Hot fries, squeaky cheese curds, and glossy pepper gravy — rural Québec’s gift to late nights everywhere.

Where does Poutine come from?

Poutine is a Québécois dish from Québec, Canada.

Can Poutine be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Poutine recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Poutine take to make?

About 55 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Poutine — a Québec, Canada recipe

Name: Poutine
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Québécois
Ingredients: 2.5 lbs russet potatoes, cut into thick fries; 2 cups fresh cheese curds; 3 cups beef stock; 4 tbsp butter (for the roux); 4 tbsp all-purpose flour (for the roux); 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground; 1 tsp cider vinegar; as needed neutral oil, for frying

North America → 🇨🇦 Canada → Québec

Poutine

Québécois · easy · serves 4

prep 15 min · cook 40 min

~1283 cal · 83g protein · 56g carbs · 78g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Bowl of fries with cheese curds and dark gravy

🇨🇦 Québec

Poutine was born in 1950s rural Québec snack bars (several towns still fight over which one) and rose from local oddity to national icon. The law of poutine: the curds must squeak, and the gravy must be hot enough to soften but never melt them.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

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2.5 lbs russet potatoes, cut into thick fries

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2 cups fresh cheese curds

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3 cups beef stock

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4 tbsp butter (for the roux)

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4 tbsp all-purpose flour (for the roux)

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1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground

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1 tsp cider vinegar

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as needed neutral oil, for frying

Instructions

1

Soak the cut fries in cold water 30 minutes; dry well.

2

Fry twice: once at 325°F until pale and tender, then rest, then again at 375°F until deep gold. (Oven fries work — roast hot and hard.)

3

Make the gravy: cook the butter and flour to a nut-brown roux, whisk in the stock, and simmer to a glossy, spoon-coating sauce. Finish with pepper and vinegar.

4

Bring the curds to room temperature — cold curds kill a poutine.

5

Layer fries, curds, and gravy in that order. Eat immediately, before physics takes over.

Centre-du-Québec casse-croûte tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Québec. Snow-country cooking: curds, gravy, and sugar shacks.

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Canada. Maple, prairie wheat, and a fierce québécois food identity.

🌍

North America. A collision of Indigenous, colonial, and immigrant tables.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →