This Cranberry Boursin Dip is one of the easiest appetizers you will ever make! It’s ready in minutes and calls for just 4 simple ingredients! Perfect for holiday parties and get-togethers.
Whether you’re looking for a holiday appetizer or a way to use up some of that leftover cranberry sauce, this easy Boursin Cranberry Dip is sure to become a favorite!
We love it with fruit and nut crackers or crostini. It makes for an impressive appetizer that takes mere minutes to make. We know you’ll love it too!
Why You’ll Love It:
- Easy. You don’t even have to remember to soften the cheese! Everything comes together quickly for a stunning (but simple) festive dip that everyone will love.
- ’Tis the Season. Featuring red cranberries and green pistachios, this dip reflects the best that the season has to offer.
- The perfect balance of flavors and textures. Salty, sweet, spicy, creamy, and crunchy all in one dish. What more could you ask for?
You Will Need:
- Boursin cheese: This can be found in most grocery stores. We recommend the cranberry and black pepper flavor, although another sweet variety (like apple and maple) can be used instead. Just don’t use a savory flavor like garlic and herb for this dish.
- Cranberry sauce: Every year I make homemade cranberry sauce with orange, and this is our favorite way to use some of the leftovers. If you aren’t up for homemade, no worries – canned whole berry sauce will work just fine.
- Pistachios: We like to purchase these shelled, but still whole, and then chop them with a sharp knife or nut chopper.
- Hot honey: This adds a sweet and spicy flavor, but don’t worry – it’s just a little spicy! If you prefer, you can use regular honey or pure maple syrup. It's very easy to make your own hot honey with regular honey and crushed chilies.
How to Make Boursin Dip with Hot Honey
This beautiful appetizer is so easy to make! All you need is 4 ingredients and 10-12 minutes. Once it’s plated, you have an easy potluck dish with fabulous festive flavor.
- Step one: Add the Boursin cheese to a shallow serving bowl or rimmed platter. Use the back of a spoon to press it into an even layer. We like to make dips and divots with the spoon to create little hollows for the cranberry sauce and honey to collect.
- Step two: Pour ½ cup cranberry sauce on top and spread it out evenly.
- Step three: Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the cranberry layer.
- Step four: Drizzle with hot honey.
Serve and Enjoy!
Garnish with fresh orange zest (if desired), and serve with fruit and nut crackers, bagel chips, or toasted baguette slices. Provide a dip spread or a spoon for your guests, small appetizer plates, and extra hot honey for drizzling.
Tips for Chopping Pistachios
- Many people like to use a food processor for chopping nuts, but we find it’s a little heavy-handed. Instead, we use a small manual nut chopper.
- To remove the fine dust that collects when you chop nuts , we like to pass them through a fine mesh strainer. The pistachio dust can be collected on a plate or paper towel below and used in graham cracker crusts or composted.
- Pistachios can be pricey when purchased from the grocery store. To save money in the long run, we purchase them in bulk. We purchase them shelled to save time (and our precious fingers).
Storing Leftovers
Leftovers can be wrapped tightly with plastic wrap (or transferred to an airtight container) and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The nuts will lose their crunch, and the texture will be a bit more “liquid-y”, but it will still taste great!
Flavor Variations
With pepper jelly: Swap the cranberry sauces for ½ cup pepper jelly and use chopped pecans instead of the pistachios. Skip out on the hot honey – red pepper jelly already has both sweet and spicy flavors. An optional garnish of chopped green onions adds a bit of festive color.
With cranberry relish: This recipe can be made with leftover cranberry relish instead of cranberry sauce. To make cranberry relish, add 1 small bag of cranberries (washed) to a food processor along with ¼ cup of orange juice (freshly squeezed) and 1 cup of granulated sugar. Process on high speed until the cranberries are well broken down. Use ½ cup of this mixture for your appetizer, and use the remaining cranberry relish as a dip for crackers or crostini.
Without Boursin: If you can’t find Boursin, you can use an 8-oz block of cream cheese instead (just be sure to soften it first), or soft goat cheese.
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Cranberry Boursin Dip
Ingredients
- 2 packages (150g each) Boursin cheese cranberry and black pepper (or Apple and Maple)
- ½ cup whole berry cranberry sauce canned or homemade
- ⅓ cup chopped pistachios*
- ¼ cup hot honey store-bought, homemade, or regular honey
- Crackers, for serving we like Raincoast Crisps – especially the cranberry hazelnut
Instructions
- Add the Boursin cheese to a medium serving bowl or rimmed serving platter. Use the back of a spoon to spread the cheese, and smooth it into a rough, but even layer.
- Pour the cranberry sauce on top of the Boursin cheese layer, then spread it around evenly with a clean spoon.
- Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on top of the cranberry layer.
- Drizzle the surface generously with hot honey (or regular honey), and garnish with fresh orange zest (if desired).
- Serve with your favorite charcuterie-style crackers (we like Raincoast Crisps) or toasted baguette slices. Provide a dip spreader or spoon on the side for guests.
Notes
Nutrition
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Dorothy Bigelow
So easy to make and really delicious! It has sweet, savory, creamy, and crunchy vibes. We serve with almond flour fruit and nut crackers so that everyone at the party can enjoy.