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    Home » Condiments

    Homemade Ramp Cream Cheese

    Published: May 3, 2025 Modified: May 6, 2025 Author: Alan Bergo

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    Foraging season is finally here in the Midwest, and I've noticed a few bagel shops offering ramp cream cheese during the season. While it's technically a very easy recipe, ramps can be overly strong by themselves so there's a few things to consider when making your own. Today I'll show you how to make a great version at home, perfect for bagels, sandwiches, cheese plates, and plenty of other things. It also works with scallions and green garlic.

    A bagel spread with wild ramp cream cheese with a knife and fresh ramp plants in the background.
    Cream cheese made from ramp leaves.

    Some of you know I moved back to St. Paul a few years ago. The first thing I planted was a few hundred ramps (whole colonies, with roots and their native dirt) in my boulevard and yard.

    Wild ramps transplanted into a yard with the leaves covered with morning dew.
    Second-year ramps growing in my yard.

    While this recipe is pretty simple compared to other things on this site, it's the first ramp recipe I've made with ramps I've grown! If you want to do the same, I recommend buying dirty ramps from a local farm and planting 10-20 pounds. Leave a comment if you're in the area and I can share recommendations.

    While you could technically just blend ramp leaves with cream cheese in a food processor, you'll get a more interesting product if you think about layering flavors. Part of the joy of ramps is the fresh, garlicky flavor, but all by themselves, ramp leaves blended raw with cream cheese can be overly garlicky, without much else going on.

    My ramp cream cheese recipe uses fresh and cooked ramps similar to many other ramp dishes on this site like ramp butter, sausage and dip. Blending cooked and raw ramps lets you tweak the flavor easily to your taste, giving a blend of texture and the ephemeral wild leek flavor we all crave in the spring. Fresh lemon, herbs, and a touch of chili are the perfect finishing touch.

    How to Make it

    For 8 oz of cream cheese you'll want about 4-6 oz of ramp leaves. Wash and dry the leaves, then slice roughly. Remove a small handful to puree with the cream cheese, scraping down the bowl to ensure it's evenly blended.

    Slicing wild ramp leaves with a Japanese chef knife.
    Slicing the fresh leaves.
    Ramp leaves and cream cheese in a food processor.
    Put a handful of the leaves in the food processor.
    Scraping down the bottom of the food processor bowl with a spatula.
    Scraping down the bowl to ensure it's evenly mixed.

    The majority of the ramp leaves are cooked quickly in a tablespoon of butter or olive oil and quickly chilled. Cooking brings out the sweetness of the leaves. Folded into the cream cheese, they add a contrast to the bracing, garlicky flavor of the raw ones.

    Finely chopping ramp leaves.
    Finely chopping the rest of the leaves.
    Cooking ramp leaves in a carbon steel skillet and chilling the pan over a pan of ice.
    Cooking and chilling the rest of the rest of the leaves.
    Mixing cooked ramp leaves into a bowl of green cream cheese.
    Folding in the cooked, chilled leaves.

    Finally, add fresh lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper, a pinch of crushed red pepper or hot sauce, and fresh herbs like dill or mint until it tastes good to you. It'll keep a decent color in the fridge for a week.

    Zesting a lemon over a bowl of ramp cream cheese.
    Adding lemon zest.
    A hand squeezing fresh lemon juice onto a bowl of ramp leaf cream cheese.
    Adding fresh lemon juice.
    Folding and mixing green ramp cream cheese with a spatula in a bowl.
    Mixing and adjusting the seasoning to finish.

    Additions and Variations

    Here's a few notes on ways I'll vary the flavor here.

    • Just like scallion cream cheese, it's perfect with cold smoked salmon and other fish.
    • Try it spread on a cold ham sandwich or as part of a charcuterie platter.
    • Substituting cooked, finely chopped nettles for the cooked ramp leaves makes a nice dip or spread.
    • I use fresh mint in the video, but dill is definitely my favorite herb to add.
    • I used to serve 3 different spreads with a selection of buttered, grilled homemade bread as an appetizer. I did one at home with roasted carrot cumin spread, ramp cream cheese, and ramp pesto this week.
    • Goat cheese, or a mix of goat and cream cheese is another good riff.
    • Try a dollop folded into an omelet or a nettle crepe as a filling.

    Related Posts

    • Ramp Leaf Oil
    • Creamy Wild Garlic Soup
    • Ramp Jam
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Homemade Ramp Cream Cheese

    Cream cheese flavored with fresh and lightly cooked ramp leaves and herbs for bagels, sandwiches, or just eating on a cracker.
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time3 minutes mins
    Total Time13 minutes mins
    Course: Appetizer, Brunch, Condiment
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: ramp leaf cream cheese
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 108kcal
    Author: Alan Bergo
    Cost: 5

    Equipment

    • Food processor
    • 1 quart mixing bowl
    • Spatula
    • 8 inch saute pan or cast iron pan

    Ingredients

    • 4 oz feesh ramp leaves separated
    • 8 oz cream cheese full fat
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt to taste
    • zest of half a medium lemon or meyer lemon
    • fresh ground black pepper to taste
    • A few dashes of hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes optional, to taste
    • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill sliced basil, or mint, to taste

    Instructions

    • Slice all the ramp leaves into roughly 1 inch slices. Separate 1 oz of the ramps (a small handful) and puree with the cream cheese in a food processor until the cheese is bright greens and smooth. Roughly chop the rest of the ramp leaves and reserve.
    • Heat the butter in a small saute pan and add the chopped ramp leaves. Wilt the leaves, stirring occasionally and seasoning with a pinch of salt and pepper, until fully cooked, about 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
    • Transfer the leaves to the mixing bowl and cool, or chill the pan over a bowl of ice.
    • Mix the ramp cream cheese with the cooked ramp leaves, add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Taste the mixture and double check the seasoning for salt, pepper, herbs and lemon.
    • Adjust the seasoning until it tastes good to you. Store the cream cheese in the refrigerator in a container with a tight fitting lid.
    • For a slightly brighter taste, you can add 1 tablespoon lemon juice, but know that it will discolor the ramp leaves after 24 hours.

    Video

    Notes

    For a stronger, rampier version you can increase the amount of fresh ramps up to 6 oz, using up to 2 oz raw and 4 oz cooked. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1oz | Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5.4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 39mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 622IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 0.3mg
    « Foraging Ground Elder / Snow on the Mountain / Bishop's Weed
    American Basswood Leaves / Linden Tree »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. LaRae

      May 05, 2025 at 7:46 pm

      5 stars
      Love this idea for my spring bagels!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        May 07, 2025 at 7:44 am

        Thanks

        Reply
    2. Christi Jarland

      May 03, 2025 at 2:35 pm

      Thanks for this recipe! I don't have enough ramps in my plot yet, so just pick a few leaves to saute into eggs and that's about all we get. I still only have 3 plants.

      I haven't seen them in our farmer's market to ask for dirty ones. We're in ottertail county. Will keep my eye out for sellers though! I didn't know you could try asking for them like that. Mine little 3 are from Prairie Moon and a bit expensive per plant.
      Love this blog!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        May 07, 2025 at 7:47 am

        Thanks Christi

        Reply
    3. Steve Brill

      May 03, 2025 at 8:41 am

      I have yet to try ramp oil but hope to soon. I have made ramp pesto using the leaves and bulbs, and it's pretty strong stuff, it is really good and can easily be modified. Regarding planting ramps. While I grew up in St. Paul's Crocus Hill area, I now live in Cottage Grove in a suburban neighborhood. Not very conducive a setting for ramps. However, I'd like to give it a try. You mentioned buying dirty ramps from a local farm. While I have seen bunches of fresh ramps at Missippippi Market Coop, their roots are usually trimmed off so I don't know if these would work. So I would appreciate if you could tell me about a farm where I could purchase said dirty ramps. Thanks for your assistance. P.S. I love the idea of adding fresh dill and/or fresh mint. Fennel fronds might work as well.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        May 03, 2025 at 8:55 am

        Hi Steve. If you call the coop, tell them you want to order a case of DIRTY ramps, both farms I know that sell them in the area (Dragsmith and Hidden Stream) offer both options and always have the roots attached. You can also reach out to the farms directly and ask nicely-good excuse for a day trip. Tell them you'll pay cash up front and it should be fine.

        Reply
        • Tim Maguire

          May 03, 2025 at 3:27 pm

          Here in Scotland, we are overwhelmed with ramps - or to be accurate we were last month. Thanks for this suggestion Alan. I’ve got some cream cheese left over from making my lovage pesto so I’ll give this a try. I think you’re right about softening the harshness of the uncooked leaves and I look forward to seeing how your recipe turns out.

          Thanks as always
          Tim

          Reply
    4. Carla Beaudet

      May 03, 2025 at 8:38 am

      25 years ago when we bought our land, the very first thing I planted there - before we had a driveway, a well, or any buildings - was ramps. I could see how overpicked any public land that was easily accessible was getting to be. They survived, but I didn't really get after embiggening the patch until we built and moved to the property. I've got about 1/4 ac. planted in ramps now - enough that I can harvest whatever I need, and I still help distribute the seeds each time they flower. This year, I made ramp butter - but not the way you had - I wanted that bright green - but I used too high a proportion of leaves, and it became bitter, so a whole pound of butter later, it was edible again -LOL! Using less leaves is certainly a good idea, but really, cooking to get the caramelized onion sweetness - that's the ticket! Brilliant suggestion. Now I have to pick a few more ramps before the season is over...

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        May 03, 2025 at 8:56 am

        Thanks Carla. Yeah, too many raw ramps gets too strong. First thing I ruined was ramp burgers, grinding them raw with the meat for a backyard cookout. They were nearly inedible. My friends (and their wives) were wary of them for a few years after that.

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote

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