Creamy, tangy and perfect vegan sour cream! An ideal replacement for ‘regular’ sour cream, perfect to use in recipes or wherever a sour cream is needed.
This vegan sour cream is everything you want a sour cream to be, creamy, tangy and rich!
It’s the best accompaniment to a baked potato out there.
In fact, I may or may not have made roughly 10 baked potatoes on the same day I made this batch of vegan sour cream (oh I did!).
It’s amazing as a topping for Mexican dishes like vegan nachos or vegan tacos, as a dip or spread, on top of soups, on a big bowl of vegan chili, as a salad dressing, stirred into your vegan mushroom stroganoff and of course, as mentioned, on top of your baked potatoes (with chives, always with chives!).
So if you have been wanting a dairy free alternative to regular sour cream then you are going to super pleased because this stuff is the bees knees (whatever the bees knees means, but definitely something good).
What You Need To Make This Recipe:
Ingredient Notes
- Raw cashews – these provide the creamy base for your sour cream. If you don’t eat cashews then slivered almonds or blanched almonds could work as a substitute.
- Apple cider vinegar – this provides the tang. You could also use distilled white vinegar.
- Nutritional yeast – gives a slightly cheesy tang, making it more closely match a tangy sour cream, however, you can omit this if you prefer.
How To Make Vegan Sour Cream
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Step 1: Add raw cashews, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast and sea salt to the blender jug.
- Step 2: Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Step 3: Use wherever a sour cream is needed!
Chef’s Tips
The cashews: You don’t need to soak your cashews first unless your blender is a weak model. If you know your blender is likely to have a hard time with this, then soaking them for 15 minutes in hot water is sufficient to soften the cashews enough to make them really easy to blend. Just add the cashews to a bowl, pour over boiling hot water from the kettle and leave them to soak for 15 minutes. Then drain and rinse the cashews and they’re ready to use.
The consistency: The consistency of this vegan sour cream is fairly thick as you can see. It also tends to thicken up more in the fridge. If you’d like a thinner consistency just whisk in a little more water.
The quantity: This recipe makes around 1 cup of sour cream. You can easily double the recipe if you need to. If you are using a blender with a wide base then you may need to double the recipe so that there is enough volume for the blades to gain traction.
Recipe FAQ
It lasts about a week in the fridge in a sealed container.
Yes it is freezer friendly! So if you think you’ll take longer than a week to eat it all, then definitely freeze some of it. Just place it into a freezer safe container and freeze.
More Delicious Cashew Recipes
- Cashew Cheese Sauce
- Cashew Cream
- Sliceable Cashew Cheese
- Cashew Dressing
- Vegan Heavy Cream Substitute
- Cashew Ice Cream
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Sour Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
- ⅓ cup Water (80ml)
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice Freshly Squeezed
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- ½ tsp Sea Salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the blender and blend until very smooth.
- Enjoy wherever sour cream is needed.
Video
Notes
- Cashews: You don’t have to soak the cashews first in this recipe if you have a strong blender. But if you know your blender is likely to have a hard time, then you can soak them in hot water for 15 minutes just to soften them slightly so they’re easier to blend. Place them in a bowl, pour over boiling hot water from the kettle and leave them to soak for 15 minutes. Then drain, rinse and continue with the recipe.
- Substitute for cashews: If you need a substitute for cashews then you could try slivered or blanched almonds. If you’re using slivered or blanched almonds then definitely soak them first and in this case, soaking overnight would be the best option so you can get the texture as smooth as possible.
- Consistency: The consistency of this sour cream is fairly thick. It also tends to thicken up more in the fridge. If you’d like a thinner consistency then blend in more water. If it’s thickened up in the fridge then add a dash of water and whisk it in. Be careful not to add too much and make it runny.
- Quantity: This recipe makes around 1 cup of sour cream. You can easily double the recipe if you need to. If you are using a blender with a wide base then it would be best to double the recipe so that there is enough volume for the blades to gain traction.
- Storing and Freezing: It lasts about a week in the fridge in a sealed container. It is also freezer friendly so if you think you’ll take longer than a week to eat it all, then definitely freeze some of it. Just place it into a freezer safe container and freeze.
- This recipe was first published in May 2018. It has been updated with extra tips but the recipe itself is unchanged.
I love this! It’s so good. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Thanks Ellie! 🙂
I too think it isnt tangy at all BUT we love it. Had it with burritos, just then I mixed some gherkin relish with it for my sandwich and the rest will have with some pasta. Easy to make, easier to eat! 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks Ange! 🙂
I made this today and it turned out great. had it on a sweet potato with some ghee salt and fresh cracked pepper! AMAZZZZZING!!!!!!!!
Awesome Rita! Thanks for the great review. 🙂
I didn’t have raw cashews. I had cashew butter, which listed cashews and canola oil on the ingredients. So instead of a cup of cashews, I used a half cup of cashew butter and a quarter cup of water. Otherwise, the recipe was untouched and the result is extremely good.
Awesome! So glad it worked out, thanks for sharing! 🙂
I did not soak the cashews, this recipe is tastey and so easy to make. I would make it again.
It is definitely a 5 star! I used it in a potato casserole dish. Soaked the cashews for 15 minutes. It turned out very creamy. Absolutely delicious!
Wonderful! Thanks for the great review. 🙂
Used it for baked sweet potatoes together with guacamole and it was awesome. Our dairy eating dinner guests were asking for the recipe 🙂
Fantastic! Thanks so much Sylvia. 🙂
My daughter is allergic to cashews, could I use almonds instead?
Hi Jennifer, I think if you use slivered almonds it will be great. It would have a more grainy texture but not in a bad way. 🙂
For years I’ve been successfully using sunflower seeds for all of my vegan “cheese” recipes that call for the much more expensive cashews. I’ve also used rolled and/or cut oats for the same thing, just with a teaspoon or so more oil. I use olive oil for everything.
I made a double batch of this and when I was finished I tasted it and thought was kinda blah. I was going to add some more lemon juice but when I opened my refrigerator door I saw some leftover Chardonnay. I added 1/4 cup, and then another and the result was awesome! It added a subtle combination of sweetness and tart which I can’t really describe. I recommend it!
Interesting!
I did this version with the Chardonnay and loved it. Thanks for the tip. Great recipe.
I also thought it was bland, not that “sour” taste I was looking for in sour cream, so I doubled the amount of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar and got the taste I was hoping for.
This was really great. It does not taste like sour cream however. I used it on angel hair pasta tossed with panfried red green and yellow peppers garlic and onion with a little olive oil. used some of the pasta water to thin it out a bit. and salt and pepper and IT WAS Delicious!!
thank you
Thanks for sharing Dawn and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Sounds delicious the way you served it! 🙂
Could this work with white beans instead of cashews?
Hmmm, I think it would be very different, but I guess it might work.
Lovely, my husband went mental for this on a baked potato with chives, thank you
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Lou! 🙂
This looks like a good recipe.
I’m unable to use vinegar of any sort.
Is there anything I can substitute to get a reasonable facsimile of your original recipe?
Hi Collene, I would use an extra tablespoon of lemon juice instead, and it will be equally delicious. 🙂
This is a nice vegan dip alternative for me. I imagine I will try to change it into other flavors for expanded usage! I certainly learned that I need a stronger blender or food processor. ????
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the excellent rating! 🙂
Would this freeze well?
Hi Tara! Yes, this freezes very well! 🙂