Searching for a dairy-free cream cheese alternative that won’t skimp on flavor or texture? Below are the 10 Best Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Substitutes from homemade to store-bought. Adopting a vegan diet or sticking to dairy-free and ditching the dairy products – it doesn’t have to be difficult! Check out the substitutes below and find out how to make them yourself or where to find them in stores and online.
Table of contents for The 10 Best Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Substitutes:
- Violife Just Like Cream Cheese
- Miyoko’s Creamery Plain Vegan Cream Cheese
- Philadelphia Non-Dairy “Cream Cheese” Spread
- Kite Hill Cream Cheese Plain
- So Delicious Cream Cheese Style Spread
- Homemade Cream Cheese
- 5-Minute Vegan Cream Cheese
- Vegan Cream Cheese (made with cashews)
- Nut-Free Homemade Vegan Cream Cheese
- Treeline Non-Dairy Cashew Cream Cheese
- FAQs
1. Violife Just Like Cream Cheese
Violife vegan cream cheese is a store-bought non-dairy option to traditional cream cheese. As far as vegan cream cheeses go, this is on the more budget friendly end at about $4 for 7 oz. This product is dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, and lactose-free making it a great option for every diet.
The texture of this product is very similar to traditional cream cheese. Smear this on bagels, mix into soups or dips, even use in desserts. Violife has other flavors like chive and strawberry.
2. Miyoko’s Creamery Plain Vegan Cream Cheese
This Miyokos plant milk cream cheese is another great store-bought option. Made with 4 organic ingredients (cashews, coconut cream, sea salt, and cultures). How simple! The highlight of this brand is the fact that it is made without oils or gums and is certified gluten-free and lactose-free!
Use this cream cheese spread 1:1 for traditional cream cheese. Miyokos makes a variety of flavors like traditional, savory scallion, cinnamon raisin (yum!), and everything bagel. This runs about $6 for 8 oz. and is a good alternative!
3. Philadelphia Non-Dairy “Cream Cheese” Spread
This Philadelphia plant based cream cheese spread is dairy-free, gluten-free, and lactose-free. Made primary of coconut oil, Faba bean protein, potato starch, citric aced, and a few other preservatives. While not as clean as other brands, this has a similar texture and spreads nicely just like traditional cream cheese and has a smooth texture.
Use on bagels, on toast, in pastas, or dips for a touch of creaminess without the dairy. Use this cream cheese spread 1:1 to regular cream cheese. Try all the flavors like original, chive & onion, and strawberry!
4. Kite Hill Cream Cheese Plain
Kite Hill is another awesome brand for a dairy-free alternative, this cream cheese alternative is smooth and rich with that classic subtle tang. Made primarily with almond milk, citric acid, mushroom extract, guar gum, and cultures. This non-dairy option is non-GMO, soy-free, gluten-free, and has no added sugar.
This product comes in 8 oz. containers and runs for about $8. One huge benefit of this Kite Hill cream cheese alternative is the variety of flavors. Flavors consist of plain, chive, everything, and garden veggie.
5. So Delicious Cream Cheese Style Spread
Another plant based cream cheese style spread that is dairy-free is So Delicious. Made with coconut oil, potato starch, salt, cane sugar, and natural flavors this isn’t as clean as some of the options on the market but the texture is a match.
Similar to the others this is gluten-free, soy-free, and free of artificial favors. This product comes in regular and chive & onion flavor. Use on bagels or in soups for a creamy addition. This can be found in most grocery stores.
6. Homemade Vegan Cream Cheese
Want to ditch the store-bought non-dairy varieties and make your own? This homemade cashew-based cream cheese recipe from the Minimalist Baker combines raw cashew nuts, coconut yogurt, nutritional yeast flakes, white vinegar, lemon juice, white miso paste, and refined coconut oil.
Everything is blended together until you reach your desired consistency. This is another gluten-free and vegan recipe, the homemade cream cheese will last in the fridge for 1 week or store in the freezer.
7. 5-Minute Vegan Cream Cheese
Look at that texture, makes you want a warm toasted bagel with a thick smear of cream cheese! This recipe from Nora Cooks takes just 5 minutes and is made with whole ingredients, another great option if you want to avoid the gums and oil in store bought vegan options.
Made with soaked raw cashews (such a versatile ingredient!), lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, unsweetened dairy free yogurt (coconut or cashew yogurt), and salt. Combine everything in a food processor or blender and blend until desired consistency is reached. Flavor with additional ingredients like chives and onion powder.
8. Vegan Cream Cheese (made with cashews)
Another version of homemade dairy-free cream cheese perfect for spreading on bagels or crackers. You’ll want to keep a batch of this on hand for when cravings strike. This recipe from Loving It Vegan combined cashews, lemon juice, coconut cream, vinegar, salt, onion powder, and dried dill.
Soak cashews then combine everything and blend until smooth, serve immediately for a creamy spread or store in the fridge for a thicker cream cheese. Aside from soaking the cashews, this recipe only takes ten minutes and you probably already have most of what you need on hand!
9. Nut-Free Homemade Vegan Cream Cheese
Looking to make your own dairy-free cream cheese at home but can’t do nuts? This recipe from Plantifully Based is a nut and tofu free vegan cream cheese recipe! Made with pea protein milk, lemon juice, a little salt, and nutritional yeast. This method first includes cooking the pea milk and lemon mixture on the stove so the milk curdles.
Secondly, the mixture is strained through a cheese cloth to catch the curdles and allowed to cool and drain. The curdles are transferred to a blender and blended with the remaining ingredients until desired consistency is met. Flavor as desired and enjoy on a toasted bagel!
10. Treeline Non-Dairy Cashew Cream Cheese
Another gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free product that can be used 1:1 to cream cheese. Treeline plain cream cheese is made with simple ingredients like cashew cream, sunflower oil, sea salt, and brown rice. This has been names the best vegan cheese brand.
This product will run you about $7 for 8oz. but with an identical tangy taste and creamy texture it may be worth it. Coming in three different flavors such as plain, chive & onion, and everything this hits the spot with bagels and bread. They even make snack packs for on the go.
11. FAQs
What are some other substitutes for cream cheese?
Some other non-dairy substitutes for cream cheese are hummus (store-bought or homemade), silken tofu, cashew cheese, vegan cheeses, nut cream cheeses.
What can I flavor my dairy free cream cheese with?
Plain cream cheese can be flavored with several things to elevate the spread. Mix in everything bagel seasoning or your own mix of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried onion, garlic powder, and sea salt for a everything blend. Min in chopped carrots, peppers, and broccoli along with seasonings for a garden veggie blend. Fresh or dried chives or scallions and onion powder can create a chive flavor. Mix in hot honey and paprika for a spicy, colorful blend.
What recipes can I use my cream cheese substitute in?
Dairy-free cream cheese can be used 1:1 like traditional recipes. Use it in this Creamy Buffalo Chicken Soup or these Baked Cream Cheese Rangoons. Vegan cream cheese can be blended into soups for a creamy base, used in pasta dishes, mixed into savory dips like this Easy BLT Dip, or in a variety of appetizers like Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers! Great for savory recipes or sweet recipes like this Chocolate Loaf Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting or a vegan cheesecake!
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Personally we use Tofutti and it seems to work best for us for everything. Did not see it on the list. I’ve been using it for about 10 years and works great for everything. Recently tried to use Violife for Franks buffalo chicken dip and the Violfe got way too runny. Flavor was good but did not hold up well when we use it to bake
Hi there, thanks for the tips!