Cashew Sour Cream
Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, no bake/raw, oil-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free
Yield
2 cups (500 mL)
Soak time
1-8 hours
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Rich and tangy, this vegan sour cream is the perfect complement to My Favourite Vegan Chili or any Mexican entrée. Be sure to soak the cashews (either overnight or using my quick-soak method) before you begin.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (225 g) raw cashews, soaked
- 3/4 cup (180 mL) water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- Scant 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions
- Place cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight or for 8 hours if you have the time. For a quick-soak method, pour boiling water over the cashews and soak for 1 hour. Rinse and drain.
- Place the drained cashews in a high-speed blender.
- Add the water, lemon, vinegar, and salt. Blend on high until super smooth. You might have to stop to scrape down the blender now and then or add a touch more water to get it going.
- Transfer into a small, air-tight container and chill in the fridge. It makes 2 cups. The cream will thicken up as it chills. The cream will keep in the fridge for about 1 week. You can also freeze it for up to 1 month. I like to freeze it in silicone mini muffin cups. Once solid, transfer the cups into a freezer-safe zip bag for easy grab and go portions.
I bought your Oh She Glows Everyday cookbook a while back and last night decided to whip up your cabbage soup recipe with this sour cream. The soup was amazing but the sour cream was the closest to the real thing I have had! I loved it so much I came here to find other recipes I can use it in!
Thank you for what you do!
Hey Kyle, Yay, that’s so great to hear! Thank you for letting me know, and a big thanks also for supporting my cookbook. I hope you find more hidden (or non-hidden) gems!
I am obsessed with this. I’ve eaten this cashew sour cream, along with sciracha, on just about everything over the past month. Pasta, tacos, breakfast hash, burritos, soups, avotoast – you name it. I’ll be making this pretty much forever.
“I’ll be making this pretty much forever.” hahah love it!! Thanks Sharon. And yes it’s SO good on avocado toast isn’t it?
Is there a alternative/substitute for the cashews?
Hi Shella, You can try using 3/4 cup soaked raw sunflower seeds instead, but the flavour will change quite a bit. If you try anything out please let me know how it goes. :)
I love cashew sour cream – and I thought I was doing the healthy thing by using it as a substitute for real sour cream. Im not a vegan – I just want to be healthier and I’m trying to lose weight. I was very surprised and disheartened to learn that cashew “sour cream” has over TWICE the calories of real dairy sour cream. I guess there is no magic bullet when it comes to cutting calories. I will still eat it, but a lot less often than I have been knowing its something of a calorie bomb :)
But a whole lot healthier for you :)
Calories are only one measurement though. The healthy fats and benefits from the vinegar to smooth out you blood glucose are far more beneficial. Thinking differently about our nutritional intake, will help you lose weight naturally, without even trying. Good luck!
Ok, this was DELICIOUS! So glad to have found a recipe that is plant based & super yum!
Made this tonight to top my quinoa meat tacos and man! It was perfect! It would even work in lasagna with a couple extra seasonings. Yummy stuff and easy!! ??
Made this tonight and it was exceptional…well done!
Thank you Rebekah!
This is actually so good! I’m surprised with how good it actually tastes and I think I might like this more that actual sour cream! I added a bit more lemon juice to get more of that sour taste. This goes perfectly with chili!!
Made a batch of this sour cream tonight and it worked a treat as a homemade alternative! Thanks for the quick and simple recipe.
Thanks Audrey! So happy you enjoyed it.
I have had such cravings of late for sour cream. I went to your site and crossed my fingers you would not let me down. As always, you did not :) Wonderful recipe!! If I want more sour, would I add a wee bit more lemon juice and vinegar? Don’t want to waste my expensive cashews on trial and error ;) Thanx again for a truly satisfying condiment.
Yes you can definitely add a bit more lemon and vinegar…i would just add them in very small increments :) Thanks for your kind words, by the way!
I’m so looking forward to trying this recipe!
Are there any other types of vinegars that I could use as a substitute?
Thank you!!
Made a batch and just love it! Super tasty!
Thanks
Absolute WINNER!!!
I made nachos for friends and no one noticed that it was vegan. The taste is different to milk based sour cream when eaten straight but as soon as you put it on a dish it somehow transforms into this perfect sour cream taste!
I’m making it for the second time today to have with baked potato and couldn’t be more excited for dinner haha!
For those with consistency issues I use a Mod Blend Pro and it comes out as smooth as the real deal- no clumps here!
Thanks Angela!
Hey Ellie, I love topping nachos with the Cashew Sour Cream! Thanks for the blender tip too. PS: If you haven’t tried them yet, my Cheerful Vegan Nachos are also a big hit around here: https://ohsheglows.com/2018/01/30/cheerful-vegan-nachos/
Thanks, this is great!
I’ve never made any nut butters, spreads, etc. The recipe does not specify, but I’m assuming I use raw cashews?
Hi Leslie, Yes I use raw cashews for the most neutral flavour :) I think I specified this in the ingredient list.
How long does this keep in the fridge?
Hi there, It usually keeps for about a week in an airtight container in the fridge. Hope this helps!
Made this and my wife said it was the best sour cream she has ever had. Then I mentioned it was vegan. Bam!
Hey Aaron, ha I love that! I’m so glad you enjoyed the sour cream…it’s so versatile :)
Mine didn’t thicken in the fridge. Even overnight. I blended gf xantham gum into it the next day. It’s as thick as normal sour cream.
How much xantham gum did you use?
Great recipe. Probably make it once a week.
So glad it’s a hit! I love serving the sour cream on a hearty plate of nachos.
Do you know the life shelf out side of refrigerator and in the refrigerstor
Quick question, my sour cream was a lot thicker and a bit lumpy than in your photo. The consistency was not the same as sour cream. Is this normal? Any tips??
Hi Melinda, Sometimes different blenders can create varying textures…I wonder if it was from that? You could also try adding a bit more liquid to thin it to your desired consistency.
Made this today and, just, wow. So delicious, thank you! I’m new to the vegan lifestyle and was really missing sour cream. I like this even better.
I’m so glad to hear this Courtney! Thank you :)
I’ve made it and it is very good and versatile. Thank you
Just made tonight. I loved it on some baked sweet potatoes. But I’m sure I’ll put it on everything! Now to make some more recipes using it.
I reduced the batch size by using a half cup of cashews, 1/4 c of water, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 2 pinches of salt. I didn’t have time to pre soak the cashews, so I just boiled them for 20 min to soften them.
I was always hesitant to try cashew sour cream. I made this and compared it to regular sour cream. Almost completely indistinguiahable! Amazing! Now I can officially give up dairy sour cream.
The weight of the cashews in the recipe (225 g) is before or after soaking?
Thank you :)
Great recipe. I substituted the 3/4 cup water with a 1 1/4 cup So Delicious unsweetened Coconut Yogurt. It adds that kind of cool creamyness that you get in regular sour cream (if that makes sense?).
Love this recipe! It’s our go-to vegan sour cream!
I have tried a lot of sour cream substitutes over the years, and didn’t like most of them. I came across this in an online search, and I decided to try it. Wow! It has a terrific consistency and the taste is great. I used it on a taco salad, and it held up beautifully from the first bite to the last. It didn’t break down at all, even layered on the hot part of the salad. I expected it to melt, but it didn’t. I am now trying to figure out what I can’t use it on, and I haven’t come up with anything. This is so good that I will be making it for just about everything. The meat eaters in the family liked it too, which was a nice surprise, because they’re picky. I would even eat this straight out of a bowl with a spoon, because it’s that good. Thank you for a great recipe that saves me time and aggravation, not to mention money. I always have five pound bags of cashews in the freezer, and the ingredients are ones that everyone has on hand. There are no downsides to this recipe. We loved it.
This is so great. My daughter is dairy free and our favorite “fancy” chicken recipe calls for an overnight sour cream marinade mixture. This worked so perfectly and baked really well too. None of our dairy eating family could tell the difference.
mmmmm this is amazing!!!! a real game changer. Can’t wait to try a scandalous pasta sauce with it!
Hi Angela
Do you think this recipe would work if I substituted the cashews for sunflower seeds?
I really do not understand this recipe. I made it according to the directions and it just tastes like creamy apple cider vinegar and lemons. It almost tastes like a half-finished lemon desert. Is it supposed to taste that way? It doesn’t taste like anything close to sour cream to me, and it really did not go well with my beans and rice. Is it seriously supposed to taste like that?
Try adding some more water and salt. It doesn’t taste as good when you taste it by itself. I had the same experience – I got a lot of vinegar too. But when I added it to tacos, it tasted more like sour cream.
Tried this recipe and thought it was great! Especially loved it in a burrito next day. Gave a delicious sour cream hint to the contents.
I used the boiling, quick soak method. I sampled it fresh out of the blender and it tasted like pure cashew puree. I was disheartened but the recipe said it would thicken in the fridge overnight, so I thought giving it time might improve the taste too. It did! The cashew flavor settled down to an undertone and the cream was very thick. If I ever try to give this to carnists, I’ll make sure to call it “cashew-flavored” though. I’m adding this to the family recipe stash.
Thank you so much for this. I had to stop myself from licking away all that was left in my blender with a spatula, but other than that, it went fine. Super easy. Will make it to my “Gold vegan recipes” bookmarks folder
In a word – incredible. Would I go to use any other recipe on another website? Perhaps, but why fix something that’s not broken?
Been using this recipe for years, recently ran out of apple cider vinegar and subbed some juice from the jar of sauerkraut. It’s so good. We use it on pierogis.