Boursin Potato Salad
Swap the mayo for creamy Boursin cheese in this easy potato salad recipe! Perfect for summer cookouts and picnics.
Jump to:
- 🔎 A quick look at this recipe
- ⭐️ Why this recipe works
- 🧐 What is Boursin Cheese?
- 🥔 Ingredients you need
- 📝 Ingredient notes
- 💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
- 🤔 Recipe FAQs
- 🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe
- 😍 Other salad recipes we love!
- ⭐️ We want to know what you think!
- Boursin Potato Salad
🔎 A quick look at this recipe
- What It Is: A fresh twist on classic potato salad that swaps mayonnaise for a creamy dressing made with Boursin cheese, buttermilk, and lemon juice.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Servings: 4 servings
- Calories: 295
- Cooking Method: Stovetop
- Good For: Summer cookouts, as the perfect side with grilled steak, chicken, burgers and grilled seafood.
⭐️ Why this recipe works
This recipe takes classic potato salad in a more elegant direction by swapping out the mayonnaise with a creamy dressing made from Boursin cheese, buttermilk, and fresh lemon juice.
The result? A rich, tangy potato salad with plenty of herb and pepper flavor that feels a little more special than the traditional picnic version.
And just as deliciously, it is ridiculously easy. Boil up some baby potatoes and while they are cooking, whirl up some Boursin cheese (more on that later), some lemon juice and some buttermilk and you have a swanky salad dressing that is going to be the talk of the party.
🧐 What is Boursin Cheese?
I am a big fan of Boursin cheese. Before I hunkered down and got all serious about this cooking stuff, I never had a party that didn’t feature a round of peppery Boursin cheese surrounded by a tidy circle of Carr’s Water crackers.
Boursin is a soft, creamy, spreadable cheese that originated in France. It’s made from pasteurized cow’s milk and is known for being rich, fluffy, and packed with flavor from herbs and seasonings mixed directly into the cheese.
Think of it as a cross between cream cheese, whipped butter and herbs. And in this case, the star of a lighter potato salad dressing that has a little more kick to it!
🥔 Ingredients you need
📝 Ingredient notes
- Boursin Cheese: Look for this creamy spreadable cheese in the fancy cheese section of your supermarket. You can use any variety that catches your fancy!
- Capers: These tangy pickled seeds are in the condiments aisle.
- Buttermilk: You can use either full fat or low-fat buttermilk. And use the leftover buttermilk for buttermilk steak or fried buttermilk chicken tenders!
💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
Missing something or want to swap in something different? Check out the links below to find more ingredient substitution ideas. 👇🏻
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
STEP 1: I like to make this salad with little baby new potatoes, both because they taste great and because there is exactly zero peeling involved. Boil them up until they are just tender (a paring knife should slide in easily) and when they are cool enough to handle, slice bigger ones in half.
STEP 2: While the potatoes are cooking toss your Boursin cheese in the food processor with some buttermilk and a little fresh lemon juice, and whirl it into just the right amount of of creamy (you can thin it out with more buttermilk or some regular milk if it is too thick for you).
STEP 3: Once your dressing is whirled up and resting, go ahead and throw together the rest of the salad.
Pop your potatoes in a bowl with some chopped celery (you gotta have celery in potato salad!) and a couple spoonfuls of capers for a little zing.
Now pour your creamy, dreamy Boursin dressing over the whole thing and (trust me on this) toss it all together using your hands. Your hands are always, always going to be better than the best tongs in the world for tossing salad…just give them a good scrub and dive on in there.
STEP 4: Gently move everything around until the potatoes are nice and coated with the dressing. Now scatter some fresh parsley over the whole thing and you are ready to go! This is a warm to room temperature salad…technically you could serve it cold, but I am in love with the warm creaminess of the whole thing.
(And for the record, the Boursin people have never heard of me or this here blog, so this is completely my unbiased and unrequited love for their cheese speaking to you. Just so you know.)
So if you, like me, are helpless in the face of Boursin cheese, you need to try this salad immediately. And if you are new to the wonderfulness of Boursin…come see what all the deliciousness is about!
🤔 Recipe FAQs
Baby red or baby Yukon Gold potatoes are perfect because they hold their shape after cooking and have thin skins that don’t need peeling. Their creamy texture goes perfectly with the Boursin dressing.
If you don’t have buttermilk, stir 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into 1 cup of milk and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Plain Greek yogurt thinned with a little milk also works well.
Yes! You can make it up to a day ahead and refrigerate it. For the best flavor, let it sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving so the dressing becomes nice and creamy again.
Nope! If capers aren’t your favorite, try chopped dill pickles or even sliced green onions for a little extra tang and crunch.
Definitely! Crispy bacon (you knew I was going to say that!), chopped hard-boiled eggs, fresh dill, chives, or diced radishes all are delicious additions while keeping the creamy Boursin flavor front and center.
Pop your question in the Comments section under the recipe card and I will answer pronto!
🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Measuring Cup: We love these angled cups that show the measurements on both the inside and outside of the cup.
- Measuring Spoons: These handy magnetic spoons are not on a ring, so you can just pick the one you need.
- Cutting Board: These sturdy, dishwasher-safe cutting boards come in all different sizes.
- Citrus Juicer: We love this handy juicer that catches every single seed.
- Food Processor: This all-star kitchen appliance is one of the very few that gets to live on our countertop 24/7.
- Medium Pot: We have a drawerful of these, but this pot is the one we reach for first.
- Metal Bowls: We love these lightweight bowls for everything from mixing up dough for Snickerdoodle cookies to being casual serving dishes!
- Strainer: This classic version is just right for these potatoes and your favorite pasta recipe (one of ours is pasta with egg sauce!)
- Tongs: We have this essential kitchen tool in all sizes from short to extra long.
😍 Other salad recipes we love!
⭐️ We want to know what you think!
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below the recipe card.
Boursin Potato Salad
A little Boursin cheese and a few herbs turn regular potato salad into something elegant! Trade in the mayo with this easy recipe for Boursin potato salad.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes (red or yellow), rinsed
- 1 5.3 ounce package Boursin cheese (any variety, but I like the pepper best!)
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- Coarse salt
- 2 celery stalks, sliced into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons capers
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Cover potatoes with cold water in a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool until you are able to handle them.
- While the potatoes are cooling make the dressing. Pop the cheese and lemon juice into a food processor and turn it on. Pour the buttermilk in a slow stream through the feeding tube until it reaches the consistency you like. Taste and add salt as needed (and pepper if you haven’t used the pepper variety of Boursin).
- Cut any larger potatoes in half and place all the potatoes in a large mixing bowl with the celery and the capers. Pour the dressing over the potatoes, and using clean hands, gently mix everything together until it is well-coated.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Boursin Cheese: Look for this creamy spreadable cheese in the fancy cheese section of your supermarket. You can use any variety that catches your fancy!
- Capers: These tangy pickled seeds are in the condiments aisle.
- Buttermilk: You can use either full fat or low-fat buttermilk. And use the leftover buttermilk for buttermilk steak or fried buttermilk chicken tenders!
What a great idea! Thanks!
http://www.chefmimiblog.com
You are so welcome – hope you love it and happy summer!
Oh my, this potato salad looks SO tasty! I have to attempt this recipe :)
You DO! Summertime is for potato salad. :)
I used to love Boursin ! I haven’t had any in years though .
My husband , the Yankee, likes my Southern version with the hardboiled eggs and mayo but Boursin sounds wonderful. Thanks !
C … back in the USA :)
Candice! Welcome back to the States!!!! :) :)
As a fellow boursin-loving, mayo-hating gal…I’m totally into this salad! Sounds amazing!
Maybe we can make Boursin the new mayo?? :)
I love Boursin cheese! I took it last week with crackers on the Amtrak for a picnic lunch with the hubby. I can’t wait to try this. I never had the pepper one, only the chive and the shallot one.. Thank you!
The pepper one is my fave! :)
I looove Boursin, especially on pizza! I hope to make this soon!
Oh my gosh. Boursin PIzza. My head is spinning.
What a good idea. I like to put Boursin on my baked potatoes instead of sour cream.
Yummmmm – I’m going to try that!
Hey Kate,
I love your blog! This recipe rocks….my Hubby hates mayo but loves potatoes, so I think this will be a potato salad he can actually enjoy! Thanks:)
Thanks Gina! And yes, this is one for all us non-mayo potato salad people out there. :)