Cream cheese + Tomato
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 446 recipes, and they share 69 flavor molecules: the top 21% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cream cheese and tomato go together?
Yes. 446 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 69 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 21% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of cream cheese's flavor molecules (69 of 117) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
What each one brings
cream cheese
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 15% for tomato. It carries 48 molecules tomato doesn't have.
tomato
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 8% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 1% for cream cheese. It carries 441 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 8% with tomato.
- Feta cheese: top 1% of pairs with cream cheese, top 9% with tomato.
- Goat cheese: top 1% of pairs with cream cheese, top 12% with tomato.
- Cottage cheese: top 1% of pairs with cream cheese, top 12% with tomato.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cream cheese and tomato
Mostly mains: 57 of the 73 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: cream cheese has 48 molecules tomato doesn't, and tomato has 441 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 69 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 48 only in cream cheese and the 441 only in tomato.
Cream cheese and tomato questions
Do cream cheese and tomato go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 446 recipes, and they share 69 flavor molecules: the top 21% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cream cheese and tomato taste good together?
More than half of cream cheese's flavor molecules (69 of 117) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
What goes with cream cheese and tomato?
Mozzarella cheese is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with cream cheese and top 8% with tomato. Feta cheese and goat cheese also fit both.
What can you make with cream cheese and tomato?
Mostly mains: 57 of the 73 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Bush Tomato Cream Sauce, Creamy Tomato and Bean Soup, Avocado-Stuffed Tomatoes, Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes.
Can I use tomato instead of cream cheese?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: cream cheese has 48 molecules tomato doesn't, and tomato has 441 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 Tomato. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cream-cheese-vs-tomato. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cream_cheese_vs_tomato_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cream Cheese vs Tomato},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cream-cheese-vs-tomato},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.