If your happy place includes fries, gravy, and cheese, you'll love this easy vegan poutine.
These smothered fries are pure decadence on a plate.
Make a meal out of it. Or enjoy it as an appetizer or side dish.
There is comfort food, and then there is COMFORT FOOD.
When you really need to pull out all of the stops, look no further than poutine.
For the uninitiated, poutine is fries covered in gravy and cheese.
It originated in Quebec in the 1950's. From there it spread to the rest of Canada and beyond.
Fries, gravy, and cheese combine into a satisfying mammoth of a dish that you have to eat with a fork. It's gluttony in the best possible way.
Now when I’m traveling, vegan poutine is always a big draw on a restaurant menu.
But poutine needn't be saved for travels alone!
It's simple to make at home, especially if you have any leftover gravy from the holidays on hand.
In this post:
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.
To make vegan poutine at home, there are three major components.
Baked French fries
Poutine is an indulgent dish that I like to make a little less heavy by using oven baked French fries.
You can either peel the potatoes first before cutting. Or leave them unpeeled, which is my preference.
Hand-cut potatoes get beautifully browned in the oven on parchment paper.
(For more tips on getting crispy oven baked fries, check out my baked fries recipe.)
Of course, you can also use store-bought frozen fries or tater tots. Then cook in the air fryer, oven, or stovetop in oil using package directions.
Vegan turkey gravy
My favorite all-purpose easy vegan gravy is made with pantry staples. It comes together in about 15 minutes.
It has the flavors of thyme and herbs de Provence, as well as umami from tamari soy sauce and nutritional yeast flakes.
Vegan turkey gravy keeps well in the refrigerator or freezer. So it's ideal to have on hand when a poutine craving strikes.
Vegan feta cheese
For the cheese component, I like to use homemade vegan feta cheese. It's made with almonds, and has a lovely, creamy texture.
In non-vegan poutine, cheese curds are the default. They're often described as being "squeaky." Vegan feta is soft and smooth. But it pairs nicely with the flavors of the gravy.
It also freezes well, if you want to make a big batch, and then pull out chunks when you have a poutine emergency. (Just thaw in the refrigerator or quickly use the defrost function on the microwave.)
If you don't have or don't feel like making your own vegan feta cheese, any non-dairy cheese will work here like mozzarella or cheddar.
Step by step instructions
This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
Cut Russet potatoes into ½ inch thick sticks.
Toss them in oil along with a pinch of salt and optional paprika.
Bake them in the oven on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, stopping once or twice to flip the fries.
Put the fries on a platter. Top with vegan turkey gravy & vegan feta cheese.
If you like, finish with an optional garnish of green onions.
Make it your own
You can make vegan poutine your own by altering the ingredients or making some delicious additions.
- Gravy and cheese should be measured by your heart, not Tablespoons and cups. So while I give general amounts in the recipe card, feel free to add the amount that satisfies your appetite.
- Instead of vegan feta cheese, use store-bought non-dairy cheddar, vegan mozzarella, or your favorite plant-based cheese. Use shreds or cut it in small-ish cubes.
- Instead of vegan turkey gravy, use cashew gravy with chestnuts, seitan bacon gravy, or store-bought vegan gravy.
- Instead of cutting fries from scratch and baking them, use frozen fries, sweet potato fries, or tots. Then cook them in the oven, air fryer, or fry in oil.
- Replace the fries with an air fryer baked potato for a fully loaded spud.
- Replace the gravy with chili for chili cheese fries. Use three bean chili, Soy Curls chili, or lentil chili.
Repurpose holiday leftovers
You can really take poutine up a notch by loading them with Thanksgiving leftovers. In addition to gravy and vegan cheese, add browned seitan chicken and cranberry sauce.
It turns an appetizer into a complete & filling meal with protein from the seitan and sweetness from the cranberry sauce.
It's also great for groups.
You've heard of a baked potato bar? Make a poutine bar with lots of fun toppings!
What to serve with poutine
Poutine is hearty enough that it can be a full meal on its own. Or it can be a starter to a larger meal.
Here are some dishes that go well with it:
If you try this recipe and love it, let me know! Leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It truly makes my day and is such a help!
📖 Recipe
Vegan poutine with gravy & almond feta
Ingredients
- 1 pound Russet potatoes cut into ½ inch thick sticks
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil or other high heat oil
- Pinch of salt
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon paprika optional
- ¼ cup vegan turkey gravy plus more if desired
- 2 Tablespoons vegan feta cheese plus more if desired
- 1 Tablespoon sliced green onions optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Put potato sticks onto baking sheet and toss with oil. Spread the sticks evenly across the baking sheet, being careful that the potatoes aren't overlapped or touching. If there's not enough room, put half of the potato pieces on the second baking sheet. Top the potatoes with a pinch of salt & sprinkling of paprika (optional).
- Put the baking sheet(s) into the oven. Roast the potatoes for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and toss with a spatula for even browning. Return to oven and roast for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Put baked fries on a platter.
- Top with warmed vegan turkey gravy and a sprinkling of vegan feta cheese. Finish with an optional garnish of sliced green onions. Serve right away.
Shell
I had no idea poutine originated in Canada! I thought it was a New Orleans dish for some reason. This recipe is such a great combo. The fries are even great by themselves!
Cadry Nelson
Thanks, Shell! Maybe you’re thinking of beignets? I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Susan
Hmmmm… another strong contender for turning into an incorporeal nightmare monster and crawling through the screen. Tell the cats I’ll be coming to pat them!
I never had poutine pre-vegan, but I hear a lot about the squeaky cheese curds. TBH, eating something that is squeaky doesn’t sound appealing to me, the thought of it makes my teeth feel funny. But then I know alot of people get upset about using grated vegan cheese instead on vegan poutine because technically that could be disco fries, so I think your almond feta is a fun middle ground!
Cadry Nelson
Avon eagerly awaits your arrival, and both cats are relieved you won’t be ringing the doorbell. It makes them edgy. I never had poutine before being vegan either! For me, it’s solely in the domain of a vegan appetizer. I imagine the squeakiness being like string cheese, because I never had cheese curds. That’s the closest estimation in my mind. That’s a good point about disco fries! I should have mentioned that in the post.
Mari
What an amazing recipe. I am going to make this as soon as I make your cheese recipe because I am not a big fan of most store bought vegan cheeses. I like the idea of using Thanksgiving leftovers to toss in the Poutine. It looks so pretty with the cranberry sauce on it. Thanks for the great recipes that you,post. I am eating more meatless meals these days. Many vegan restaurants are making things gluten free, and they are way ahead of traditional restaurants. I was wondering if you know of anything I could substitute for seitan. Wheat and wheat gluten are in a lot of meat substitutes which means I can’t eat them. Seitan is in a lot of recipes that I would like to try but I can’t. Can you think of anything I could use in place of it that might produce a similar texture?
Cadry Nelson
Thank you, Mari! What a sweet comment. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Instead of seitan, you could use roasted chickpeas for a whole foods option. Or Beyond Meat sausages, which are gluten free. The Beyond Meat sausages come in sweet Italian, hot Italian, or bratwurst. I think either of the Italian sausages would be delicious here. Obviously not the same as a turkey flavor, but still really good.
Soy Curls are also a tasty gluten free vegan meat. They require a little more preparation, because they have to be hydrated, seasoned, and cooked. But they have a really nice toothsome texture. I like to use them as pulled pork or in meatless chili.
You may also be interested in exploring jackfruit!
Oh, and for the gravy you’ll want to use a gluten-free thickener like cornstarch or a GF flour. Let me know how it goes!
Mari
Thank you for the great suggestions Cadry. I should have thought of those myself. I actually do have Jackfruit and soy curls in my pantry. Not to mention chickpeas. It’s time for me to start experimenting!