Whether you’re looking for a spread for your morning bagel, an ingredient for a delicious cheesecake, or a creamy topping for your favorite dishes, cream cheese is a versatile ingredient that can add flavor and texture to a wide range of dishes. With so many different brands of cream cheese available at grocery stores, it can be overwhelming to choose the right one for your needs.
Below we compiled a list of cream cheese brands and flavors each offers. We did not include store brand cream cheese since it is widely known that almost all major stores carry their own brand. Hopefully this article will help you make an informed decision to find best cream cheese for your culinary needs.
Brands of Cream Cheese
Berkey Creamery
Website: creamery.psu.edu
Berkey Creamery is located at Penn State with its roots dating back to 1865 when the first creamery opened. The creamery sells ice cream, cheese, cream cheese, milk, yogurt, and other dairy products made on the premises using milk from Penn State’s own dairy cows. The creamery is operated by the College of Agricultural Sciences and is a popular spot for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the university.
Its current cream cheese flavors are:
- Plain
- Blueberry
- Honey
- Strawberry
- Light Veggie
Cabot
Website: cabotcreamery.com
Cabot is one of the premier dairy brands in the United States headquartered in Vermont. The milk used to make its products comes from Jersey and Holstein cows located at co-operative farms around New New England area. The cooperative was founded in 1919 by a group of farmers in Cabot who joined together to create a reliable market for their milk.
Cabot makes plain block cream cheese as pictured above. Its a spreadable cream cheese ideal for bagels, crackers, English muffins, and other typical uses for cream cheese.
Challenge
Website: challengedairy.com
This California dairy cooperative is largely known for its butter products being one of the largest producers in the United States. In fact they are the largest butter brand in the Western United States. In addition to butter, the only other dairy produced by Challenge is cream cheese. While the dairy makes only a couple varieties of its cream cheese, its natural ingredients offer a superior taste with only a few simple ingredients.
The cream cheese products produce by Challenge are as follows:
Crystal Farms
Website: crystalfarmscheese.com
Crystal Farms sources its milk to produce dairy products from Midwest farmers and co-ops. They are based out of Lake Mills, Wisconsin and are owned by the huge consumer packaged goods company, Post. Crystal Farms makes these cream cheeses:
- Original (Block & Spread)
- Whipped
- Light
- Nuefchatel
- Chive & Onion
- Blueberry
- Strawberry
- Garden Vegetable
Green Valley Creamery
Website: greenvalleylactosefree.com
Green Valley Creamery is a brand that produces organic dairy products that are lactose-free. The company adds lactase, an enzyme, to its dairy which breaks down the lactose to make it easily digestible for even people who are sensitive to lactose. Most of the dairy made by Green Valley is produced in the creamery in Sebastopol, California. Its organic lactose-free cream cheese is made with just cream, sea salt, lactase, and live & active cultures.
Nancy’s
Website: nancysyogurt.com
Oregon’s Springfield Creamery (Nancy’s) is a family-owned and operated business that has been producing high-quality dairy products for over 60 years. The company was founded by the Kesey family, who were passionate about creating delicious and healthy dairy products using traditional methods. Springfield Creamery’s signature product is their award-winning Nancy’s Yogurt, made from organic milk and live cultures. In addition to being an organic yogurt brand, Springfield Creamery also produces a range of other dairy products such as sour cream, cottage cheese, and of course, cream cheese.
The varities of cream cheese made by Nancy’s are:
- Organic Cultured Cream Cheese
- Naturall Cultured Cream Cheese
- Organic Garlic & Herb Cream Cheese
Organic Valley
Website: organicvalley.coop
Organic Valley is a cooperative of over 1,800 family-owned organic farms across the United States. Since 1988, the cooperative has been producing high-quality organic dairy products, meats, and vegetables, while also prioritizing animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Organic Valley’s products are made without the use of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or pesticides, and are certified organic by the USDA.
The co-op makes these cream cheese products:
- Cream Cheese (Bar & Spread)
- Neufchatel
Philadelphia
Website: creamcheese.com
Philadelphia is the most recognized name in the United States for cream cheese. The brand deserves it fame since it ultimately invented cream cheese in 1872 with the brand name “Philadelphia” first being used in 1880. No, it wasn’t invented in Philly but in or near Chester, New York. Today, its hard not to find this brand of cream cheese in just about any major U.S. grocery store.
The line of cream cheese flavors is deep for this brand. They make the following flavors:
- Plain (Original)
- Blueberry
- Brown Sugar & Cinnamon
- Buffalo
- Cherry
- Chive
- Chive & Onion
- Garden Vegetable
- Garlic & Herb
- Hazelnut
- Honey Butter
- Honey Pecan
- Jalapeno
- Mixed Berry
- Pineapple
- Pimpkin Spice
- Salted Caramel
- Smoked Salmon
- Strawberry
Prairie Farms
Website: prairiefarms.com
Headquartered in Edwardsville, Illinois, Prairie Farms is owned by over 600 Midwest farm families who are committed to producing the freshest milk possible while putting a great focus on proper care of the animals and food safety. Prairie Farms is certainly a dairy brand that can be trusted with its approximate 85 years of experience.
Prairie Farms makes these cream cheese flavors:
- Original (Block & Spread)
- Onion & Chive
- Sea Salt Caramel
- Strawberry
- Garden Veggie
- Honey Vanilla
Tillamook
Website: tillamook.com
Tillamook is a dairy co-op located in Tillamook County, Oregon that has been producing high-quality dairy products for over 110 years. The co-op is known for its award-winning cheeses, ice cream, and other dairy products. At the time of this article, Tillamook cream cheese spread was the fastest-growing soft cream in the United States. Tillamook makes these tasty flavors of farm-style cream cheese:
I’m looking for cream cheese that doesn’t contain xanthan gum.
One brand that we know of is Organic Valley. The cream cheese does have locust bean gum, though.
Ingredients: Organic Pasteurized Milk and Organic Cream, Cheese Culture, Salt, Organic Locust Bean Gum.
Are there cream cheese brands without any of the gums (Xanthan guar etc)?
Yes, Nancy’s Natural Cultured Cream Cheese is an example without gums. See the full ingredients on the company’s website. They have a store finder on the homepage to find products near you.