If you love French-style cheese, this homemade Vegan Boursin Cheese is the perfect plant-based version! It's rich, creamy, and features the classic combination of garlic and herbs. Simmering the cashews in dry white wine is the secret to achieving a delightfully tangy and cheesy flavor. Spread it on crackers, add it to mashed potatoes, mix it into your pasta, or use it as a dip for veggies-the possibilities are endless!
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I don't know about you, but anytime I see a new vegan product advertised, I feel like a kid watching candy commercials during Saturday morning cartoons. Then, when I finally spot it in the grocery store, it's like hitting the jackpot!
Vegan cheese is one of my passions. So when I heard Boursin was releasing a dairy-free cheese spread, I was beyond excited to try it! Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Some people seem to really love it, though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Honestly, I think I'm just really picky about vegan cheese (salad dressings, too, but that's a topic for another day).
One French-style cheese brand that I can get behind, however, is Treeline. Their herb garlic cashew cheese is one of my favorites.
So I decided to make a homemade version that is a bit of a copycat fusion of both Treeline and Boursin's non-dairy cheeses.
Instead of soaking the cashews in water to soften them, I decided to simmer them in dry white wine to create a tangy, cheesy flavor. The idea came from my Vegan Cheese Ball recipe, where I discovered that soaking the cashews in beer lends a surprisingly authentic cheese flavor (due to the fermentation).
If you also like to dabble with cashew cheese recipes, be sure to try my Vegan Cheese Sauce and Vegan Mozzarella Cheese next!
Why You'll Love This Dairy-Free Boursin
- Rich & Flavorful: This creamy cheese is full of garlicky, herbaceous, and tangy flavors.
- Easy to Make: It only takes a few minutes to simmer the cashews, and then you simply blend everything up and store the cheese in the fridge to set. It's that easy!
- Versatile: This cheese is perfect for snacking, spreading, or mixing into your favorite dishes.
Ingredient Notes
- Raw Cashews: These form the base of the cheese. There's no need to soak them for this recipe. I also tested the recipe with raw sunflower seeds, which often work well as a sub for cashews. Sadly, the seeds didn't work because the flavors in this style of cheese are more delicate.
- Garlic: Two cloves of fresh garlic are simmered with the cashews and add the perfect amount of garlicky flavor.
- Dry White Wine: I love to come up with new ways of making familiar dishes, and this wine-infused cashew idea worked like a charm! The cashews are simmered in a crisp and tart wine, which is what lends most of the tangy and cheesy flavor without being overpowering. Note that some of the alcohol will cook off during this process, but not all of it.
- Lemon Juice: Adds more acidity and tanginess to the dairy-free Boursin.
- Seasonings: I used salt, black pepper, and a tiny bit of onion powder to season the cheese.
- Herbs: I used a combination of fresh chives and dried parsley, but feel free to use fresh parsley if you prefer. You can also switch up the herbs or try adding scallions if you'd like.
See the recipe card below for amounts and step-by-step instructions.
How To Make Vegan Boursin Cheese
First, combine the cashews, garlic, and wine to a saucepan. Simmer covered for about 10 minutes. Then use a slotted spoon to transfer the cashews and garlic to your blender or food processor.
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Add the water, lemon juice, salt, onion powder, and pepper to the blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the herbs.
Select a ramekin or other small bowl to serve as a mold, and line it with plastic wrap. Spoon the cheese mixture into the ramekin, packing it down. Fold the plastic wrap over so the cheese is fully wrapped, and place in the refrigerator to chill.
To serve, unwrap the cheese, lift it out of the ramekin, and flip onto a serving plate. Alternatively, skip the plastic wrap and simply serve the spreadable cheese in a small bowl.
Helpful Tips
- If you're having trouble blending, you can add a little more wine, lemon juice, water, or vinegar to taste. This will result in a creamier consistency, but note that if you add too much liquid, the cheese won't set or hold shape as well.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight to allow the cheese to set and the flavors to infuse.
- Choose the right wine. Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, a light unoaked Chardonnay, or a dry white table wine are all good options. You want to use a light, crisp, and tart wine, not one that is too sweet or heavy.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this dairy-free cheese spread with your favorite store-bought crackers or homemade Whole Wheat Crackers.
Why not top a Mushroom Veggie Burger or Air Fryer Veggie Burger with some of this herby cheese for a burst of flavor?!
It's also the perfect addition to a Vegan Cheese Board or Veggie Tray for your next party or for the holidays.
FAQs
At this time, I don't have a recommendation for making this cheese nut-free. I did try making it with sunflower seeds, but the flavor was too strong and did not work well in this recipe.
I haven't tried making this cheese without the wine, but it should work by simmering the cashews in water with a splash of vinegar and adding a bit more lemon juice to the blender.
Cashew cheese will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
More Vegan Cheese Recipes
I hope you enjoy this dairy-free Boursin cheese! If you try it I would love to hear from you. Be sure to comment below and let us know!
Recipe
Vegan Boursin Cheese
Equipment
- food processor - or high speed blender
Ingredients
- 1½ cups raw cashews
- 2 medium cloves garlic, smashed
- ¾ cup dry white wine - choose a crisp, tart, light variety such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt - or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Herbs to add after blending:
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley - or 1½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Optional for extra tang/flavor:
- white wine vinegar - or plain rice vinegar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan combine the cashews, garlic, and wine. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cashews and garlic to a large food processor or high speed blender. Try to leave most of the liquid in the pot, then discard.
- To the blender, also add the water, lemon juice, salt, onion powder, and pepper. Slowly increase to high speed, and blend until the cheese mixture is smooth and creamy. You will need to stop and scrape down the sides several times. If needed, add another tablespoon of water to help with blending. Note that adding too much liquid will create a creamier, softer cheese that won't set, which is perfectly fine! It just depends on how you'd like to serve it.
- Taste and adjust salt. For a tangier cashew cheese, add a teaspoon of white wine vinegar or a bit more lemon juice or wine. Blend again. Stir in the chives and parsley.
- Line a ramekin or small bowl with plastic wrap so there's enough excess to fold over the top. See Notes. (Alternatively, skip the plastic and transfer the cheese directly to a small serving dish, then cover.) Spoon the cheese mixture into the dish, and fold the plastic wrap over top. Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight.
- To serve, unwrap the cheese, lift out of the ramekin, and flip onto a serving plate. Or serve the cheese in a small dish. Keep leftovers refrigerated and covered. Use within 5 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Cashews: I had hoped raw sunflower seeds would work as a sub for cashews, but the flavor was too strong so I can't recommend it here. If you're okay with almonds, I think blanched almonds (without skins) are the best option to replace the cashews.
- Wine: If you don't want to use wine, you'll need to add acidity another way. You can simmer the cashews in water with a splash of a mild vinegar. Then adjust the amount of lemon to taste.
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and ingredients used.
Dana says
I’m making this today and wondering if I could use the discarded wine in another recipe afterwards?
Lori Rasmussen says
Hi Dana! Sorry I missed this Q yesterday. In theory I guess you could add the wine to a soup or something, but it doesn't taste very good after simmering. So I'm not sure where it might be useful.
Dana says
Thanks for your feedback about the wine, there wasn’t too much left anyway 😂. This cheese is awesome, I’ve just had a sneaky sample, with an apple and I could have easily finished it off! This one is definitely getting a place on my Christmas cheese board, thank you Lori 🙏
Lori Rasmussen says
Oh that's great to hear! Thank you, Dana.
Melissa says
I made this today after running across the recipe online. I doubled the recipe and used minced scallions instead of chives and parsley (because that's all I had). It's a very good vegan "cheese" and the fact that the cashews are simmered in wine instead of water makes a tremendous difference in the flavor. I'll be trying that again. The doubled recipe made 4 cups for me. It's chilling now so I don't know how it set up yet. Definitely easy to make. Ran the cuisinart about 7 solid minutes to get it as smooth as possible.
Melissa says
Update: the cheese set overnight into a nice soft spread about the consistency of a thick hummus. I used the cheese to stuff some large jalapeno halves which I then wrapped in bacon and baked (at 350 for 25 minutes). The cheese baked up very nicely. It even rose a little bit, which I found surprising but importantly, it held together and didn't run all over the pan. Taste is very good (my husband gave it his seal of approval and he's not a big fan of my vegan substitute dishes). I wonder if the cheese could be made a bit thicker by hanging in a nut bag. So I'm trying that now. (I make vegan recipes for dairy allergy purposes, not because we're vegans. Hence the bacon.)
L says
The flavor is delightful! And it was very easy to make. I like to spread it on sandwiches and toasted bagels. Thanks for the recipe!
SUE says
Sounds delicious; thanks Lori.