Sour cream is one of those sneaky ingredients that you never know you need until you start a recipe that requires it. If you’re trying to avoid regular sour cream because of any reason, then these sour cream substitutes will be perfect.
Sour cream is a dairy product that is made by fermenting regular cream with a specific type of bacteria. It’s used in many recipes to add creaminess, flavor, and moisture. While it’s mostly used in creams and sauces, sour cream can be used to bake as well.
Reasons Why You Should Consider Using Sour Cream Substitutes
1- You are lactose intolerant
Because it’s a dairy product, sour cream contains lactose which is harder to break down by the body. Having substitutes for sour cream can be really helpful.
2- You are on a low fat diet
Sour cream is very high in fat. Roughly 90% of the calories from sour cream come from fat so if you are trying to eat less fat, using a substitute for sour cream is a good idea.
3- You are a vegan/vegetarian
As an animal-derived product, sour cream is not an option for persons who are vegan, vegetarian, or dairy-free. There are dairy-free sour cream substitutes available below.
4- You don’t like the taste of regular sour cream
It’s not a taste that the average person would like on its own. If you’d like to avoid it altogether, then some sour cream replacements might be necessary.
5- You ran out- Hey, it happens.
If you want to get all the benefits that sour cream will add to your recipe without using the actual thing, you can consider these sour cream replacements for a quick fix.
The list of sour cream substitutes will contain both regular and dairy free substitutes for sour cream.
Sour Cream Substitutes
1- Plain Yogurt
Yogurt acts as a great substitute for sour cream in most recipes. However, the consistency for both are quite different.
If you want a thicker texture for yogurt, you can drain out the excess liquid through a strainer in the fridge. Line the strainer or sieve with a cheesecloth for the best results, and keep it covered to preserve the flavor. This process should take about half an hour.
How To Use For Baking
Each recipe below is a substitute for 1 cup of sour cream.
- 1 cup yogurt plus 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup sour milk plus 1/3 cup butter
For Cooking
- 1 cup yogurt plus 1 tablespoon flour plus 2 teaspoons water
2- Buttermilk
Buttermilk is the next sour cream replacement. It is the liquid that’s usually leftover after making butter.
In the process of making buttermilk, lactic acid bacteria, like in sour cream production, ferments with the milk sugars which gives the milk a sour taste.
It is not as thick as sour cream, but adding some softened butter can improve the thickness.
How To Use For Baking
Each recipe below is a substitute for 1 cup of sour cream.
- 7/8 cup buttermilk plus 3 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup buttermilk plus 1/3 cup butter
3- Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese has a much a different taste and texture than sour cream but with the right combination (shown below), it can make a great sour cream substitute.
If you’re going for a low fat option, cottage cheese is a lower fat and higher protein sour cream substitute.
Recipe for sour cream substitution
- 4 tablespoons of milk and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice with cottage cheese
4- Creme Fraiche
This is translated to fresh cream in french.
It has a similar texture to sour cream, but it is thicker and has a cheese-like consistency.
This sour cream substitute is not great for a low fat diet. Cream fraiche has a higher fat content that could be a perfect substitute if you’re on a high fat diet like the ketogenic diet.
Dairy Free Sour Cream Substitutions
The most popular dairy-free sour cream substitutes include cashews, soy or coconut milk. These contain healthy fats and have more nutrients.
While you can buy dairy-free sour cream in the store, they contain a lot of processed ingredients that may not have the same level of nutrition or flavor that you’re looking for. It does take some preparation in advance, but you can make these dairy free substitutes for sour cream quite easily.
5- Cashew
Cashews are a good substitute for sour cream because they are high in fat and protein. When preparing the cashews, make sure to blend the cashews completely so you don’t have any cashew chunks in your recipe.
Method: Soak the cashews overnight to soften, then puree in the blender with lemon juice and nutritional yeast to taste.
6- Coconut Cream
Coconut cream is the next dairy-free and lactose free option. The method is to blend the cream from full-fat coconut milk with apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and sea salt.
You have to ensure that you use a high quality coconut cream (not milk). This is going to give you a similar consistency to sour cream with a slightly different taste.
This can be used for baking as well.
Substitutes For Sour Cream
Even though sour cream is a popular ingredient in many recipes, you might need a tastier or healthier alternative.
It may take a little experimenting to find the sour cream substitute that you want to stick with but this list had some great options to choose from.
If you want to make your entire diet healthier, check out this list of sugar substitutes that you can start using today.