well everything went together! It's 5 stars as-is in my book, but here are the suggestions I'd make to make it even better: -Press the liquid out of the tofu and then let sit in marinade of your choice for 1 hour in the fridge before cooking. -Add onion powder, cumin, and some of the diced jalapeno to the blender with the beans. -I used home cooked beans - just under 2 cups with liquid to fill in the space is equivalent to a can. -Use red onion for a little more spice and color. I'll be making this again for sure!

EXCELLENT! I used serrano chilis in the salsa so it wouldn't be too hot and I followed a reviewer's advice to sprinkle the tofu with cumin. This was a huge hit with all my family. It looks beautiful and it was so easy to make. I will definitely make this again.

I was excited at the ingredients as I loved everything listed. I agree with the reviewer who said this would be good even without the Tofu. I will try chicken or shrimp next time, just for variety and a protein component. I am also gluten intolerant and a healthy tasty recipe like this is always a joy to find. For those who had challenges with the cooking of the Tofu and Polenta: I use the broiler method to cook these items. This recipe came out great. Just need to be careful not to overcook or they will get tough. It takes a little practice to perfect but is yummy once you get the knack.

Amazing dish, sounded so strange but tasted so very good! Can't wait to make it again.

Not gonna lie, I was very curious as to how this would turn out because it seems like a very random combination of things, but this was really tasty! Both my husband and I really enjoyed it. Update: I have made this a few times now and love it so much that I just wanted to add to my comment reiterating how delicious this is. We make enough for leftovers and people at my office are often intrigued...and it tastes great as leftovers as well!

I loved this dish. It is fresh and interesting and fairly easy to make. The presentation is wonderful.

Excellent! I made it just as it is in the recipe. My vegan friend had two helpings and talked about it to his friends! Well done and thanks angloesque!

Delicious, healthy and unusual! I made the following changes and would recommend them. I cooked the bean purée in a small sauce pot, and spiced it up with crushed red pepper. I added sweet mini red and orange peppers to the salsa and skipped the jalapeño.

My husband raved about this at least four times before finishing this meal. "Best one we've tried since our diet!" "You can make this one again!" "This was so good." "Good dinner, Jenn." I can't wait to make it again! Even the kids liked it (14 months and 2.5 years old) Things I changed because of simplicity/what we had in the house. Marinated tofu in teriyaki sauce for about 20 minutes. Grilled the onions for the salsa since we don't really like raw onions. Omitted the jalepeno because we didn't have one. Added dried cilantro to the salsa. Omitted the polenta and just used the tofu on the bottom. Side of quinoa.

Delicious! Easy to cook, too. Makes great leftovers. I also followed someone's suggestion to add the avocado to the salsa which worked wonderfully. I'm definitely adding this one to my favorites.

Didn't make any real changes. I drained the beans by accident, but added some water to make up for loss of liquid. I also used grapeseed oil ( I didn't even realize that until I was cleaning up). Regardless, I Love this dish! Worth 5 stars and more. Thank you thank you thank you.

Great recipe. I was looking for something a little different, and this was it. Easy to make and great flavors. The family loved it.

Interesting. Different. My meat loving husband liked it more than me. I would only partially drain the beans so they would be thicker. I also added cumin because I didn't have jalapeño.

Great recipe. I followed it exactly as written except I used grits (cooked then broiled) instead of polenta, as I was out of corn meal and I prefer to make my own vs. buying pre-packaged. Also added some cherry tomatoes to the salsa for color and dipped the tofu in marinade of garlic, olive oil, liquid smoke, worcestershire sauce and soy. My non-vegan bf went back for seconds!

this was not terrible but it was a horrible mess to eat. I won't be attempting this again. I would have appreciated some guidance with frying the bananas, because they were completely inedible when prepared as instructed. greasy sticky little things that didn't hold together when I tried to scrape them off the bottom of the pan.

Excellent! Flavor combinations work nicely together. My variations: Gave the tofu a pat-down with salt, fried the bananas in peanut oil (wonderful), and added 2 tbsp of lemon juice to the mango salsa. Great recipe. One for the books.

I may be addicted to this dish! I followed the recipe with a couple of (minor) exceptions. I omitted the tofu (don't like it) and seasoned the bean sauce (per other reviews) with cumin, onion powder, and some of the diced jalapeño. My polenta took longer than 5 minutes to get crispy. Even my picky, meat-eating husband said this "wasn't bad," and that's saying something since I expected him to hate it!

Made a few adjustments based on my preferences and what I had on hand: tempeh instead of tofu, red onion instead of white, a dash of smoked paprika in the beans, plantain instead of banana, a little olive oil and lime juice in the salsa. Excellent and refreshing! Thanks angloesque!

Amazing, delicious & scrumptious!! We made these as a side dish for Christmas and have since made them twice. So yummy!!!

I loved this recipe. When blending the beans I added roasted garlic and sautéed onions to the mix. I also substituted tempeh for the tofu for a better texture.

My first time cooking with bananas, delish and fun! I did put the avocado in with the mago salsa with a little lime to keep it fresh and used a red onion. The whole family loved it!

So easy and so very tasty. I did my own twist on the mango salsa, but otherwise followed the recipe. Even my picky kid ate seconds!