What can I use instead of brie cheese? We found some of the best replacements for brie cheese are camembert, reblochon, coulommiers, explorateur, fromage D’affinios, paglietta, baron bigod, and the US own version Mt Tam.
Suppose you need to substitute a wedge of Brie. In that case, we have options available for you, and you can still put out a spread of fruit and crackers with everyone’s favorite blooming cheese. Luckily you’re not limited to choice when finding a substitute for Brie.
The Best Brie Cheese Substitutes
Camembert Cheese
Camembert is the best-known substitute for brie cheese.
Camembert is a soft-ripened cheese aged at least three weeks with forty-five percent fat. It comes in a wheel shape covered with a blooming rind.
First produced in the 18th century in the town of Camembert in Normandy, France, this is an artisan cheese made from unpasteurized cow’s milk.
A ripened Camembert has a buttery, creamy texture, sweet milky flavor, and earthy aromas.
Camembert can replace Brie on a cheese and fruit platter and should be paired with light red wines. Also delicious as a baked Camembert for dipping crusty French bread.
Enjoy in the same quantity as Brie.
Reblochon Cheese
Reblochon is a tasty substitute for a Brie wedge.
A traditional semi-soft cheese covered in a smear-ripened washed rind with a forty-five percent fat content. It is aged for at least two weeks to create a compact and smooth disc.
Reblochon is produced in the mountains of France in the Haute-Savoie region. This artisan cheese is made from raw cow’s milk and dates back to the 14th century.
It is a mild cheese with fruity notes and strong nutty aftertastes. It has a refreshing earthy aroma with herbal hints to it.
It’s a delicious accompaniment to a cheeseboard or as a gratin for the traditional tartiflette. Pair it up with a Savoie wine and serve alongside dried figs, nuts, raisins, and dried apricots.
The perfect one-for-one replacement for Brie cheese.
Coulommiers Cheese
Coulommiers is Brie’s little cousin and is an ideal substitute.
Coulommiers is a soft creamy cheese with forty percent fat traditionally made from unpasteurized cow’s milk. However, it can also be produced with pasteurized cow’s milk for export purposes and aged between four to six weeks.
Originating from the Coulommiers communes in Sien et Marne in Northern France, this cheese is smaller and thicker than its cousin.
With similar characteristics to Brie, it boosts flavors of rich buttery nuances with hints of mushrooms and a nutty aftertaste. Its aromas are earthy with tinges of hay.
Coulommiers cheese is deliciously paired on an after-dinner platter of apples, pears, and fresh berries with a chilled glass of champagne or an Alsacian wine.
Replace a disc of Brie with a round of Coulommiers cheese.
Explorateur Cheese
Explorateur is an out-of-this-world substitute for Brie.
This decadent triple cream cylindrical soft cheese has a bloomy edible rind. Unpressed, its texture is smooth with a seventy-five percent butter fat content that is aged for a minimum of three weeks.
Created in Ile de France, Northern France, it was first produced in the 1950s to honor the first US satellite, Explorer One.
Decadently rich buttery notes impart tangs of salty mushrooms with hints of truffle and the afterglow of nuttiness.
Explorateur can be served as an appetizer with freshly baked artisan bread paired with a dry red wine to accentuate the flavors or as a dessert with a ripe platter of fresh fruits.
Its crème fraiche sharpness goes a long way so go easy on the serving size.
Le Fromage D’affinois
Le Fromage is a lighter alternative to Brie.
Le Fromage is a double cream specialty cheese with sixty percent butterfat that goes through an ultra-filtration process. It is aged for two weeks and boosts being lactose-free and vegetarian-friendly.
Created in the 1980s in Auvergne-Rhône-Alps, France, it is made from pasteurized cow’s milk.
Le Fromage D’affinois is deliciously sinful. A gentle, mild creamy melting texture envelops your taste buds with a sweet buttery milk savor that is more delicate than its Brie counterpart.
The mild flavor of this buttery fromage is best paired with a platter of charcuterie. If crusty bread is your dipping favorite, add a glass of red Zinfandel wine.
Its mild, gentle flavors may have you reaching for another bite, but this rich and decadent cheese is an even substitute for Brie.
Paglietta Cheese
Here is a little Italian number to substitute Brie cheese.
Paglietta cheese is a soft raw paste cheese with a bloomy rind that is dried and cured on straw mats using Italian-sourced milk and aged for two to three weeks.
It is produced in the mountainous areas of the Italian Alps in the Piedmont region, Northern Italy. Typically, these areas use a mix of pasteurized goat and cow’s milk.
The aromas are pungent with a hint of ammonia when fully ripened. The flavorful aromas of mushroom and parmesan give a sweet and savory flavor with a touch of bitterness and a piquant sensation on the tongue.
Enjoy a rich, creamy, and ripe paglietta cheese with crusty artisan bread and flavorful red wine to compliment the savors.
It is a soft runny cheese, so spread it sparingly compared to Brie.
Baron Bigod
Baron Bigod is a handmade treat to substitute a wedge of Brie.
Baron Bigod is a soft artisan cheese made in small batches. Made from the morning’s collection of unpasteurized cow’s milk, it has a smooth, silk texture under the rind with a creamy, crumbly center.
This British handmade cheese is the UK’s only raw milk cheese produced in a farmhouse style aged for 8 weeks in cave-like cellars, born out of Bungay in Suffolk, United Kingdom.
Baron Bigod is a rich, creamy cheese with earthy notes mixed with hints of mushroom that lend a sweet and savory note, with a nuttiness to the edible bloomy rind.
Deliciously spread on a toasty, British style with chorizo sausage and a dribble of chili jam, or use it baked as a gooey dunking cheese for warm crusty bread.
Enjoy it as you would your Brie cheese.
Cowgirls Mt Tam
Mt Tam is a delicious substitute for Brie with heart.
Cowgirls Mt Tam is a triple cream American original with a washed curd and bloomy rind with seventy-five percent butterfat, aged for forty-five days for a fully ripened cheese cylinder.
A true American original created in San Francisco Bay and named after the iconic landmark of Mount Tamalpais in Northern California; it is made with locally sourced organic cow’s milk.
Mt Tam has a luscious, dense, fudgy heart enveloped by a soft butter outer under a bloomy rind. Notes of crème fraiche offer creamy traces of cultured salty butter with hints of white mushrooms.
Serve Mt Tam with sweet, jammy preserves and honey accompanied with chilled Prosecco or California chardonnay.
Enjoy your fill of Cowgirls Mt Tam as you would a delicious serving of Brie.
Resources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camembert
- https://www.cheese.com/camembert/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reblochon
- https://www.cheese.com/reblochon/
- https://thegoodlifefrance.com/the-history-of-reblochon-cheese-and-how-to-eat-it/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coulommiers_cheese
- https://www.cheese.com/coulommiers/
- https://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-library/Couloummiers
- https://www.cheese.com/explorateur/
- https://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-library/Explorateur
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explorateur
- https://www.cheesemonthclub.com/explorateur
- https://www.fromagerdaffinois.com/en/our-cheeses/le-fromager/
- https://www.cheesemonthclub.com/fromage-daffinois
- https://www.tastefrance.com/fr/node/854
- https://www.torinocheese.com/en/formaggio/paglietta/
- https://www.trevalli.cooperlat.it/en/abit/fresh-cheeses-of-piedmont/paglietta/
- https://www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk/products/baron-bigod#cheese-info
- https://www.cheese.com/baron-bigod/
- https://cowgirlcreamery.com/pages/mt-tam
- https://igourmet.com/products/mt-tam-cheese