If you love the spreadable Boursin cheese or Alouette garlic and herb spreadable cheese, you will absolutely love this recipe for Garlic and Herb cream cheese spread! And, it's so much less expensive to make yourself!
Boursin cheese is a brand name cheese that is made with gournay cheese. Gournay cheese was created by Francois Boursin in a town named Gournay in France. As far as I could find, this cheese is a signature cheese of the Boursin brand and is combined with different ingredients to create flavorful spreadable cheeses. I first tried Boursin cheese when I was making stuffed mushrooms years ago and fell in love with it.
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So, when I was creating a recipe for Air Fryer Stuffed Mushrooms, I went to our local grocery store and tried to find it. They didn't carry it and I decided that I would make my own version of a garlic cream cheese and add in some dried and fresh herbs. I did end up finding Boursin cheese one state over from where I live and I asked Jeff to do a blind tasting between my version and the Boursin Garlic & Herb cheese. Guess what! He liked my version better!
I did a little cost analysis and Boursin costs $5.26 cents for 5.2 ounces where I live and I can make 8 ounces for around $2.29! While I do love Boursin cheese and the texture is a little different from cream cheese, I'll be making my version more times than not.
When you make up a batch of this cheese spread, you definitely want to make these stuffed mushrooms! Recipe Link for Stuffed Mushrooms: Air Fryer (or Oven) Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients & Substitutions
Cream Cheese
Cream Cheese is the base of this spreadable garlic and herb cheese and the only substitution I can think of would be Neufchâtel cheese, which will have less fat content and a slightly different texture.
In the UK, I understand, it can be difficult to find regular cream cheese in a block and the whipped variety can be used, but you will want to add just a touch (I'd start with ½ teaspoon/ 2.5ml) of acid, like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to bring out a little tang that is more prevalent in block style cream cheese. The texture of the cream cheese when it's whipped is different, but since we whip the cream cheese in this recipe anyway, it won't matter if you use whipped cream cheese.
You could also try using Ricotta cheese, but that has a much different texture and it isn't as smooth. If you want to try Ricotta, I would increase the butter to 4 Tablespoons and whip it longer to see if it will become creamier. I think the flavor will be quite good using ricotta cheese.
Seasonings
You can use fresh or dried herbs in this recipe, I use a combination of both. I used dried dill and fresh thyme. That is because I don't ever have fresh dill on hand and, for the small amount this uses, it wasn't worth the cost of buying it fresh. I think dried dill weed is wonderful in this recipe. If you want to use fresh dill, you would use about ½ - 1 teaspoon.
The main reason why I didn't use dried thyme is because of the texture. Dried thyme leaves can be hard, while fresh thyme is soft. If you want to try to use dried thyme leaves, I would crush them up and only use a pinch or two.
I used fine grind sea salt and black pepper. You can omit the black pepper if you wish and, if you don't have sea salt or kosher salt, cut down to just a pinch of table salt.
I used a fresh garlic clove minced in this recipe and while you can substitute about ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, I really think the punch of garlic that comes from the fresh garlic cloves is what makes this herb cheese spread so delicious. It packs a nice punch of garlic! In fact, don't be tempted to use more until you taste the impact of the small amount called for in the recipe. It's garlicky!
The sugar balances out the garlic by adding just a touch of sweetness, but it can be omitted or you can use a sugar substitute if you prefer.
As far as the chives go, you could use fresh chives, freeze dried chives, or finely chopped green onions. I've used all three and they all work perfectly. You don't have to change the amounts either -- use 1 full Tablespoons of any of the three.
You can also try different herbs and seasonings and create different types of cheese spreads.
Butter
The butter adds a richness and the fat helps really smooth out the cream cheese. You can use salted or unsalted butter or you can omit it. If you don't want to use butter, you can also add a touch of oil, maybe 1 Tablespoon. It will fine to just use the cream cheese and herbs; your spread will just be stiffer.
How to Make Recipe
Mise En Place
Butter & Cream Cheese
Make sure that your butter and cream cheese are room temperature. That is very important in this recipe if you want to get a smooth and creamy cheese spread.
Bring them to room temperature naturally, don't try to microwave to soften or apply heat in any way. This changes the structure of the cream cheese and butter and may result in a cheese spread that is too thin.
Herbs & Seasonings
Remove the fresh thyme from the stem and place in a small bowl.
Mince the garlic and add to the bowl.
Chop the chives or green onions into a small size and add to the bowl.
Measure out the dry spices and mix in with the fresh herbs.
Mixing the Cheese Spread
Combine the room temperature butter and cream cheese along with the herbs and seasonings in the bowl of your stand mixer or a medium size bowl, if using a hand mixer.
Using a hand mixer or the paddle attachment on a stand mixer combine the butter with the herbs and seasonings. I like to mix for a few minutes to whip the cream cheese and butter so it is light and fluffy.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated well.
Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until use. If you want to serve the garlic & herb spread as a formed shape like the Boursin comes in, line a small bowl with plastic wrap and fill the bowl with the spread.
Make sure to press the cheese spread down into the bowl and get out any air bubbles. Cover the top with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Uncover the top of the bowl and turn it over onto your serving platter. Remove the bowl and then the plastic wrap. Serve with crackers and/or fruit. Enjoy!
You can also freeze for longer storage. To freeze the cheese spread, place it in an airtight container or a plastic freezer bag. Thaw and mix before serving.
Uses for Garlic & Herb Cheese Spread
You may be amazed at all the different uses for this garlic cheese spread! I love it spread on a cracker and it makes a great addition to charcuterie board, but here are some other ways to use it that might surprise you.
- Apple Slices: Spread it on apple slices. The sweetness of the apple with the tangy garlic cheese is winning combination.
- Vegetable Dip: It's perfect for a veggie tray. The spread is soft enough that even dipping a cucumber in it works great.
- Pasta: Toss your favorite cooked and hot pasta in the cheese spread and it will coat your pasta with a delicious garlicky sauce.
- Stuffed Chicken: Use it as part or all of a filling for stuffed chicken breasts. Spinach and the garlic & herb cheese spread would be wonderful. If you want an airfryer version of stuffed chicken, here is my recipe: Air Fryer Stuffed Chicken
- Cream Cheese Replacement: If you are making a savory recipe that calls for cream cheese, try using this instead. It's especially delicious in dishes that benefit from garlic and herbs. You can use it in macaroni and cheese, jalapeno poppers, stuff it into wonton wrappers for fried wontons.
I am hooked on this cheese spread and I bet you will be, too!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! Once you have whipped up a batch or two, put it into an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months. Try to get as much of the air out of bag as you can for the best results.
Allow the spread to thaw and mix before serving. I found that the cheese spread was just as creamy and delicious after freezing as it was before freezing.
Yes, you can make a half of a batch by cutting all the ingredient in half.
You can also double, triple, quadruple all the ingredients to make more of the delicious cheese spread. The only thing I would suggest when increasing the ingredients is to hold off on doubling or tripling the garlic until you taste the spread. You can always add more garlic, if desired, but since it's raw garlic and minced, a little goes a long way.
More Dips & Appetizer Recipes
I love appetizers and dips! I could host entire parties centered entirely around appetizers and finger foods. I love variety of flavors in different appetizers and there is usually something for everyone!
Here are some of my favorite appetizers and dip recipes.
Garlic & Herb Cheese Spread Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 Tablespoon Butter salted or unsalted, room temperature
Herb & Seasoning Blend
- 1 Tablespoon dried or fresh chives or green onions finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic about 1 small clove
- ½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon fine grind sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill or ½-1 teaspoon fresh dill
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
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Instructions
- Make sure the butter and cream cheese are room temperature. If it is cold, it won't blend smoothly.
- Combine the butter and cream cheese in a medium size bowl or in the bowl of stand mixer. Add in the herbs and seasonings. Blend with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until well mixed and smooth.
- Serve immediate or cover and refrigerate until use.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Recipe Author, Louise Long
Louise is a full-time recipe creator and food blogger @ The Salted Pepper. She has over 30 years of experience with cooking and recipe development. She owned a restaurant for several years and was a full-time RN until retiring to blog full-time.
She published her first cookbook in the Fall of 2018 and is very interested in writing several more.
Louise is also the creator of an online Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooking Course with over 100 instructional step-by-step videos. People absolutely rave about the course and all the value they have received from it.
Louise has several very active Facebook groups that help people with the basics of cooking and learning more about the appliances they love.
Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper 101
Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker
Louise is also a YouTube creator and you can find most of her recipes in video format on The Salted Pepper YouTube channel.
She is very responsive to messages and eager to help in any way she can. Get more Information about Louise & contact information
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Amy
Made this just now with reduced-fat cream cheese. I can imagine it will taste even better once the ingredients have melded together. Omitted the butter and added a wee bit of milk to make it a bit softer. I love it! Tastes just like the more expensive option plus it's healthier. Gave some of it a fruity twist by adding a dollop of Apricot preserves which I would think would make a great spread for a Jerk Chicken sandwich.
Louise
That sounds delicious!
Linda Fassnacht
We make wraps using Alouette but it is becoming too expensive. Just made a batch of this and it definitely matched the flavor but was oh, so much better!
Thank you for sharing!
Louise
Yes, most definitely!