Vegan Sour Cream
This homemade vegan sour cream is thick, creamy, and tangy—and you only need 5 ingredients to make it! Use this easy recipe all the ways you’d use traditional sour cream.
Cashews are one of the vegan cooking staples I just can’t go without. In my How to Make Cashew Cream post, I mentioned vegan sour cream as one of the many ways to use cashew cream, and after sharing my cashew whipped cream, I couldn’t wait to share this plant-based sour cream recipe with you.
This vegan sour cream tastes exactly like regular sour cream. It’s just as creamy and tangy, with the same rich and thick texture. As you know, cashew cream doesn’t even taste like cashews, and neither does this sour cream. That means you can easily swap it into all of your favourite dishes. This is a FRIDGE STAPLE, friends.
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Sour Cream Recipe
- So easy. Vegan sour cream couldn’t be easier to make. Just soak the cashews and blend everything together. Truly, it’s that simple!
- Budget-friendly. Store-bought vegan substitutes can be expensive. Making your own sour cream at home is a great way to save some money while still enjoying all the deliciousness.
- No special ingredients required. This recipe only uses 5 simple ingredients, all of which you can easily find in any grocery store.
- Versatile. Use this vegan sour cream in all the ways you would use traditional sour cream—as a topping for tacos, burritos, chili or soup, in dips and dressings, and more.
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Raw cashews – Use raw cashew pieces, rather than whole cashews. They’re less expensive!
- Water
- Apple cider vinegar – For that signature tangy flavor.
- Fine sea salt
- Lime juice – This also adds tanginess.
How Do You Soak Cashews?
Before blending cashews, they should be soaked in water for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight. This softens the nuts and makes them easier to blend into a smooth and creamy consistency.
How to Make Vegan Sour Cream
- Combine. Add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender.
- Blend. Turn on the blender and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stop to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Season. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired; you can add more vinegar or lime juice for a tangier flavor.
Tips for Success
- Don’t forget to soak the cashews. Soaking the cashews overnight is key for a smooth and creamy no-trace-of-cashews vegan sour cream. If you’re in an absolute pinch, you can boil them for about 5 minutes. Always remember to rinse afterwards.
- Check to make sure it’s completely smooth. Before removing the sour cream mixture from the blender, use a spoon to scoop some out, then let it slowly drip back into the blender jar. Watch for grit and lumps as the sour cream falls off the spoon. If it’s not completely smooth, turn on the blender and puree again.
- Add some flavour. I love adding chili powder or smoked paprika to this sour cream if I’m serving it with jackfruit tacos. Minced chives are fantastic stirred into vegan sour cream for air fryer baked sweet potatoes.
- Double the batch. This vegan sour cream keeps well in the fridge for up to a week, so feel free to make a double batch and use it throughout the week.
How to Use Vegan Sour Cream
- You can dollop it on top of chili; I love it on my vegan pumpkin chili.
- You can make a loaded baked potato and top it with lots of vegan sour cream. It’s also great on loaded potato skins!
- Use it in a dip or sauces.
- Stir it into a soup for tang and creaminess, like this butternut squash soup.
- Overall, you can use it anywhere that calls for regular sour cream!
How to Store
You can store this vegan sour cream in an airtight storage container in the fridge for up to a week.
More Vegan Staples
- Vegan Butter
- Best Vegan Dairy Substitutes
- Vegan Egg Substitutes
- The Best Vegan Cream Cheese
- Vegan Heavy Cream Substitute
Enjoy friends! If you make this vegan sour cream, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Vegan Sour Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, cashews soaked in water overnight or boiled for 5 minutes (discard water it's soaking in)
- 7 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp lime juice
Instructions
- Blend all the ingredients for the vegan sour cream in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy. Depending on your blender, this could take anywhere from 30 seconds to about 2 minutes, scraping blender once halfway in between.
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Could you please clarify in your recipe instructions if the water that the cashews are soaked in are also included in the recipe or do you drain the soaking water from the soaked cashews before putting it in the blender. Thank you
Hi Denise thanks so much for reading, we’ll clarify that the cashews must be drained first.
I’m so excited to try this and it looks so easy . Thanks jessica
You’re so welcome Mary lou!
I’ve tried a lot of sour cream recipes and not only is this easy as all get out but the taste is mind blowing good. Love the lime. I have made this with lemon, but prefer the lime. Served it with enchiladas. This is NOW my go to sour cream recipe. Thank you Jessica!
SO so happy to hear this Deb!! Thanks so much for sharing!!
I can think of two (more) uses for this sour cream. I grew up Jewish. One of our (many) comfort foods is sour cream, mixed with sliced bananas and sugar. Divine.
For an interesting, super easy dip, combine a mashed ripe avocado, salsa, and sour cream. Great in black bean soup, on any Mexican dishes, or, dare I say it, on a spoon!