Vegan Cheesy Fries Poutine With Mushroom Gravy

This vegan poutine is simple to make and delicious. Made with vegan cheese curds and mushroom gravy, it’s perfect comfort food!

Ah, poutine. Is there a more Canadian dish? When I moved to Canada from the UK, I’d never heard of poutine. I was introduced to it by friends, but it was several years before I got to try a vegan version.

Imagine my delight when my local MeeT restaurant started offering vegan poutine on their menu, complete with vegan cheese curds! It was a complete revelation, and this recipe is an homage to my favourite dish by this Vancouver restaurant, with my own twist.

Poutine FAQs

Firstly, what is poutine? Poutine is made by piling cheese curds and gravy on top of potato fries. It’s basically a Canadian version of french fries with cheese and gravy. It’s delicious!

Is poutine vegan? Usually, no. The cheese curds obviously aren’t vegan, and the gravy is normally made from a meat stock or broth. Luckily, this recipe is completely vegan!

How do I make vegan cheese curds? I’m glad you asked! I outline the full recipe below, but basically you blend tofu with tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, and some other simple pantry ingredients before cooking it briefly in a saucepan. The mixture will thicken and become stretchy, looking like traditional cheese curds!

This recipe was so much fun to create. I wanted to make veggie poutine that not only tastes delicious but is also inexpensive. Many vegan poutine recipes contain cheese curds that are made from cashews and while they taste delicious, cashews aren’t the most cost-effective ingredient right now.

My recipe uses tofu as the main ingredient for the vegan cheese curds, which makes it not only inexpensive but nut-free too! This just gets blitzed in the blender along with some simple store cupboard ingredients, then briefly cooked, making creamy stretchy cheese curds that are delicious!

The gravy is equally simple to make, as you just blend all ingredients and then heat until thickened before pouring over the fries. Easy!

Vegan Cheesy Fries Poutine With Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

For the Fries
2 lb yellow or russet potatoes (three to four medium potatoes)
1½ tbsp avocado or grapeseed oil
Sea salt
For the Cheese Curds
1 200g pack medium firm tofu
2 tbsp tapioca starch
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp soy milk
2 tbsp avocado or grape seed oil
For the Gravy
2 tbsp vegan butter or avocado oil
3 small cremini mushrooms
1½ tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp Bragg’s soy seasoning or tamari (soy sauce)
1 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp brown rice flour
1½ cups vegetable stock or broth

Instructions

For the Cheese Curds
Add all ingredients to a blender, and blend on medium for about 15 seconds until mixture is smooth and ingredients are combined.
Transfer to a small saucepan, and cook on low (stirring regularly) for ten to 12 minutes, until the ‘cheese’ is smooth and stretchy. The mixture will become lumpy at first and may stick to the pan a bit but that’s ok – just keep stirring until it becomes smooth!
Transfer to a bowl until ready to use.
For the Fries
Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C.
Slice the potatoes into strips one cm wide.
Place on baking trays and toss in the oil to coat all fries evenly. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping the fries over after 15 minutes.
For the Gravy
While the fries are cooking, add all gravy ingredients to a blender and blitz on high for 15 seconds until smooth.
Transfer to a saucepan and heat on medium heat until bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes – stirring frequently – until gravy has thickened.
To Assemble
Place the fries in a large bowl.
Dollop with small piles of the cheese curds and pour over the gravy.
Eat immediately!