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Home » Recipes » Sauces & Dips

4-Ingredient Dairy-Free Sour Cream, Quick & Easy

March 9, 2024 by Kathryn Alexandre 7 Comments

Jump to Recipe·5 from 3 reviews
Top down view of 4 Ingredient sour cream in a small glass dish. The cream is thick with a swirl through it. Cashews are scattered on a white tray around the dish.

This 4-ingredient dairy-free sour cream is so quick and easy you can blend it up anytime you need! It's:

Thick & Creamy
With That Perfect Sourness
Takes Less Than 20 Minutes
And Is Made With Ingredients You Likely Have On Hand
!

The Magic Ingredient

Cashews!

Top down view of cashews scattered across a white tray with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and course salt displayed.

Soaked cashews
Lemon Juice
Apple Cider Vinegar
And Coarse Salt

That's all you need for this tasty "sour cream"! The magic from the cashews happens when you soak them...

Soaked cashews blend down wonderfully thick and creamy. They are a magic ingredient that can make your pasta sauces, cheese sauces, and creamy desserts thick and dreamy!

There's a long soak method and a quick soak method. I've tested them both and I never find enough of a difference in the texture of the blended cashews to bother remembering to soak cashews overnight. Instead... the quick soak method requires:

  1. Boiling water in your kettle.
  2. Measuring your cashews in a heat proof dish.
  3. Covering the cashews with the boiled water.
  4. And letting them soak for 15 minutes.
  5. Drain and blend!
Top down view of cashews soaking in boiling water in a glass measuring cup with raw cashews scattered around

Check out our Smoky Beet Pasta and Zingy Caesar Dressing for more sauces made beautifully creamy thanks to soaked cashews!

Recipe Cost For Cashew Sour Cream

This homemade dairy-free sour cream costs us CAD $2.69 for 368ml!

  • A 250ml store-bought tub of sour cream costs us the same, CAD $2.69.
  • And buying a 500ml store-bought container ranges from CAD $2.99 - $4.99.

At $0.73/100ml our tasty homemade version competes really well with the $0.60 - $1.00/100 ml price tag of store-bought sour cream.

Top down view of plain sour cream and dill infused sour cream. The dill sour cream has a fresh sprig of dill on top and cashews are scattered between the two bowls.

And an added perk to making your own... is that you can flavour it however you'd like! We add fresh dill when we make this sour cream to go with our Simple Baked Potato.

So next time you're craving sour cream on your tacos, to go with a soup like our hearty Borscht, or to smother your baked potatoes... open your pantry, grab the cashews, soak em', blend em', and eat em' up!

Let us know if you keep it plain or add in some extra flavour in the comments below!

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Top down view of dairy-free sour cream in a small glass dish with cashews surrounding.

4-Ingredient Dairy-Free Sour Cream, Quick & Easy


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Kathryn Alexandre
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 1 ½ cup, 368 ml 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

4 ingredient Dairy-Free Sour Cream is so quick & easy. Blend up this vegan topping for baked potatoes, tacos, soups etc anytime you need!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked
  • ½ cup + 3 tablespoon water (see note, if doubling the recipe)
  • 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ tsp sea salt

*All the ingredients for this recipe are from our pantry and freezer tips!


Instructions

  1. To quick-soak your cashews: boil water in your kettle, place your cashews in a heat proof measuring cup or bowl, pour the boiling water over the cashews, and allow to soak for 15-20 minutes. Alternatively, soak your cashews in cold water overnight or for 8 hours. 
  2. Drain your cashews and add them to your blender.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. 
  4. Taste and adjust the seasonings as you desire. More lemon juice or vinegar for the sour taste or salt to bring out the flavours more. 
  5. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. You can enjoy the sour cream right away but it is best if you allow it to sit for at least 2 hours in the fridge. It will thicken as it sits and lasts well for up to 1 week. 

Notes

*Cost Comparison: CAD $2.69 ($0.73/100ml) for roughly 368ml vs. $2.69 for 250ml store-bought sour cream. Buying a 500ml store-bought tub of sour cream ranges from CAD $2.99 - $4.99 ($0.60 - $1.00/100ml).

*If doubling this recipe, start by not doubling the water. Add more as needed if it’s too thick to blend. Adding water slowly will prevent your sour cream from being too runny.

*If you don’t have apple cider vinegar you can try substituting with another sweeter vinegar like rice or white wine vinegar.

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Sauces & Dips
  • Method: Blender
  • Cuisine: American

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Maria

    September 19, 2021 at 7:01 pm

    This sour cream tastes great & couldn’t be easier to make!

    Reply
    • Kathryn Alexandre

      September 19, 2021 at 8:06 pm

      Yay for easy homemade sour cream! Thanks for giving this one a try!

      Reply
  2. Marge Teilhaber

    March 10, 2024 at 10:45 pm

    GOING TO make this and your borscht. The sour cream and other cashew sauces, I'll guess they freeze fine and thaw quickly enough in fridge. Have you ever tried that? Will definitely buy your book!

    Reply
    • Kathryn Alexandre

      March 11, 2024 at 9:43 am

      Oh thank you so much Marge! I actually don't think I've tried freezing this sour cream but I expect it would work out well. I typically just keep it in my fridge for a few days and use it up but I don't think you would have any trouble defrosting it. Let me know if you try that and how you find it to be! Thank you again!💕

      Reply
  3. Shannon

    March 21, 2024 at 2:38 pm

    Super tasty! A great alternative.

    Reply
    • Kathryn Alexandre

      March 21, 2024 at 5:53 pm

      Awesome! So glad you like it Shannon. Thank you so much for letting me know it's a great alternative for you!

      Reply

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I'm Kathryn! An actress, the recipe creator here, and the face of TTT. My husband Bryan is behind-the-scenes of our photos and videos. We hope you enjoy our easy recipes that make vegan cooking at home… Tasty, Thrifty, and Timely!

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