In my search to find a vegan sour cream alternative, I have tried many a recipe but they all had something missing. Or they were soy based, and I want to have a soy and dairy free sour cream. But this recipe is the best ever, really!
I made one with soaked cashews, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar – didn’t like it.
Another with soaked cashews, lemon juice and nutritional yeast – didn’t like it.
Finally I used soaked cashews and almonds, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast -LOVED IT!!!!
It’s smooth, creamy, flavorful and super versatile.
You can use it in stroganoff, on top of soups, chillies, salads, tacos and sweetened with a bit of agave or maple syrup it’s a great fruit and dessert topping.
I used it when I served up these soft tacos, I didn’t mention it wasn’t the real thing, and no one was the wiser. Give it a try, take an empty, cleaned sour cream container and fill it with this stuff and see what happens.
The Best Vegan Sour Cream
- Yield: 12 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked
- 1/4 cup raw slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, about 2 small lemons
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon himalayan sea salt
Instructions
- Place cashews and almonds in a bowl and cover with purified water. Soak overnight, if you want this goodness sooner, soak for 2 to 3 hours.
- Drain and rinse well and place in blender.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. You may have to stop and scrape down the sides occasionally or add a bit of water as needed.
- Taste and season with more salt if needed.
- Transfer to glass container and store in fridge. Use within a week or two.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Tablespoon
- Calories: 79
- Sugar: 1
- Sodium: 160
- Fat: 6
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 4.6
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 3.1
- Cholesterol: 0
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Jenna says
April 21, 2015 at 6:08 pmI would have never thought this was possible. How awesome. Thanks
Celeste says
April 21, 2015 at 8:53 pmThanks Jenna, I hope you like it, I love this stuff.
Pamela says
April 22, 2015 at 6:18 amI had to give up dairy, but only used avocados as a cheese substitute. I’m looking forward to making the vegan sour cream. The tacos and the sour cream look delicious.
Celeste says
April 22, 2015 at 7:52 pmThanks Pamela, I hope you like it as much as I do.
Christine says
April 22, 2015 at 3:58 pmI just found out I am lactose intolerant, and I love sour cream! Going to try your recipe, it looks so much healthier! Thank you for sharing and Co-hosting WW!
kayla says
May 5, 2015 at 5:03 ameveryone who tells me they’re lactose intolerant, i reply “it’s because you’re not a baby cow” 🙂 you’ll find that life without dairy is actually much easier than you can imagine and so much healthier for not only you, but the planet 🙂 you also will no longer be supporting the cruelty in the dairy industry. good luck! 🙂
★★★★★
Celeste says
May 5, 2015 at 8:49 amI’m still on my journey to being completely dairy free, I occasionally eat cheese. However I have been experimenting with several different vegan cheese recipes and my cravings for cheese is less and less each day. When I create a recipe I think of how I can do it using whole plants seed or nuts, healthier for all.
Aliyanna says
September 13, 2016 at 2:29 pmI make something very similar to this….but have one ingredient that makes it so much more
creamy……Macadamia nuts!!! I had read about it but wasn’t really sure, til I tried it….it really does make it creamier!
Celeste says
September 14, 2016 at 2:37 pmThat sounds delicious, I’ll have to give it a try next time I make this.
Deana says
October 19, 2017 at 7:49 amDo the macadamia nuts need to be raw?
Celeste says
October 25, 2017 at 9:36 pmDeana the nuts don’t have to be raw, however, roasted nuts may change the flavor. Have fun and enjoy!
michele schroder says
May 5, 2015 at 1:18 pmDefinitely trying this one. You wouldn’t happen to have a good mayo recipe without tofu.
Celeste says
May 5, 2015 at 8:29 pmThanks, I hope you like it, I love this stuff. I don’t have a mayo recipe just yet, but I’m playing around with a recipe and it does not include tofu. I think it will be up on my blog in a few weeks.
Cath says
May 5, 2015 at 9:12 pmI’m a beginner, so all of this is amazing, wonderful a more than a little overwhelming! Firstly, thank you! Then secondly, how long will this last in the fridge?
Celeste says
May 5, 2015 at 9:26 pmI will last about 7 to 10 days. Mine didn’t last that long I sweeten it a bit and use it on fresh fruit.
Thanks for stopping by.
Tara B says
March 24, 2016 at 9:45 pmMy mom (her name was Celeste too!!!!) used to make a very simple, yet fabulous fruit dip mixing sour cream with brown sugar or just dipping strawberries into sour cream and then into brown sugar. It was delicious! I finally made the jump to vegan and I am having a lot of fun trying to “veganize” old favorites. I’m so thankful I took the plunge and got a Vitamix off of craigslist, it’s been a great help! Thanks for sharing, I can’t wait to try it out!
Celeste says
March 25, 2016 at 12:17 pmIt took me a while, but I finally purchased a Vitamix, and it has made all the difference in how easy recipes come together.
Enjoy!!!
Sarah says
August 23, 2015 at 10:09 amJust wanted to say a big thank you!! Great stuff………….. x
★★★★★
Celeste says
August 23, 2015 at 10:45 amSarah you are so welcome, I’m glad you like it. Because that’s what it’s all about, sharing what I hope can be helpful and useful to others.
ashley says
November 20, 2015 at 4:49 pmHi,
Can this be used as a sour cream substitute in baking? I have an old thanksgiving cornbread recipe I miss! So excited to try it otherwise too!
Celeste says
November 21, 2015 at 7:08 amSour cream is used in baking to add moisture, adding this will add moisture however, it may also change the density. I would give it a test bake before baking for guest. I’ll be giving it a try.
John says
December 19, 2015 at 6:02 amLove mushroom stroganoff and need sour cream I can add to the gravy which is then thoroughly heated. Well this heat well?
Celeste says
December 19, 2015 at 3:10 pmI have never used it in a hot dish, however, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I would test it in a small portion first to see how the acids in the sour cream reacts when heated.
Kathryn Grace says
February 13, 2016 at 2:23 pmThis looks wonderful. I am putting it on my list of vegan condiments to try. I’ve tested enough now to be pretty certain we will love this one. I expect it to become a staple. Thank you.
★★★★★
Celeste says
February 13, 2016 at 11:17 pmThanks Kathryn, Please let me know how it works for you.
Bobby says
April 7, 2016 at 8:41 amIt ended up tasting too vinegary for me. This was my first vegan sour cream, so I don’t know if I’ll try it again, but if I do, I’ll either leave the vinegar out, or use less.
Still edible though, it’s just that no one would mistake it for the real thing.
thanks!
★★★
Celeste says
April 7, 2016 at 1:41 pmHi Bobby, thanks for giving it a try, if you do decide to make again you may want to reduce the finger or lemon juice.
Heidi says
May 2, 2016 at 8:32 amTastes pretty good, but mine was not as white as yours. How did yours get to be do white with the nutritional yeast in it?
Celeste says
May 2, 2016 at 11:30 pmI’m glad to hear you like it. Mine was an off white color, I think that the computer makes it look whiter than it really is.
Corinna says
September 18, 2016 at 5:32 amHi all,
Unfortunately it didn’t turn out as expected. First of all it is way to sour and I followed exactly the recipe, then it isn’t white like on the picture , more mustard , I think caused of the nutritional yeast. Sorry to say, we didn’t like it at all and I used my thermomix, which makes usually fantastic cream out of cashew nuts…any thoughts whats the mistake ?
★★
Celeste says
September 18, 2016 at 4:19 pmCorinna, I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. You can try using less vinegar and use macadamia nuts instead,they blend a bit smoother. I will myself do some testing and update any changes. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me.
Brie says
November 29, 2016 at 1:01 pmI just made this and could only taste very sour and very salty. What am I doing wrong?
Celeste says
December 1, 2016 at 9:26 pmHi Brie, sorry it didn’t work for you. You be putting too much acid and salt in your recipe. Try adding the acid in small amounts and taste testing until you get the desired amount for your taste. We all have different taste, for example my daughter can eat the same dessert and she thinks it’s too sweet, but for me it’s fine. Different tastebuds.
Piya says
February 8, 2017 at 9:11 pmI just tried this recipe for the first time and I am so impressed! I ended up adding a pinch of food-grade lactic acid and a splash of rice wine vinegar (what can I say? I like my sour cream REALLY SOUR!). Although my initial taste test wasn’t exactly what I would have expected from dairy sour cream, when I added a dollop to a bowl of black bean soup I was pleasantly surprised! Both taste & texture were SPOT ON! Thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
Celeste says
February 9, 2017 at 10:38 pmI’m so glad to hear that you gave this recipe a try and it worked well for you. You are making my mouth water just thinking about your Black Bean soup with a dollop of this Vegan Sour Cream. Thanks Piya for sharing your experience.
Jb dja says
March 2, 2017 at 7:11 pmCan’t believe i can make a vegan sour cream! This is my first time and it turned out really really good! Thanks for this recipe! 😉
★★★★★
Celeste says
March 9, 2017 at 9:56 amI’m so glad you like it. Thanks for leaving your comment to let me know how it worked for you.
Elizabeth Robinette says
June 7, 2017 at 10:42 amI just made this yesterday for me and my family to enjoy with some Vegan enchiladas, and it did not disappoint! VERY tasty!
★★★★★
Celeste says
June 8, 2017 at 11:42 amI’m so glad it was a hit with you and your family. Thanks for leaving the comment.
رژیم غذایی says
November 19, 2017 at 4:55 amThanks, I hope you like it, I love this stuff.
Janie says
March 31, 2018 at 2:28 amWow- this really is magnificent! But why is mine not bright white like your pictures?
Celeste says
April 2, 2018 at 8:32 pmMine was an off-white color, I think the lighting in my photo is changing the color.
Corrina says
April 12, 2018 at 8:03 pmI really wanted to like this but it just didn’t turn out. It smelled like pure apple cider vinegar and was too runny. Not sure what I did wrong lol!
Celeste says
May 2, 2018 at 10:49 amCorrina, I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you. You might try adding your liquid in smaller amounts to get the consistency that fits your taste.
bianca says
May 2, 2018 at 11:38 amYou definitely need to blend it for awhile. I use a Vitamix and blend it for at least 3 minutes.
bianca milke says
April 14, 2018 at 11:37 amI’ve been making your recipe on a weekly basis for a long time now! It’s our favorite, thank you so much!!!
Celeste says
May 2, 2018 at 10:47 amBianca thank you for leaving your comment. It’s so nice to know that you are enjoying the recipes you find here on my site. I look forward to sharing more with you.
Celeste says
April 25, 2015 at 7:19 amHi Christina, Thanks so much for the feature.
Meagan says
January 21, 2018 at 6:12 pmHave you tried it with all almonds? It’s the only nut our son can eat.
Celeste says
January 23, 2018 at 8:14 pmMeagan, I totally understand having to deal with food allergies, my daughter is allergic to peanuts. You can easily sub almonds in this recipe.