Cream cheese + Ricotta cheese
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 68 recipes, and they share 10 flavor molecules: the top 17% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cream cheese and ricotta cheese go together?
Yes. 68 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 10 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 17% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 10 flavor molecules: 23% of ricotta cheese's 43. Among the shared key aromas are myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
cream cheese
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for ricotta cheese. It carries 107 molecules ricotta cheese doesn't have.
ricotta cheese
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 32% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 1% for cream cheese. It carries 33 molecules cream cheese doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Mozzarella cheese: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with cream cheese, top 9% with ricotta cheese.
- Feta cheese: top 1% of pairs with cream cheese, top 17% with ricotta cheese.
- Cottage cheese: top 1% of pairs with cream cheese, top 17% with ricotta cheese.
- Goat cheese: top 1% of pairs with cream cheese, top 17% with ricotta cheese.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cream cheese and ricotta cheese
Mostly desserts: 8 of the 14 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: cream cheese has 107 molecules ricotta cheese doesn't, and ricotta cheese has 33 that cream cheese doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 10 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 107 only in cream cheese and the 33 only in ricotta cheese.
Cream cheese and ricotta cheese questions
Do cream cheese and ricotta cheese go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 68 recipes, and they share 10 flavor molecules: the top 17% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cream cheese and ricotta cheese taste good together?
They overlap on 10 flavor molecules: 23% of ricotta cheese's 43. Among the shared key aromas are myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with cream cheese and ricotta cheese?
Mozzarella cheese is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with cream cheese and top 9% with ricotta cheese. Feta cheese and cottage cheese also fit both.
What can you make with cream cheese and ricotta cheese?
Mostly desserts: 8 of the 14 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Cherry Ricotta Cheesecake, New York Ricotta Cheesecake, Peter's Cream of Pumpkin Soup, Amaretto Rice Cheesecake.
Can I use ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: cream cheese has 107 molecules ricotta cheese doesn't, and ricotta cheese has 33 that cream cheese doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Cream Cheese vs Ricotta Cheese. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cream-cheese-vs-ricotta-cheese. Accessed 2026-11-03.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cream_cheese_vs_ricotta_cheese_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cream Cheese vs Ricotta Cheese},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cream-cheese-vs-ricotta-cheese},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-03}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.