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Poutine is a traditional Canadian dish that will change the way you eat regular French fries. It’s like a delicious cross between smothered fries and Sunday dinner. It doesn’t get more comfort-food than that!
Every time I go to Canada, I make it my mission to find poutine. It is classic comfort food at its finest. Crispy fries smothered in rich brown gravy and topped with gooey, melty cheese curds. Think loaded fries meets mashed potatoes and gravy, and it’s even better than it sounds. It’s so popular in Canada that you can even get it at the Costco food court, which means a Costco stop is basically mandatory every time we cross the border. And let me tell you… the Costco poutine, in the words of my teenage daughter, slaps. If anyone from Costco corporate happens to be reading this, I have one simple request: PLEASE bring poutine to U.S. Costco food courts! 🥺🙏🏻
Poutine can be served as either an appetizer (it will be the biggest hit at your Super Bowl party) or a main dish. If making it as a main dish, I usually add some shredded beef or pork (usually leftovers from Sunday dinner). I made this recipe for a missionary that was serving in our area who was from Quebec because he was missing home. He absolutely loved it, and he even admitted that it was up there with some of the best he has tried! I’ll take that as a Canadian stamp of approval. If you haven’t had poutine before, your life is about to change.
🩷Erica
Table of Contents
Poutine Ingredients
Traditional poutine consists of 3 major parts:
French fries (or potatoes), cheese curds, and gravy. You can find variations adding more toppings, like shredded beef, but authentic poutine usually requires at least these 3 things.
French fries: You can make your own fries (like in the recipe below), but I’ll be honest, 99% of the time I just use store bought fries out of pure convenience. The ones I like best are the frozen Kirkland Signature ones from Costco. Cook ’em in the air fryer and they are just about perfect.
Cheese curds: Cheese curds (also known as “squeaky cheese”) are the traditional cheese to use for poutine. You can use cheddar cheese curds or mozzarella cheese curds (or any kind of cheese curds, really). If you can’t find cheese curds, then you can get away with fresh packed mozzarella or Oaxaca cheese. You want a good melty cheese that will give you a nice cheese pull.
Gravy: I prefer using leftover beef gravy from our Sunday dinners for our poutine. If you want to make your poutine gravy from scratch, then just follow our recipe below. You can also use store-bought gravies but with how easy it is so make at home, I always just make my own.
How To Make Poutine
- If making your fries from scratch, cut potatoes into sticks for fries.
- Heat oil to 300-degrees and fry in batches for 5 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.
- Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain excess grease. Season before fries are completely dry.
- You can also use store-bought frozen fries and heat in the air fryer according to package directions.
- Prepare gravy by following the recipe below or use leftover gravy from Sunday dinner.
- Place cheese curds over the fries and immediately pour hot gravy over the top. If the cheese curds aren’t melting, place fries on an oven safe dish and broil for 1-2 minutes to until cheese is lightly melted. Serve immediately.
Best Potatoes or Fries for Poutine
The first layer of poutine is always some kind or potato. This is the “base”. The best potatoes to use for fries when making poutine are russet potatoes. Because they hold their shape better, they crisp up nicely in the oil. Softer potatoes like Yukon Gold will get mushy and fall apart. If you don’t want to deep fry your own homemade fries, then buy frozen fried and air fry them using our Air Fryer French Fries recipe. Like I mentioned above, the Costco ones are my favorite, by far. Do what is easiest for you! Feel free to get creative and try making your poutine with potato wedges, waffle fries, tater tots, or roasted potatoes.
Poutine Variations
Don’t be afraid to get crazy with Poutine variations! Have leftover roast? Add it on there! Bacon crumbles? Go right ahead! Canadian Poutine is the best poutine recipe in my opinion, but sometimes you’ve got to mix it up. Here are a few more variation/fusion ideas:
- Sunday Leftovers – Add poutine with leftovers. Sunday night roast and gravy turns into Monday night football appetizer or maybe more appropriately, hockey games!
- “Loco Moco” (Hawaiian style) – add a fried egg to the top
- Pizza Poutine – Swap out the gravy for pizza sauce and top with your favorite pizza toppings
- Bacon & Mushroom – Add fresh crumbled bacon and sautéed mushrooms
- Italian Poutine – marinara, fresh mozzarella cheese, and Italian sausage
Expert Tips for Making Poutine
- Don’t take your poutine too seriously. Be flexible and use what you have. You really can’t go wrong!
- For extra-crispy fries don’t skip on soaking the cut potatoes in cold water before cooking. This removes the starch therefore giving you a more crispy French fry. Be sure to pat dry before frying.
- Remember to season your fries once they are cooked! Use sea salt or seasoning salts to being out the flavor. If you are using the fries I mentioned from Costco, they are perfect as they are. No seasoning required.
- When ready to eat, you can broil your poutine on high for 2-3 minutes to make the cheese melt faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fresh cheese curds are what make authentic poutine, well… poutine! They have a mild flavor and a signature “squeaky” texture that holds up better under hot gravy than shredded cheese. If you can’t find cheese curds, torn pieces of fresh mozzarella are the closest substitute.
Not completely. Authentic poutine cheese curds should soften and warm up from the hot gravy while still keeping their shape. They won’t melt into long, stretchy strings like mozzarella, and that’s exactly how they’re supposed to be.
Many grocery stores carry cheese curds in the specialty cheese section or near the deli. If you don’t see them, check local cheese shops or farmers markets.
READ NEXT: Our Favorite Potato Recipes
More French Fry Recipes
Have you tried poutine before? What’s your favorite variation or toppings? Let us know! Leave us a comment below then take a pic and tag us on Instagram at @favoritefamilyrecipes! 📸🍟
Canadian Poutine Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 6 russett potatoes, cut into fries
- oil, for frying
- 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
- 1 cup white cheese curds
- 1 1/2 cup gravy, leftover beef gravy is best, but you can also use the recipe below
Gravy:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cut potatoes into fries and soak in a bowl of cold water for at least 1 hour (or overnight in the fridge). Dry well with paper towels.
- Heat oil in deep fryer or large skillet to 300 degrees. Fry fries in batches (try not to overcrowd) of about 5 minutes each to soften. Remove from oil and drain, increase oil temp to 400 degrees and fry again for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the outside.
- Place fries on paper towels to drain excess oil. Season with salt and place on large plate or platter.
- Sprinkle cheese curds evenly over fries and pour hot gravy over the top. Serve immediately.
For the gravy:
- Melt butter in medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour making a roux. Cook for about 1 minute.
- Reduce heat and slowly add beef broth, whisking constantly, until you reach your desired thickness. Add onion powder and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve hot.
Notes
Recipe Tips:
- Don’t take your poutine too seriously. Be flexible and use what you have. You really can’t go wrong!
- For extra-crispy fries don’t skip on soaking the fries in cold water before cooking. This removes the starch and gives you a more crispy French fry. Be sure to pat dry before frying.
- When frying your French fries, make sure you are using the accurate temperatures. Use a kitchen thermometer or a fryer with a temperature gauge.
- Remember to season your fries once they are cooked! Use sea salt or seasoning salts to being out the flavor.
- When ready to eat, you can broil it on high for 2-3 minutes to make the cheese melt faster.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Potato Recipes
You can serve Poutine as a full meal or appetizer or alongside roast beef, chicken or turkey. Being from Idaho, we take our potatoes seriously around here. Try more of our delicious potato recipes:
Hello. Great recipe. Some tips. Blanche your potato sticks in water with 3 tablespoons vinegar for 7-8 min. Spread on a paper lined cookie sheet to dry and cool a bit. Two options thereafter. Option One: quick fry at 300F for 3 min. and then drain/cool; then fry again to desired browness, and keep hot in 250F oven. Option Two – go to full fry until browned to desired colour, then remove, salt, and keep in 250F oven until ready to eat. NOTES: Cooking the fries with vinegar gives the fries a solid base for deep frying. Also, if you’re a super-dedicated fries fan, cook them in beef tallow. This is the fat used by the old time ’60’s “Chip Wagons” in Western Quebec/Eastern Ontario. Not super-healthy, but if you only eat them 5-6 times yearly you will live to be 100! Also, you can freeze the fries after the first fry, then cook the final with the frozen fries. Ref. the gravy … the real deal gravy is always on the salty side. Most “poutine” trucks use a mix of chicken/beef gravy, but always well salted!
Thank you so much for all the tips!