Canadian Poutine with Cheese Curds and Gravy

Canadian poutine is the ultimate comfort food—crispy French fries topped with squeaky cheese curds and rich brown gravy. Originating in Québec, this iconic dish is simple to make at home and perfect as a hearty side dish or indulgent meal. After enjoying poutine on our travels through Canada, (Whistler, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, we couldn’t wait to recreate it in our own kitchen, and it’s become one of our favorite family comfort foods.

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O’ Canada! Today is Canada Day. What a better way to celebrate our friends to the North than with one of their favorites – Poutine. And everything about it fulfills all my guilty-comfort food pleasures! French Fries, check. Cheese, check. And that gravy on top. Happy Birthday Canada, eh!

We’ve made our way into Canada twice now. We did a road trip through the Maritime provinces of Canada a few years ago. At the time, it was at the top of Luke’s travel bucket list. Like every normal 6 year old from Orlando, but not really. He wanted to see the Northern Lights and have a chance to use his binoculars. No pun intended but the stars aligned for that kid. I am a sucker for a deal on an airline ticket. We started the trip in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Then we made some stops in Cape Breton and New Brunswick before crossing the border into Maine and finishing in Boston. One day I’ll give you the fuller recap and details of that trip. In quick summary – hiking through lush forests, a bright and beautiful coast and learning to quickly convert MPH to KPH in a rental car. Oh, and there was us with small children and so many retirees. And one night in a very spooky B&B.

We did a second trip in on the otherside – the Sea to Sky Highway through Vancouver up to Whistler. This was an epic kind of ski trip across the biggest resort in North America

Canada: Poutine

Let’s get to the good stuff. We’ve have a whole bunch of company the last few weeks with more to come. This ended up being super easy when I need a little break from the more ‘technical’ cooking… And by technical, you know most of my recipes don’t have more than 4 steps. This was also the first night in some time the kids don’t have camps, swim lessons, etc. We probably could have tried making fries from scratch but I wanted to make a QUICK meal. An easy, fun meal and enjoy a night playing games together!

By the way, this is the new second place favorite in the boys eyes! (Burek, meat pie from North Macedonia has still captured their number one spot)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of frozen fries
• 2 cups of cheese curds
• 3 cups of beef broth
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tbsp butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions

1. Prepare french fries according to the package directions.
2. Let your cheese come down to room temp while cooking, it will be easier for it to melt later!

For the Gravy

3. In a bowl, mix cornstarch and broth
4. On medium heat, melt butter and whisk in flour to form a paste.
5. Add in the broth mixture and continue to quickly whisk until your preferred gravy consistency.
6. Add salt and pepper, reduce the heat to a simmer until the fries are done

7. While everything is HOT put fries and cheese in a large bowl and ladle on gravy to toss.

The first bite is everything poutine is famous for—crispy fries, rich gravy, and fresh cheese curds that soften just enough while still keeping their signature bite. It’s messy, comforting, and completely worth the extra napkins.

*For a little extra sustenance and making this more dinner than snack – we added some pulled pork. But you could add almost anything for toppings – I’ve even tried a fancy version with braised short ribs when we were in Nova Scotia!