Homemade Boursin is a garlic and herb spread inspired by the classic French cheese ~ takes just minutes to make and it’s ready to party with your favorite crackers.
I’m so excited to share my homemade Boursin cheese recipe with you, it’s phenomenal. The combination of fresh garlic, mixed herbs, and soft cheese mixture is so good, you won’t be able to stop tasting it. Better invite some friends over asap.
What readers are saying
➡ “Just made this and it is delicious. I put some on a cracker and asked my husband what he thought it was – he got it on the first bite. Took some over to his mom and she said the same thing. Thank you for a great recipe.”
➡ “Made this for a football game get-together! Now I know to double the recipe! It went home with several friends.”
➡ “The best dupe for Boursin ever!”
The simple list of ingredients:
Boursin s a French Gournay-style cheese. The classic Boursin cheese herbs are just parsley and chives, but I’ve rounded out the herb mixture to include dill, tarragon, and a touch of thyme. The larger mix of herbs gives my cheese a more robust, herby flavor, I think you’re going to love it…
- cream cheese ~ this forms the base of my homemade Boursin.
- Note: This homemade Boursin-style cheese is creamier than the packaged version. Store-bought Boursin has a unique crumbly, pressed texture that’s difficult to recreate at home, but the fresh garlic-herb flavor here is spot on.
- goat cheese ~ adds tang and a fuller, more sophisticated flavor than cream cheese alone.
- butter ~ it gives this homemade Boursin-style cheese richness and a firmer set once chilled,
- garlic ~ fresh garlic adds an appealing punch.
- granulated or minced onion ~ I use an amazing granulated toasted onion from Penzy’s.
- assorted herbs, I use a combination of fresh and dried herbs:
- fresh chives and thyme
- dried parsley, tarragon and dill
How to make homemade garlic and herbed cheese spread
I used my stand mixer with the paddle attachment to make this cheese. You can also do it by hand, but the mixer makes it a bit cleaner and easier.
- Start by mixing the cream cheese with the softened butter and garlic. Blend until well combined.
- Add the goat cheese and herbs, salt and pepper, and blend until well combined. Do this gently, without whipping the cheese.
- Give the cheese a taste to adjust.
- Pack into an airtight container and refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight. This allows the flavors to develop.
You’re asking
Yes, for sure! Try herbes de Provence for a different flavor. Using good quality dried herbs is important so make sure they haven’t been sitting in your cupboard for a year. My microwave method for drying fresh herbs works great, and when you do it yourself, you get the biggest bang for your buck.
Yes! Be sure to mince them finely. I don’t recommend using basil because it tends to oxidize.
Yes, you could use low fat cream cheese, but your texture won’t be quite as nice. For a party/appetizer cheese, use full-fat. This is one of those recipes where the fat is doing real work.
Homemade Boursin-style cheese will keep for about 4–5 days in the refrigerator, tightly covered. Let it sit out for 15–20 minutes before serving so it softens to a spreadable texture.
Heads up!
Homemade Boursin cheese makes the best host gift. Pack it into a cute Weck jar and bring it with the recipe attached.
Serving your homemade cheese spread
- I get many questions about the brand of cracker I used in the photos…they are Lesley Stowe Rainforest Crisps.
- You can make your own crisp crackers, check out my Copycat Raincoast Crisps® Crackers ~ they’re amazing and get rave reviews.
- You can use your cheese as a base for many kinds of simple savory tarts, like my Mushroom & Boursin Puff Pastry Tart or my Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart.
- It’s once of the delicious layers in my 7 Layer Smoked Salmon Dip.
- This cheese is always a hit on a cheese board, and in my How to Make an Epic Cheese Board post I’ll show you how to make adorable Boursin pinecones, with sliced almonds.
- Slather it on baked potatoes, corn on the cob, green beans or grilled steak.
- Crumble it on green salads.
- Fold into scrambled eggs for a super Egg Tartine.
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Homemade Boursin Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, brick style
- 4 Tbsp salted butter, room temperature
- 1 large clove of garlic, grated or put through a garlic press
- 4 ounces goat cheese, log style
- 2 tsp fresh chives, snipped into tiny pieces
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, minced
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
- 1/2 tsp granulated onion
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 pinch sea salt, or more to taste
Instructions
- Put the cream cheese, butter, and garlic in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a silicone spatula. Blend together until well combined.
- Add the goat cheese, herbs, and spices. Blend again until well combined. Do not beat air into the cheese. Taste to adjust any of the flavorings to your liking. Feel free to adjust here ~ you may want more herbs, or extra pepper.
- Put the cheese into an airtight jar or container and refrigerate for several hours or overnight to allow the flavors to develop.
- Serve with crackers of your choice.
- Plan to use your homemade Boursin cheese within a week or so.
Notes
Nutrition
How to use your homemade Boursin cheese
Copycat Raincoast Crisps® Crackers
Homemade Raincoast Crisps are a copycat version of the famously beautiful and crunchy crackers that dominate cheese boards everywhere, and they're so easy to make!
Mushroom & Boursin Puff Pastry Tart
Mushroom & Boursin Puff Pastry Tart is a multi-tasking dress-it-up or dress-it-down kind of dish that takes a couple of minutes to throw together and impresses everybody.
Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms
Juicy baked mushroom caps stuffed with creamy Boursin cheese ~ this ultra easy appetizer will be the hit of your next party, guaranteed!
Boursin Butter
A cheesy spread made with Boursin and butter to slather on anything and everything!
We have made homemade Boursin in my family, try adding 1 stick of unsalted butter and you will get the more crumbly texture of real Boursin. I have also used plain cream cheese instead of the whipped. Great way to use all the different herbs in the garden.
I will try the butter, Aly, I can’t wait!
Hi Aly, Do you use cream cheese & butter together with herbs or just butter with the herbs? I would use plain cream cheese also. Tia
Aly, do you add a stick of butter as well as all of the cream cheese?
I think scant is a bad term to use in a recipe.
It’s funny, I rarely use that term, but occasionally I do, and for me it’s a way of refining the measurement. Same thing when I use ‘heaping’ in a direction.
Nothing wrong with scant IMO, it just means don’t fill the spoon/cup/etc to the top.
To clarify, if it were a baking recipe, scant would be inaccurate but this is a “to your taste” kind of recipe.
Hi! How long is the shelf life for this recipe? I’m being pretentious, that’s gonna be gone with just me and my husband and some chips. Lol, still would be a good to know. Thanks!
Well, I have never gotten to test how long it lasts because it always goes the day I make it, Audi. I think it would last for a good three weeks in a tub or jar with a well fitting lid.
You could also use a leftover green olive jars. I save mine for different uses. Just a thought.
Absolutely!
Also I was thinking if I could scoop mixture and freeze on sheet pan put in freezer bag or container for longer storage.Then take out what I need to use. How would it hold up doing it this way? Just a thought.
Can u use horseradish?
Sure, I love it!
What kind of jar is that, that you have the cheese packed in?
That’s a Weck canning jar, Bethany, I love them, you can find them online, and on Amazon, and sometimes in stores like Cost Plus World Market.
https://amzn.to/49EnlPZ (this is an affiliate link)
It’s gorgeous! Ty!!
I cook for private clients who express concerns for garlic use a garlic press or a very fine grater turns out so so fine you even aware it’s there’s try and see if that works good luck
Thanks Cherita!
I very much like Boursin Cheese but it’s so darn expensive. I’m going to try and make this recipe. A good friend made a great dish using Boursin & new baby potatoes. Giving it a whirl. Thanks for the recipe!
Does anyone know the brand name of those crackers?
They look like the rosemary crackers that Trader Joes sells to me.
They are Lesley Stowe Rainforest Crisps, Penny, and I have a homemade version which is amazing, here.
(Raincoast Crisps). I love them. We sell them where I work. Available at Kroger stores that have Murray’s cheese counters! My favorite is the fig and olive.
Wow! This is definitely a recipe I have to make. I love Boursin cheese, and discovered that cramming it under the skin of a whole chicken is delicious! What a great recipe! (Where do you come up with all of your brilliant ideas?!)
I think your under the chicken skin idea is brilliant 🙂
Sue, your gorgeous photos have me craving this! I always make mine with just the herbs, no garlic, because I am allergic/sensitive to garlic. (I know, I know, the worst possible thing to be bothered by, right?!) I usually limit the herbs to about four, but why?
I’m actually sensitive to raw garlic too, and was hesitant about this, but even though the one clove produced great flavor, it didn’t bother me.
I am so excited to try this, Sue! We love Boursin cheese, and I buy it all the time. It would be wonderful to make it myself, and what a great idea for Christmas gifts! I wanted to pick some up when I was at a higher end grocery store the other day, and they were charging $8.00 for that little block of Boursin! I walked out without it. Now I can make my own. Yay! 🙂 Thanks so much.
Oh wow, this is going to change your life Shari.