Super fast and easy vegan sour cream recipe made with 4 total ingredients and done in less than 5 minutes. This recipe utilizes unsweetened vegan yogurt as a simple base.
Equipment | No Equipment Needed |
Difficulty | Very Easy |
Elevate your dishes with this easy vegan sour cream recipe that's both dairy-free and lactose-free.
Whether you're vegan, lactose intolerant, or simply out of sour cream, it is great to have an easy non-dairy sour cream alternative in your basic recipe collection. This recipe is so fast and easy that I never bother buying it from the store, and believe me, as fans of Mexican food we use a lot of sour cream. Nachos are one of the easiest dinner recipes out there, and you need sour cream for ultimate ~~goopeyness~~.
No cashews? No time? Yeah, me neither. You can still make vegan sour cream without cashews!
Nearly every alternative recipe calls for cashews to be soaked and blended, but sometimes there is no time (or cashews) for that! This yogurt based vegan sour cream does tend to be a little more runny than its cashew counterpart, so try to find the thickest yogurt possible. But! The upside is that it can be made in only 5 minutes, perfect if you're as unprepared as me and need something last minute!
It is hard to get much easier than that, ha.
Substitutions.
Can I substitute white pepper with black pepper? Do not substitute the white pepper! White pepper has a specific flavor that is being used in this recipe to add a tiny amount of gaminess, similar to regular dairy sour cream. If you don't have any, don't worry and just leave it out. The sour cream will be missing a little depth of flavor, but is otherwise still tasty for all intents and purposes.
What kind of yogurt is a good choice? I generally use soy yogurt for this recipe because that is what I usually have on-hand, but ultimately as long as it is plain, unsweetened, and a substitute you love then it should work fine! Please do not use sweetened yogurt, oh my! It is better to use a thicker vegan yogurt, if possible. In America, Daiya, So Delicious, and Chobani tend to be thicker yogurts. Here in the Netherlands, there is vegan "kwark" style yogurt that is thicker. If you can manage to buy vegan Greek style, Skyr or Icelandic style yogurts, those are better for this recipe.
Substitute for lemon juice: If you don't have any lemons, you can use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar in a pinch. It is not as tasty as lemon juice, but it will still give you the sour part of the sour cream. I don't recommend using rice wine vinegar in this recipe because it adds a little sweetness that doesn't make sense for the flavor profile.
Can I omit the salt? I have, on busy occasions, accidentally forgotten to add the salt. It definitely tastes like something is missing and is a little bland, but it you are concerned about your salt consumption you can choose to leave it out. It works better saltless if it is paired with a salty main dish, so you can also use it as a way to mitigate your salt intake. Ultimately, the salt is not necessarily necessary.
Pro tip!
This is a good recipe to make last minute for attractive plating. If you want to improve the appearance of your dish, and it's something that makes sense with sour cream, try drizzling this sour cream over the top in zig zags. Or put a few dollops (3 or 5) in a row on the plate. One thing that I find that looks very professional is to keep a few squeeze bottles with narrow tips on hand. When needed you can fill the bottles with the vegan sour cream and squeeze out a very thin zig zag. For the best results, move quickly and be sure the zig zag extends larger than the main part of the dish.
Let's Begin:
Gather all the ingredients together. You can either mix the salt and lemon juice separately to help the salt dissolved faster, or if you're lazy and don't care about a possible salt grain here and there you can gather them all together in one bowl. That way you can save yourself the effort from extra dishes! Another way to avoid possible graininess (honestly the salt dissolves pretty quickly on its own) is to use fine salt instead of table salt.
After measuring all your ingredients together, give them a mix until smooth and your vegan sour cream is ready! Enjoy right away, or store it in the fridge for later.
Hard to believe it is so fast to make vegan sour cream without cashews, but I have to admit that I haven't made the cashew version in years because I am often lazy. This version is just too easy and tastes so close to real sour cream that it simply isn't worth my time to bother with soaking and blending. If you prefer a cashew version then you have my deepest respect for your commitment! Way to go! You deserve to be winning life.
Recipes that use sour cream:
Sour cream is one of those ubiquitous dishes that is used in many different cultures and genres of food. Personally, as a fan of Tex-Mex food, I think my primary uses for it tends to be for tacos and nachos. I have also enjoyed it as a topping for nearly any potato dish from loaded baked potatoes to potato cakes. If you need some suggestions for recipes where you can use it, I highly recommend you try some of these;
Nachos or Nacho Bowls
Seven-layer dip
Loaded Baked Potatoes
Twice Baked Potatoes
Topping for Potato Cakes
Topping for Zucchini-Potato Fritters
Pierogis
A dip for Taquitos
As a plating drizzle
Etc.
Does anyone else remember when Sam's Club used to sell that bulk pack of taquitos (maybe they still do? And I just haven't eaten them in years)? As a child I loved dipping those dudes in sour cream and guacamole. And, according to Taco Bell, sour cream is absolutely necessary to make tacos supreme.
As a random side note, Taco Bell is one of the few American things I miss here. 2am Taco Bell just hit different and I miss it! I'm told there is a Taco Bell in Rotterdam and I've been meaning to try it and see if it's any different. Laughably, the train ticket to Rotterdam will probably cost more than the Taco Bell itself!
Storage.
This recipe will last in the fridge in an air-tight container for 4-5 days, and possibly up to a week. Don't be silly and use a licked spoon in the sour cream, that will make it go bad in a hurry! I feel like this should be common sense, but I have also seen my husband do this exact thing on several occasions, so there's that.
Can I freeze it? I do not recommend freezing this recipe. Also, it is so fast to make that there isn't much use in preparing it and freezing it.
How to use leftovers.
If you have a small amount leftover that you don't want to waste there are several ways to use it. You can mix it into soups or stews that need a little more oomph, you can use the leftover sour cream mixed with non-dairy milk to make biscuits or pancakes (although I don't recommend this so much if you used apple cider vinegar, but you do you), or you can always just mix it with a little Ranch Seasoning to make a sour cream and ranch dip for veggies!
I have heard of people using sour cream in desserts, such as cakes before, which is a new frontier I'm eager to explore. If you have experience using sour cream in desserts please share your sage wisdom in the comments. Spreading cake knowledge is akin to spreading happiness in my opinion!
I want to hear your ideas!
Do you have a favorite use for vegan sour cream that you'd like to share? I would love to hear about it! Especially if it is an international food that isn't very well known! I'm always looking for new flavors to try, and this is one of those recipes that transcends borders. I wonder what other cultures and genres of food use it? Leave your ideas and suggestions in the comments below so we can all discover new things to eat!
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