32 Cream Cheese Desserts Worth Celebrating

By

Updated on July 17, 2024

Southern Living Cream Cheese Brownies cut to serve — Photo:
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

Cool, smooth, and convenient, cream cheese is the go-to for our favorite Southern desserts. It makes icebox pie fillings smooth, cake frostings and drizzles creamy, and baked goods more tender. Whether you're stirring up a batch of brownies or frosting a three-layer red velvet cake, cream cheese is ready to come to the rescue.

We've gathered a few of our favorite dessert recipes that lean on cream cheese for superior flavor and texture. Find a new favorite today.

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Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler

strawberry cream cheese cobbler — Photographer: Greg DuPree, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn

Can we just stop for a minute and admire the way these berries sink into this cream cheese-filled cobbler batter? This dessert is indeed as delicious as it looks.

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Cookies-And-Cream Cheesecake Brownies

Southern Living Cookies-and-Cream Cheesecake Brownies — Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely

Take your cream cheese brownies to the next level with the crunch of Oreo crumbs.

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Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird Cake — Southern Living

Hummingbird Cake without cream cheese frosting is just overachieving banana bread.

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Grapefruit- Cream Cheese Hand Pies

Grapefruit-cream cheese hand pies on pink platter — Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

Cream cheese makes the pastry crust for these grapefruit-filled hand pies extra crisp and flaky.

05 of 32

Rhubarb- Cream Cheese Spoke Cake

Rhubarb-Cream Cheese Spoke Cake — Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christine Keely

Speaking of "too pretty to eat," this scarlet rhubarb stunner is quite a looker. The cream cheese-enriched batter yields a moist and tender cake.

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Carrot-Walnut Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot-Walnut Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting — Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Walnuts and a secret ingredient (it's not what you think!) update classic carrot cake in this recipe. Don't worry—the cream cheese frosting is old-school delicious.

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Meyer Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Meyer Lemon Cheesecake Bars — Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

You can't have cheesecake without cream cheese. These sunny bars step it up a notch with floral Meyer lemon and honey.

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Praline-Cream Cheese King Cake

Praline-Cream Cheese King Cake

Consider this your official permission slip to enjoy King Cake any time of the year. The cream cheese and praline swirl makes this cake perfect for breakfast.

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Strawberry Cheesecake Salad

Strawberry Cheesecake Salad — Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Prop Stylist: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Stop trying to figure out why this is called a salad; we don't know, either. What we DO know is that this fluffy concoction of cream cheese, whipped topping, strawberries, and graham crackers is delicious, and that's all that matters. Call it "Steve" if you want.

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Fresh Raspberry-Cream Cheese Frosting

Fresh Raspberry-Cream Cheese Frosting — Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Christina Daley

Cream cheese really doesn't need any embellishment, but it's hard to argue with this blushing pink raspberry frosting.

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Red Velvet Cake With White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cake with White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting — Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones

It's not a Red Velvet Cake without cream cheese frosting, and this one has the perfect balance of sweetness and tanginess, thanks to white chocolate.

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins

pumpkin cream cheese swirl muffins — Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer

Cream cheese is like the perfect dance partner—it loves a good swirl-n-twirl. Here, it takes a spin with pumpkin muffin batter to yield a breakfast treat that's perfect for crisp fall mornings.

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Frozen Cheesecake Bites

Frozen Cheesecake Bites — Micah A. Leal

Show-Off Alert: These adorable cheesecake desserts are perfect to keep stashed in your freezer for surprise guests.

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Cream Cheese Ice Cream

Red Velvet-Berry Cobbler Recipe with Cream Cheese Ice Cream Recipe — Photo: Jennifer Davick / Food Styling Marian Cooper Cairns

Cream cheese makes this homemade ice cream incredibly easy—no eggs or custard required. The sweet, slightly tangy flavor is lovely with fresh fruit.

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Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Bundt cakes are deliciously easy, but can be a bit dense. Here, a cream cheese swirl delivers a surprise in every slice. It's like a layer cake, but way easier.

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Cream Cheese Pastries

Brunch for a Crowd Cream Cheese Pastries — Alison Miksch

This classic Southern Living recipe was a favorite of our beloved Test Kitchen Professional, Pam Lolley. Trust us—that's all the reason you need to make it.

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Cheesecake Cookies

Cheesecake Cookies — Caitlin Bensel

Cream cheese in cookie dough? Just try it. These fluffy, flaky cookies will make you want to add cream cheese to all your recipes.

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Black-And-Blue Buttermilk Tart

Black-and-Blue Buttermilk Tart — Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Not quite a cheesecake (it's actually less fussy and quite easier!), this creamy dessert is equally delicious with summer berries, spring strawberries, or winter citrus.

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Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake — Jennifer Davick

This is the cream cheese dessert you've been scrolling for. Cream cheese delivers its tangy flavor to this buttery cake swirled with strawberry goodness.

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Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread

âCream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread — Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

You had us at cream cheese, honestly. Here, it lightens traditional banana bread, yielding a fluffier loaf.

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Cream Cheese Brownies

Southern Living Cream Cheese Brownies cut to serve — Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

These beauties are everything you love about brownies, but better! Sweetened cream cheese is dolloped over classic brownie batter, then swirled in for a stunning marble effect.

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Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe

Okay, so this recipe is our favorite. Pound cakes with butter alone are wonderful, but add cream cheese and they become mighty fine.

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Cream Cheese Danish

Southern Living Quick and Easy Cream Cheese Danish on a board to serve — Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist Christine Keely

Why pay bakery prices when you can whip up these easy, pretty pastries at home? The cream cheese filling is lovely with any seasonal fruit.

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Classic Red Velvet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Classic Red Velvet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting — Molly Bolton/Southern Living

This is for all you folks who think a three-layer cake is too much work. We see you! This double-decker red velvet delivers all the flavor (and cream cheese frosting!) with less effort.

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Pecan Cheesecake Pie

Pecan Cheesecake Pie — Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett

For all you folks who can't make a dessert decision, this is the perfect compromise pie. It's a tasty marriage of toasty-gooey pecan pie and creamy cheesecake. You're welcome!

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Sweet Potato Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Sweet Potato Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting decorated with a sprinkle of chopped pecans on the bottom — Photo: Antonis Achilleos Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Prop Styling: Matthew Gleason

Warm spices, sweet potato, pecans, and cream cheese combine to make one fantastic fall cake.

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Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting

Southern Living Carrot Cake With Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting cut on serving platter — Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl Jones

While the jordan almond carrots are super cute, you can totally skip them thanks to the maple-sweetened cream cheese frosting—it's tasty enough on its own.

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Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

Lemon Cream Cheese Bars — Micah A. Leal

For these sweet and tangy bars, it's lemon curd that does the swirling, while cream cheese powers the batter base.

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Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing — Luca Trovato

We couldn't give you a pile of cream cheese recipes without sneaking a good cinnamon roll in. Just look at that frosting!

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Cheesecake Crescent Rolls

Cheesecake Crescent Rolls — Micah A. Leal

If you did a double take, you're not alone! The crescent rolls are actually on the top and bottom of this dessert, sandwiching a lovely cheesecake filling.

Cheesecake Crescent Rolls

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Italian Cream Cake

Italian Cream Cake - Southern Living — Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

The nutty cream cheese frosting on this event-worthy layer cake is studded with pecans.

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Coconut Cheesecake Squares

How to Make Coconut Cheesecake Squares

If you need a vacation but only have time for dessert, we've got you covered. These dreamy cheesecake bars are loaded with coconut and lime.

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