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This Vegan Sour Cream Recipe requires just 5 ingredients and comes together easily. It's so rich, tangy, and creamy that you'll want to dollop it on everything!
I'm so excited to share this Vegan Sour Cream Recipe with you guys! It's so darn easy to make, and it should be in everyone's fridge.
You can add it to so many dishes. Dollop it on vegan quesadillas, baked potatoes, jackfruit carnitas tacos, rice, casseroles, sweet potato black bean chili, and so much more!
I started making my own sour cream because the store-bought varieties lack the tang that the dairy variety has. The consistency is great for most of them, but they need to work on the tangy part.
Ingredients + Notes
It takes just 5 ingredients to make the creamiest and tangiest sour cream. Here's what you'll need:
- Raw Cashews - Use whole cashews rather than pieces if possible. They are usually of the best quality and freshest tasting. If the cashews are of lower quality, they tend to leave an aftertaste in the sour cream.
- Unsweetened Non-Dairy Yogurt - This helps break up the richness of the cashews. I prefer unsweetened So Delicious yogurt for its color, flavor, and thickness, but other brands will work well too. Kite Hill is another nice option.
- Lemon Juice - I recommend using fresh for the best flavor. If you have lactic acid, you can use that in place of the lemon juice. It adds a similar tangy flavor to cultured cheese. I usually add 1 teaspoon. You may need to add a few teaspoons of water or non-dairy milk to make up the liquid portion of the lemon juice.
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Salt
How to make Vegan Sour Cream
- The method is easy; just add all the ingredients to your high-powered blender. Then blend on high until creamy and smooth.
- Now taste to see if it needs more lemon, salt, or vinegar, and add more if needed. The consistency will be soft, but it will significantly firm up in the fridge.
- Pour into an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 hours to firm it up and give it a good stir after chilling.
FAQs
It stays fresh for about 4-5 days in the fridge, stored in an airtight container.
Besides dolloping it on a finished dish, you can also use it to amp up dressings, sauces, dips, soups, baked goods, and more.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think by leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and sharing your feedback in the comment section below. It would make my day!
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Recipe
5-Ingredient Vegan Sour Cream
Ingredients
- ¾ cup raw cashews , soaked in water for 4-6 hours
- ½ cup non-dairy yogurt , unsweetened (sub plain)
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (I usually add 2)
- ¾ teaspoon apple cider vinegar , more to taste
- ½- ¾ teaspoon sea salt , more to taste
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the cashews. Discard soaking water.
- Add all the ingredients to a high-powered blender (starting with the yogurt and lemon juice). Blend on high until creamy and smooth. This could take a few minutes. Scrape down sides as needed. Taste to see if it needs more lemon, salt or vinegar.
- Pour into an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 hours to firm it up. It will keep about 4-5 days.
Notes
- If you're unsure how salty or tangy you want the sour cream to be, it's best to use less lemon, vinegar and salt to start. You can always taste and add more after blending.
- I get a perfect consistency every time with the listed ingredient amounts. However, If you feel your sour cream is too thick, you can add a few teaspoons of unsweetened non-dairy milk, yogurt or water to thin it out. Add more as needed but only a small amount at a time to avoid a runny consistency.
- If you don't have a high-speed blender, the sour cream may not get smooth enough.
- Some non-dairy yogurt brands have an off-white color, which will make your sour cream slightly off-white. It won't affect the tastiness though. I prefer So Delicious for its color and thickness.
- I leave the cashews in the fridge while they are soaking.
- Prep time doesn't include soaking time.
- Yields about 1 cup.
- If you have lactic acid, you can use that in replace of the lemon juice. It adds a similar tangy flavor that cultured cheese has. I usually add 1 ¼ teaspoons. You may need to add a few teaspoons of water or non-dairy milk to make up the liquid portion of the lemon juice. Blend first and then decide.
- The cashews must soak for a minimum of 4-6 hours, or they will produce gritty results.
Scott Ambrose
This recipe was the perfect accompaniment to our first post-Coronavirus dinner gathering (more than 18 months overdue). I made an all-Vegan dinner consisting of three different kinds of vegan tamales, guacamole, various salsas, refried beans, and Mexican rice with veggies . . . the vegan sour cream was excellent, and everyone enjoyed it, saying how much it tastes like real sour cream. I've made it three times in the past two weeks (and the first time was a double batch!), and the latest was used as a topping for a Vegan Borscht I made yesterday. Thank you for sharing (I've also shared your recipe numerous times already).
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Scott! Thank you so much for the review - that sounds like a great meal! We are so happy to hear that you all enjoyed the sour cream and thank you for sharing it too! 🙂
Kristina
I always wanted to try making vegan sour cream and today while I was making my kickass vegan chili I thought, now is the time!! Omg, it was a winner all around the table, next time I will double the batch. Thank you for this!
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Hi Kristina! We are so happy to hear that you all loved the sour cream recipe! Thank you for giving it a try! 🙂
Margaret Davis
So easy and oh so good! Thank you
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Margaret! Thank you so much for the review! We're so happy you loved it:)
Chahna
A must try!! I made it for my jackfruit tacos and it was definitely the star of the show. Even my non vegan brother loved it so it’s perfect for everyone, just don’t tell them it’s vegan before they try it ;). THANK YOU FOR THE RECIPE
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Chahna! We're so glad to hear that even the non vegans liked it! Thanks so much for trying it out 🙂
Kelly
This is the vegan sour cream that I’ve had - homemade or store bought! I’ve made it several times and it always comes out great. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
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Hi Kelly! We are thrilled to hear that, thank you so much for giving it a try!
Diane K
Absolutely delicious, was eating it off a spoon before refrigerating and almost couldn't stop 🙂
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Hi Diane! It is hard to resist isn't it? We are so happy to hear you loved the recipe so much, thank you for giving it a try!
Naomi
Delicious and so easy to make. Soaked cashews in hot water only while getting other ingredients out. Have a vitamix that I knew would blend it smooth. Used 2 TBS lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt and extra heaping tbs of my non-dairy unsweetened yogurt. Tasted great! Thank you for this recipe.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Naomi! Thank you so much for sharing, we're happy to hear you loved the recipe 🙂
Hannah
Amazing, I made this this morning to have with my vegan nachos tonight. I was a bit hesitant at first as a lot of other homemade vegan versions of dairy based products usually don't turn out well, however this "sour cream" was next level. Will defiantly be making another big batch.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Hannah! We are so happy you loved the recipe and glad to hear that this will be a repeat recipe for you! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Lisa S
I’ve made this recipe a few times - just as suggested comes out great every time. I also used the so delicious unsweetened yogurt. Thank you!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Lisa! We are so happy to hear you loved the recipe and that it has become a go-to! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Alex
Love it! I am an avid sour cream lover, literally will put it on ANYTHING! I was worried I wasn’t able to find a vegan substitute to satisfy my sour cream cravings but this is wonderful and super easy to make! Thank you for this!!!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Alex! We are so happy you loved the recipe for this delicious vegan substitute! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Cap'n Dave
Haven't tried this yet, but will most definitely be doing so very soon (like next Taco Tuesday, for example?). I followed the link over from your Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos - I have everything for the tacos, missing the yogurt for the sour cream, and do want to get some red cabbage and radishes - all of which I was meaning to pick up when last I was at Walmart and didn't. D'oh!
Tara
Perfect sour cream. Better than the store bought. My husband, who isn’t vegan, loves it!! I will win him over with these types of recipes!
I have used both almond and coconut yogurt and I will say the coconut yogurt was better for taste and texture.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Tara, I'm so glad it worked out for you. I prefer it with coconut yogurt too. Thank you for giving it a try 🙂
Natalia
Deliciousness!! Thank you so much.
Melissa Huggins
You're most welcome! So glad you liked it. 🙂
Shannon
I just made this and the texture is perfect! I accidentally bought unsweetened vanilla silk yogurt so it has a slight vanilla flavor. Oops!! Im going to make it again with the correct kind. I will still use this one but the vanilla flavor is a little odd lol
Melissa Huggins
Thank you for giving it a try! I've made the same mistake with flavored yogurt before. You're not alone. lol! 🙂
Tamara Hanel
I made this twice. Once with Silk brand plain, but it wasn't unsweetened. It was good. I tried it a second time, doubled the batch, and used So Delicious unsweetened along with the recommended onion powder. I much preferred the latter for both flavor and texture.
Thank you.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Tamara, I'm happy it worked out for you. Thank you for giving it a try and sharing your feedback 🙂
Diana
What am I doing wrong? Tastes off but I can’t figure out what to add more of. Maybe it’s the yogurt I used? Sprouts was out of the sodelicious so I used Oatly nondairy yogurt. Could that be it? Maybe more lemon? I’m not sure!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Diane, I haven't tried Oatly yogurt but it could be the culprit. How does the yogurt taste by itself? If it has a strong flavor, it could be overpowering the other ingredients. The SoDelicious yields a neutral flavor when it's blended with the other ingredients. Can you find a different brand of coconut yogurt? I hope this helps.