The Absolute Best Store-Bought Cream Cheese Brand Is The One You'd Expect

Having bagels but unsure of which brand of cream cheese to pick up at the store? Well, Tasting Table's taste tester can confirm that the absolute best store-bought cream cheese brand is the one you'd expect: Philadelphia cream cheese. They tested nine different brands of store-bought cream cheese spread over a piece of everything bagel, and after the extensive taste-testing experiment, they stated, "I'll always favor the tried-and-true block that I've been consuming on crackers and bagels since the late '90s. Philadelphia sets the gold standard for cream cheese (for me, at least), and I highly doubt it will ever be usurped."

Taste tester, Emily Hunt, described Philadelphia cream cheese as "amply tangy, a bit buttery, and almost weightless in its appeal, with a complexity that every other cream cheese on this list ... failed to mimic." Over crackers and bagels, Philadelphia cream cheese has an ideal texture that spreads like a dream. From flavors such as whipped garlic and herb to garden vegetable, the brand also has a flavor for almost every palate — another Tasting Table ranked 10 Philadelphia cream cheese spreads, including its first plant-based cream cheese. 

As a baker who has written three cookbooks, I can also attest that Philadelphia cream cheese is my go-to brand for making Japanese and basque cheesecakes. I like how easy it is to soften over the counter at room temperature and in the microwave. Once softened, it doesn't get clumpy in a batter — and it's also the cream cheese brand I've been using since the '90s. But, Hunt and I aren't alone in our stance on the Philadelphia brand. As far as store-bought cream cheese brands go, the internet largely thinks it's the best too.

Labeling something as the best always comes with subjectivity, and while those who aren't sold on Philadelphia cite its price as a deterrent and others feel there are better cream cheese brands, the majority seem to agree with Hunt and I that Philadelphia is the best store-bought brand for cream cheese. One Redditor wrote, "Philadelphia is the best. I've tried several other brands ... and none get as smooth as Philadelphia. It's one ingredient that I absolutely will not use another brand for substitution." Another added, "Philadelphia is the gold standard of cream cheese," and a third stated, "Sorry—it's Philadelphia or nothing."

In a fourth statement, another Reddit user agreed with my opinion on using Philadelphia to make cheesecake. They wrote, "Philadelphia is all I use when making a cheesecake. I have tried generic and I can see a difference." Competing options mentioned online include Winnipeg-style cream cheeses and the French dessert cheese, Brillant-Savarin — both of which will cost more and be harder to find. Meanwhile, folks on TikTok swear that the best cream cheese is homemade. If you're curious, homemade cream cheese is actually way easier than you think — but not as easy as grabbing a container of Philadelphia from the store.