Trader Joe's Vegan Cream Cheese Review
Product Name: Trader Joe’s Vegan Cream Cheese Alternative
Product Description: A dairy-free cream cheese alternative spread with no partially hydrogenated oils.
Brand: Trader Joe's
Dietary Notes: No Partially Hydrogenated Oils
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VSO's Rating:
(5)
Summary
Trader Joe’s Vegan Cream Cheese is the best tasting plain vegan cream cheese that I’ve come across so far, and I’ve tried many! The creamy smooth texture and the tangy aftertaste go perfect with a New York-style everything bagel (smoked paprika optional, but a delicious addition!). Great value for the price!
Trader Joe’s Vegan Cream Cheese Review
I am a huge bagel and cream cheese addict. Ask anyone that knows me and they will verify that I’ve had cream cheese with some kind of a bread item (bagel, toast, English muffin) almost every single morning of my life for the past 20 years or more! Not kidding! When I was a vegan for a few years as a teen, I ate the Tofutti brand cream cheese because I recall it was the only kind available back then (that I could find). While it tastes nothing like the Philadelphia brand cream cheese blocks that were always my preference, it has its own special taste that I grew to love. When I decided to go vegan again a few years ago (this time for life), I began a quest of trying out all of the vegan cream cheeses I could get my hands on. I’ve made quite a few vegan cream cheese recipes as well. This is an ongoing quest of course, but so far in this adventure, this Trader’s Joe’s vegan cream cheese is the absolute best tasting one on the market (that I’ve tried).
The consistency is so smooth and if you give it a good whipping when you first open the container (there is usually a little liquid/solid separation going on), it turns into a luxurious creamy spread! The flavor is mild with a bit of tang to it. It’s a coconut oil-based spread but it does contain soy (for those that need to avoid it). The ingredients say that there are “vegan cultures” in it so maybe that’s where the tang/zip is coming from since there’s no lemon or vinegar listed. I don’t know but it’s pretty darned good!
Since I live an hour away from Trader’s Joe’s I stock up whenever I can but I do buy the Tofutti cream cheese when I run out. My boyfriend is working in Vermont right now and passes a Trader Joe’s on his way home so he just bought me 6 containers of it. He’s awesome and that should last me a few days at least : )
I’ve also used this cream cheese in my vegan cream cheese frosting recipe and it comes out amazing! The only problem is that it’s hard to sacrifice one of my tubs for frosting since they are a little hard to come by for me (although frosting is a good cause!).
This cream cheese is the best vegan cream cheese in the whole wide world (well that I’ve personally tried), what do you think?
Nicole
Long time vegan living in upstate NY. Web developer and founder of Vegan ShowOff. She's addicted to ice cream and loves hiking, snowboarding, gardening, and travel. Read more from Nicole!
ABZZZOOLUTELY!
I’ve seen so many reviews of vegan cream cheese and some of them didn’t even have this Trader Joe’s cream cheese in their list at all!!
Hands-down Trader Joe’s vegan cream cheese is the best vegan cream cheese. I’m lucky I have a Trader Joe’s three very short city blocks away from me and plus they’re all over Manhattan now, but I agree with you, girl.!!!!
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Hands Down THE BEST!!!
We have been buying TJ’s brand cream cheese for a few years now. After having tried ALL the other vegan versions we could find in all other grocery stores in the Phoenix, AZ area, we can safely declare that this is the absolute best. In fact, the last time my non-vegan husband stopped into his favorite bagel shop in a rush and ordered his old favorite bagel & real cream cheese, he was very disappointed because he has come to love TJ’s even more than the real thing. He has found that dairy leaves an unpleasant aftertaste and clogs his throat. None of the other fake cream cheeses were even close to the real thing and this one surpasses it. Yay Trader Joes!
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Love the bagel shop story…I can’t wait until the day all bagel shops offer a variety of vegan cream cheeses! Trader Joe’s is pretty awesome, plus reasonable pricing! 💚 ~ Nicole
Trader Joe's vegan cream cheese
I love Trader Joe’s cream cheese. I have tried others, this is the best.
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Yum!!
I am not vegan, but must be dairy free due to a casein allergy (no, not lactose intolerance). Consequently, many things I make are vegan. Until I tried Trader Joe’s vegan cream cheese recently, my favorite brand (after many tastings, and yes, tears) has been Violife. I still like and use violife as my nearest Trader Joe’s is in Ithaca, NY, about an hour away. BUT if it was closer I would buy them out every week!! Right now I have a New York style cheesecake in the oven and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it works like dairy cream cheese in my old favorite recipe!! If it does, I will post back with a picture!!
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I bet it will work, definitely keep us posted! I’ve used Kite Hill and Tofutti plain cream cheese in cheesecakes before and they both worked. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! ~Nicole
It’s no longer vegan
The last ingredient, It has nisin which is a peptide derived from milk
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I contacted Trader Joe’s about this and I’ll give an update as soon as I hear back from them. Nisin can also be derived from dextrose or other non-animal sources, so I’m hoping this is the case since TJ’s has it labeled as vegan. We’ll see what they have to say about it though! UPDATE: Trader Joe’s got back to me super fast and confirmed this is still vegan. Here are their exact words: “Thank you for contacting us. We cannot claim a product is vegan if it is not truly vegan. The nisin is bacteria derived and non-dairy based.” Hope that helps! ~ Nicole
Vegan Cream Cheese
I’ve been searching for cream cheese that comes close to Philadelphia’s cream cheese. I’m lucky to have a Trader Joe’s 20 minutes away thank God!!
I was going to purchase Violife Cream Cheese until I saw your article. You’re a life saver! Going Vegan is not easy when you love Dairy. Choosing tasty Vegan dairy items is tough and expensive! …thanks for making a difficult decision a lot easier!
Shawn M.
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Changed Recipe
TJ’s cream cheese used to be EXCELLENT. It was my go to. Now? Its frigging AWFUL! I mean the worst vegan cream cheese I have ever tasted and Ive tasted ALL of them. Same goes for their Soy Creamer.. another one they changed for the worse.
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Don't mind it
I used to love cream cheese when I was younger but since haven’t eaten “real” cream cheese in years. I was in TJ’s the other day and decided to give this one a try. I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it was a bit soft in texture and needed a stir. But on toast with avocado it was lovely. The flavor is subtle, and had a dairy feel in the mouth and aftertaste to it. It might be because I am not trying to compare it to “real” cream cheese… I will feed it to my husband and see what he thinks, as he enjoys the real stuff from time to time. I gave it a 3 star as I have not tried any of the other vegan cream cheese spreads mentioned here in the comments. Plus, the price is right 😉
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The Worst Vegan Cream Cheese
Kite Hill, Daiya, and Miyoko make fantastic cream cheeses. This is watery, tastes like sour cream – this is not even remotely like cream cheese. If it slides off a lukewarm bagel because it is more liquid than cheese it is not cream cheese. Hey editor, how many months has it been since you bought this? Maybe go buy it again. I nominate this for the worst vegan dairy alternative I have ever tasted after almost 8 years of living vegan. Just gross and runny. No taste, no salt, liquidy, gross texture. Is it supposed to be sour cream? I remember it being different
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They changed it... FOR THE WORST
The trader Joe’s cream cheese used to be one of my favorite for vegan cream cheese. The last two times I’ve purchased it, it has essentially been a cream cheese soup. The first time I bought it I assumed it was just a bad batch. I bought it again this week, and it is runny and nasty. Either it’s really bad quality control or for some reason they change the recipe. Will not purchase ever again
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non-vegan
I am not vegan in the least but this was my absolute favorite cream cheese. I prefer this to the real thing as it tastes so good. I am disappointed in the recent recipe change. It is still good but it was so much better before. I now pour out the liquid when opening a new package but still not the same and it spoils much faster now.
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Gross
I came looking for reviews to make sure I wasn’t the only one who noticed the recipe changed. This is used to be my favorite like everyone else, but I noticed over the summer it’s changed. much runnier and tastes knarly. spoiled after a week of being open and had to throw it away. wtf!!!
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Usually great but changed?
This is my favorite cream cheese but I swear they changed something recently bc it was not the same this time!! From reading more recent reviews sounds like it’s not just me… I hope whatever they changed goes back because it used to be my favorite and the most affordable.
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Disgusting
Bought this based on the reviews here. As others have said, they seem to have changed the recipe because the stuff I bought isn’t at all like cream cheese in taste or texture. Very runny to the point that it will drip off a bagel if you tilt it.
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RECIPE HAS CHANGED
the newest batch of this is gross, it tastes nothing like it used to! Not sure what they changed but it is a bummer..
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Tastes awful
All I got was a chemical fish taste. Absolutely the worst! I can’t find anyone who feels the same way as I do about it so maybe mine was spoiled? No idea.
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What a revelation. I’m completely stunned!!!!!!!!!!! And I will use those emotions as I please. Do you have any idea how happy it is to have this product when you are lactose intolerant???? and all the other ailments so many of us have…lile
high cholesterol…etc. A HUGE thank you to Trader Joes. This is an A++++++++product that you will not miss regular cream cheese…it’s that similar to the original product. So excited to find out what’s next!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Go Veggie's TJ brand
I have tried many brands having a girlfriend and a daughter who are both lactose intolerant. Perfect addition to a pasta cream sauce. At various times TJ’s is out of this for weeks at a time and I think I have found their source. Go Veggie’s cream cheese has the same list of ingredients and suspiciously similar wording on their product.
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No longer in stores
Was my favorite then typical TJ fashion drops it!!
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Can't get enough
I’ve tried a few vegan cream cheeses and this is the absolute best. I live an hour from trader Joe’s and grabbed this today on a whim.. I wish I grabbed more!! I love it sooo much
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Amen!!!!
BY FAR the best out there. Cannot live without this! I usually finely chop some chives and crush a clove of garlic and mix it in for herby cream cheese. Heavenly. And for those with nut allergies, one of only a few options.
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Has Soy
It’s good, but with all that we are learning about soy, that’s a deal breaker 🙁
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The best!
It’s so delicious. I love it on sourdough toast with a sprinkle of “Everything Bagel Spice” on top! Delicious and I have a dairy-eating friend that loves it too.
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I don't like it on bagels...
The reason is it shouldn’t taste any coconut aftertaste AT ALL. So, that ruined my enjoyment of it this morning the first time I tried it on my bagel. If it didn’t have the coconut it would be perfect. I’m still going to tell my friends about it, though, because they may love it.
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I would like to thank the producer. I was overweight and needed to lose weight I always shop at Trader Joes and I saw this product and decided to give it a try with low sodium bread also from Trader Joes and it was so good and delicious that I am having it as my lunch in office since December 2016 and I lost a lot of weight and my blood pressure got reduced.If It was not for the incredibly delicious taste of this cream cheese, there was no way I could have continued the diet for so long time.
I want to thank the producer to help me to be able to reach to my goal (losing weight) and I feel soooo good now. Thank you Thank you
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Excellent find
As close to real cream cheese as you are going to get and at a good price! Don’t know how I missed this one for so long. What a treat!
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New find!
Idk why i just now found TJ cream cheese but i was pleasantly surprised. its missing some of the tang of reg. cream cheese but from the others i’ve tried its my favorite and its versatile. i use it to make “Alfredo sauce” mixed with almond milk, garlic, herbs and spices and to make creamy ranch dip or dressing!
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What a shame to find it has soy in it. Too many of Trader Joe’s vegan products do have soy, which they’d consider the millions of people who can’t touch soy in any form.
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LEAST JUNKY of all the cream cheese alternatives...
This one is the winner: NO CARRAGEENAN and least junky ingredients. Acceptable flavor (better than all the others I’ve tried). I wish it were more tangy. BONUS: it’s also the CHEAPEST.
When mixed with chopped red onions, capers and cracked black pepper on toasted gf bagels, it’s not half bad!
…and yes, there are no gluten ingredients listed (may be hidden as “natural flavors”)
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Gluten Free?
I LOVE THIS CREAM CHEESE! But, does anyone know if this cream cheese is gluten free also?
Thanks!
Jacquie
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Eating it as I read this...
TJ’s vegan cream cheese is hands down the best! I have to talk myself out of eating the whole container in one sitting! Great on rice crackers!
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Crean Cheese
Trader Joe’s cream cheese is far superior to any that I have tasted. I ask if anyone has experience in freezing containers. I usually buy two at a time which last me 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Would appreciate hearing from anyone that froze this product.
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Great review
Loved this post. I am currently trying to slowly transition to a vegan diet and the only thing that I’m finding hard to eliminate from my diet is dairy, specifically cheese. I was trying to get my hands on an Almond based cream cheese but they are hard to come by. I will definitely pick this up next time I’m at Trader Joe’s!
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