Author: This easy vegan sour cream is thick, creamy, tangy, and perfect for topping tacos, chili, baked potatoes, and more. Made with just 5 simple ingredients and ready in minutes, it's an easy dairy-free sour cream that's delicious for dolloping, dipping, or using in your favorite recipes.
This vegan sour cream recipe proves that homemade is better: thick, ridiculously creamy, perfectly tangy, and made with just 5 simple ingredients! Whenever I serve it with my famous vegan chili, everyone goes back for another dollop (and another). The secret is raw cashews blended until completely silky smooth, plus both lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. Together, they give it that fresh, slightly funky tang you expect from sour cream. So good!
Why This Vegan Sour Cream Is Better Than Store-Bought
- Only 5 ingredients: Raw cashews, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt. That's it!
- Super thick and creamy: Blended cashews make this sour cream ridiculously rich and creamy, without any added oil.
- Use it just like sour cream: Dollop it onto tacos and baked potatoes, stir it into dips and dressings, or use it 1:1 in recipes that call for regular sour cream.
- Ready in 5 minutes with a high-powered blender: No soaking or cooking required! Don't have one? I've included my quick boiled-cashew method so you can still get that silky-smooth texture.
Ingredients for Vegan Sour Cream
- Raw cashews: Make sure they're raw, not roasted, for the most neutral flavor and creamiest texture.
- Water: ½ cup gives the cashews enough liquid to blend while still keeping the sour cream nice and thick.
- Apple cider vinegar: Adds that fermented, slightly funky tang.
- Fresh lemon juice: Gives the sour cream a fresh, bright acidity. I tested this with lemon juice alone, ACV alone, and both lemon and vinegar; the version with both was the hands-down winner!
- Salt: A little salt brings it all together.
How to Make Vegan Sour Cream
- Soften the Cashews (If Needed): For a standard blender, put the cashews in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well. You can also soak the raw cashews in cool water overnight in the refrigerator.
- Add Everything to the Blender: Combine the cashews, fresh water, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and salt.
- Blend: Blend until the sour cream is completely smooth and silky, stopping to scrape down the blender as needed. Depending on your blender, this may take several minutes. Don't worry if the mixture gets a little warm from blending, that's totally normal.
- Chill: Transfer the vegan sour cream to an airtight container and refrigerate until cold. It will thicken a little more as it chills.
My Tips for Perfect Vegan Sour Cream
- Don't rush the blending: The most important tip! Even if the vegan sour cream looks fully blended, it probably has some little bits of cashew in there, so blend even longer than you think you need to. I usually let mine run on high for 2 minutes.
- Strain it if needed: Still have tiny cashew bits? Push the sour cream through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth for a perfectly smooth finish.
- Have a big blender? Make a double batch: Some large blender jars struggle with smaller quantities. If yours isn't catching the cashews properly, doubling the recipe can actually make it easier to get everything silky smooth. Freeze the extras for later!
- Try my tofu version: Need vegan sour cream without cashews? Blend 12 ounces of silken tofu with 2 tablespoons neutral oil, 1 to 2 teaspoons agave, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon salt until completely smooth.
Ways to Use Vegan Sour Cream
Here are some of my favorite ways to use this recipe:
- Dolloped onto vegan chili
- As a topping for vegan nachos, easy TVP tacos, burrito bowls, enchiladas, and quesadillas
- Piled onto baked potatoes
- Dolloped onto soups, especially my creamy vegan potato soup
- Used as a creamy base for dips and dressings
- Used 1:1 in recipes that call for sour cream
Storage and Freezing
- Refrigerator: Store vegan sour cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then stir well before serving.
If you try this easy vegan sour cream recipe, let me know by leaving a comment and rating it. I'd love to see what you made. Share your creation in the It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken Community (this is where we're all hanging out now!) or tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Easy Vegan Sour Cream
This easy vegan sour cream is thick, creamy, tangy, and perfect for topping tacos, chili, baked potatoes, and more. Made with just 5 simple ingredients and ready in minutes, it's an easy dairy-free sour cream that's delicious for dolloping, dipping, or using in your favorite recipes.
Servings: (makes about 1 ½ cups)
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Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, softened if needed (see step 1)
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Soften the cashews (optional): If using a high-powered blender, you can skip this step. Otherwise, add the cashews to a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, until very tender. Drain and rinse well. (Softening the cashews helps them blend smoothly into a creamy sour cream texture.)
- Blend the ingredients: Add the cashews, water, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and salt to a blender. Blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.Be patient, a few quick pulses won't do the trick, and you may need to blend for several minutes. You want the sour cream to be silky smooth with no cashew bits remaining. The mixture may even become warm from the friction, which is perfectly normal and a sign that the cashews are breaking down properly.
- Chill: Transfer the sour cream to an airtight container and refrigerate until chilled. It will thicken slightly as it cools.
Notes
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freezing: Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and stir well before serving.
Tofu sour cream variation: For a nut-free option, blend together:
- 12 oz (340 g) silken tofu, drained
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1-2 teaspoons agave syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Nutrition
Serving: 2 tablespoons | Calories: 60kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 0.1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
Suzanne says
This recipe is in your Fuss-Free Vegan cookbook and I've been making it for 6 years. I love it! I often use bottled lemon juice if I'm in a hurry, rather than squeezing a lemon. My daughter doesn't like the taste of ACV so she's always asking me if I could make it using regular vinegar. Would regular white vinegar be too strong for the flavour?
Leo Andrews says
I'd use a good white wine vinegar - more taste less acerbic.
Lisa says
Can this vegan sour cream be used for baking?
Jessica says
What's a good substitute for the cashews? I have an allergy.