43 Cream Cheese Recipes That Go Beyond Cheesecake
When you think about cream cheese recipes, classic cream cheese frosting probably comes to mind (piped perhaps onto a perfect vanilla cupcake?). Or perhaps your brain goes right to THAT cheesecake (you know the one), which is a pretty nice place for a brain to go. But the archives of Epicurious are full of ideas for making the most of a block of cream cheese, including a quick and luxurious summer pasta sauce, spicy party dips, and a cotton-crumbed cake named for an iconic cheese brand. Just here for the cheesecakes alone? You’ll find a few below, but you might want to make this list of our all-star cheesecake recipes your next stop.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Sean Dooley1/43Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
If you came to this collection of cream cheese recipes looking for preeminent versions of the classics, this fan-favorite carrot cake is a great place to start. A food processor will help you grate the carrots fast, but back away from the store-bought canned frosting—homemade cream cheese frosting is worth the time. Dust the edge of the cake with lightly toasted pecans or walnuts for crunch.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Sean Dooley2/43Pasta With No-Cook Zucchini Sauce
Perhaps you haven’t thought much about savory cream cheese dishes beyond spreading the stuff on an everything bagel. But it makes all the sense in the world to use cream cheese to add richness to this summer pasta, which is packed with thinly sliced, marinated zucchini. Parmesan on top? Yes, please.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano and Stevie Stewart4/43Original New York Cheesecake
You can’t beat a classic. (Though, from time to time, we also like to swap out the cake crust here for a graham cracker crust.)
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell5/43Black Bottom Brownie Cookies
You’ll hide a dollop of cannoli-like chocolate-studded cream cheese filling into each of these chubby cookies. Your guests will be SO impressed, and you’ll just be like: What, these ol’ things?
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Mira Evnine6/43Twice-Baked-Potato Casserole
Classic twice-baked potatoes are a bit fussy since you need to roast your spuds, mash the interior, and then stuff those mashed potatoes back into the skins one by one. This large-format version, enriched with cream cheese, sour cream, and sharp white cheddar, is just as delicious—but easier if you’re feeding a crowd.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell9/43Fudgy Cream Cheese Brownies
Can’t decide between baking a tray of brownies or a sheet pan of cheesecake? Why not both? These swirled delights also just happen to be gluten-free.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog10/43Homemade Cheese Spread With Garlic and Herbs
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Mira Evnine12/43Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Tastes like a pumpkin pie, but better—and more fun. Want a whoopified chocolate pie? We’ve got you.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich13/43Philly Fluff Cake
This rich but fluffy variation on pound cake is a specialty of bakeries across the Northeast—now you can bake your own at home.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman, Food Styling by John Bjostad15/43Cream Cheese Pastry Dough
For the most crisp and flavorful pie crust, add cream cheese to your dough. This recipe is especially easy to work with if you’re practicing your lattice work.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart17/43Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
Treat your cheesecake top like a work of art, swirling in homemade raspberry purée. Or go for a Jackson Pollock of caramel-sauced apples over a Creole-style cheesecake. This recipe also boasts an easy brown butter crust for added nutty flavor.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Tiffany Schleigh18/43Buffalo Chickpea Dip
You’ve probably seen Buffalo chicken dip around, but we think this vegetarian spin is even tastier.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou19/43Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bars
Banana pudding lovers should consider this recipe an absolute essential. An easy press-in vanilla wafer crust cradles a silky layer of fresh banana cheesecake, which gets topped with a light and fluffy sour cream whipped topping.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert20/43Sheet-Pan Mac and Cheese
If your favorite part of classic baked mac and cheese is the crispy edges, this sheet-pan recipe was designed for you.
donna hay magazine, photography by William Meppem22/43Classic Lemon Cheesecake
This Donna Hay recipe is a reader favorite, thanks to its silky texture and bright flavor. Top with whipped cream and berries if you like—or gild the sour lily with lemon curd.
Photo by Sara Remington23/43Peanut Butter Pie
Salty, sweet peanut butter plus tangy cream cheese? It all adds up to the best pie ever. Make it ahead and chill in the freezer, then slice it up for dessert at your holiday barbecue.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton24/43Cardamom Basque Cheesecake
A touch of honey helps this Basque-style cheesecake get that gorgeous burnished top without overcooking the interior.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Eliza Mozer25/43Rugelach
Keep batches of this cream cheese cookie dough in your fridge for a few days (or stash them in the freezer). When you’re ready to bake, fill them with apricot jam (or raspberry! or cranberry!), chopped pecans, walnuts, or pistachios and a dusting of cinnamon sugar, or go with dried fruit or chocolate chips.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Sean Dooley26/43Cajeta Cream Cheese Brownie Tart
Need a dinner party dessert to share with friends? This one’s a go-to move for us. It doesn’t need a scoop of ice cream on top, but we won’t stop you from adding one.
Photo by Heami Lee, Food Styling by Victoria Granof, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka27/43Cheese Ball
Pour some martinis and gather around the cheese ball—it’s so much more fun than your average cheese bored…or, uh, board.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton28/43Cheater’s Pastry Cream
Fill a seasonal fruit tart, cream puffs, or a Boston cream pie with this super-simple, no-cook pastry cream. Layer it with baked squares of store-bought puff pastry and fresh berries. Or truly impress friends and family by layering it in a towering crepe cake.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert29/43Vanilla No-Bake Cheesecake With a Chocolate Cookie Crust
It’s handy to have a list of no-bake desserts you can make when the oven is occupied (or you just don’t want to turn it on). This breezy make-ahead recipe requires just 15 minutes of active prep time.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich30/43Louisiana Crunch Cake
The cream cheese in the batter of this Louisiana classic gives it a tender, rich crumb, while toasted coconut flakes make the exterior remarkably crunchy.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone31/43Classic Spinach-Artichoke Dip With Mozzarella and Parmesan
Frozen spinach and artichoke hearts dream of this luxurious treatment: They snuggle into the mix of cream cheese, heavy cream, mozzarella, and Parmesan, then get a brightening squeeze of lemon juice. Pour the finished cheese dip into a slow cooker to keep it warm on a party buffet.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou32/43Golden Beet Cake With Cream Cheese Ermine Frosting
What if carrot cake…was made with beets? This recipe proves how well it works, especially when you add in the dreamiest cream cheese frosting and jarred sour cherries.
Photo by Andrew Bui33/43Baked Pasta Primavera
Cream cheese gives this veggie-packed pasta the right amount of richness, while mint leaves add a pop of freshness. Follow it up with a no-bake strawberry cheesecake for dessert.
Photo by Jocelyn Delk Adams34/43Red Velvet Cake With Blackberry–Cream Cheese Whipped Frosting
These cake layers get richness from buttermilk in the batter, but where would red velvet be without cream cheese frosting? This beautiful pairing is even better with a luscious violet swirl of blackberries.
Photo by Caleb Adams, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell35/43Three Cities of Spain Cheesecake
We’ve been known to say that this is simply the best cheesecake recipe of all time. Readers have been loving it for decades.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Laura Rege36/43Sun-Dried Tomato and Pesto Torta
We’ve heard rumblings that sun-dried tomatoes are back. Put them to good use in this ’90s-era appetizer.
Photo by Waterbury Publications, Inc.38/43Roasted Strawberry Danish
Maybe you always serve cinnamon rolls at brunch, but you just don’t have time to bake from scratch this weekend. These shortcut sweets start with store-bought English muffins, topped with cream cheese, roasted strawberries, and an easy streusel.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Kim39/43No-Bake Peach Cheesecake With Wheat Thins Crust
The salty crust here is a pro move. Juicy macerated peaches are the ideal topper, so keep this in mind for summer parties.
Photo by Rachel Tolosa Paz40/43Chocotorta
Dulce de leche and cream cheese are wonderful together, especially when layered with chocolate cookies and chocolate ganache.
Photo by Dayna Smith42/43Lemon Blossom Cupcakes
These delicate lemon cupcakes are made with lemon juice and lemon zest, and topped with lemony cream cheese frosting. They’re perfect for a bake sale.
Weelicious43/43Benedictine Sandwiches
Cream cheese recipes don’t get much simpler than this. Serve these cucumber, cream cheese, and onion sandwiches at teatime, brunch, or any time at all.
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