Poutine Recipe
This homemade Poutine recipe is delicious AND vegetarian! Crispy fries, savory gravy, and melty cheese curds combine to make this classic Canadian dish.
Servings: 8 servings (about 1 cup each)
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz. container baby Bella mushrooms (12) $2.08
- 4 Tbsp salted butter $0.53
- 26 oz. bag of thin cut frozen French fries* $2.97
- 3 Tbsp flour $0.03
- 3 cloves garlic, minced $0.09
- 3 tsp balsamic vinegar $0.15
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme $0.22
- 5 leaves fresh sage, minced $0.44
- 2 cups vegetable broth**, hot $0.18
- 6 oz. cheese curds*** $4.47
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced (optional) $0.08
Instructions
- Preheat oven according to frozen french fry directions on the bag. Brush mushrooms clean and remove any larger/tougher stems. Dice mushrooms into bite-size pieces.
- Melt butter in a medium sauté pan and add mushrooms, sautéing until they have released their water and begin to brown.
- Meanwhile, spread out the frozen fries on 1 or 2 baking lined baking sheets and bake according to the package directions.
- Once the mushrooms have softened and browned (you don't need to cook them too long, the juices that are released in the pan will improve your gravy!) sprinkle in the flour, little by little, whisking to coat the mushrooms. (It will look lumpy, but don't worry, it will thin out in the next few steps.)
- Add garlic, balsamic vinegar, fresh thyme, and sage, stirring to combine.****
- Deglaze your pan with the hot vegetable broth, whisking to scrape up any bits of flour and mushrooms that have stuck to the bottom of your sauté pan.
- Whisk all ingredients together and cook on medium-low until a creamy gravy forms. Optional: Reduce heat to low and cover your gravy with a buttered cartouche to keep it from forming a thick skin on top (see how to make a cartouche below!). If you want to skip the cartouche step, you may just need to add a teaspoon of water or broth to the gravy when you whisk it to reintegrate the thick skin that will form as it cools.
- Once your fries are done in the oven, portion them out.
- Top fries with the cheese curds first, followed by the hot, herby mushroom gravy poured over the top. The cheese curds will melt under the gravy, creating little pockets of gooey cheesy goodness!
- Top with a little salt, pepper, and any additional herbs you have on hand (I always have fresh parsley in the kitchen) and enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
*Alternatively, I've also made this recipe with Beth’s Smoky Garlic Oven Fries and it came out great! The process was a bit longer, but it was delicious. If you decide to use this recipe instead of the frozen French fries, I recommend rinsing the prepared potatoes thoroughly with cold water and patting them dry before baking so they're extra crispy!
**I love using Better Than Bouillon to keep costs down. The suggested ratio of bouillon to water is 1 tsp bouillon to 1 cup water.
***If you're having a hard time finding cheese curds, diced cheddar cheese or pearled mozzarella will work, too.
****Adding a dash of Worcestershire to the gravy is delicious, too, but then it's not vegetarian, so I left it out for this recipe.
- How to make a cartouche: (scroll down to my step-by-step photos for a visual representation.) Cut a rectangle piece of parchment paper slightly larger than your pan. Fold it into quarters, then fold one corner over to make a triangle. Keep folding the triangle in half until you create a long, narrow triangle. Hold the triangle shape over your pot so the tip hovers over the center, and cut off any overhang from the non-pointy end. Unfold the triangle to reveal a circular piece of parchment paper that fits perfectly over your gravy!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 397kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 26g | Sodium: 871mg | Fiber: 5g