In just five minutes, you can make a vegan sour cream with cashew nuts, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt.

It’s a wonderful topping for soups, quinoa salad, and vegetarian chili, and it adds extra zing to chipotle sauce and casserole.

Vegan sour cream with cashews and a silver spoon.
Nico and Louise in their kitchen.

Three things make this vegan sour cream a winner: it’s silky smooth, ready in 5 minutes, and it’s made with simple ingredients.

Blended cashews are like magic! They turn into a silky, almost dairy-like texture that is irresistible.

They make an excellent sour cream alternative perfect for dips, soups, chili, and casseroles ❤️.

Add a dollop of dairy-free sour cream to Mexican and Midwestern dishes, such as tacos, nachos, corn tortillas, black bean soup, lentil chili, to baked potatoes and soup recipes.

You can even use it as a salad dressing (it’s a must-try on our black bean salad) or as a dip.

lentil chili with sour cream and pickled jalapenos in a bowl

It’s excellent for all eaters as the recipe is gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, and soy-free.

The taste is slightly nutty, almost cheesy, but neutral overall, making it an excellent condiment for most dishes.

The tanginess comes from lemon and vinegar since we don’t use lactic acid.

To achieve the creamiest, silkiest texture, you have two options.

Either use a high-speed blender like a Vitamix or soak the cashew nuts in hot water for about 1 to 2 hours before blending them.

A dollop of vegan sour cream on microwaved sweet potatoes.

Ingredients

Ingredients for vegan sour cream.

Cashew nuts

Cashew nuts are our ingredient of choice in making this vegan sour cream.

We’ve tried silken tofu, coconut cream, and coconut milk but were not impressed by their flavor, so we recommend sticking with cashew nuts.

With cashew nuts, you can make sour cream with a creamy texture comparable, if not better, to Kite Hill and Tofutti sour creams.

Water

Water is used twice in this recipe. First, we use hot water to soak the cashews (this step is not required if you have a high-speed blender like Vitamix).

Then we rinse the soaked nuts and blend them with cold tap water.

You can add more or less water based on how thin or thick you want your sour cream to be.

Lemon juice

Lemon juice adds that sour, tangy feeling, but make sure you don’t blend any lemon seeds. It happened once to us, and they made our recipe super bitter.

Apple cider vinegar

Like the lemon, apple cider vinegar adds acidity and a slightly sour taste.

Salt

We recommend sea salt or kosher salt.

Chives

We love to sprinkle some finely chopped fresh chives on this cream. Substitute with fresh dill.

vegan sour cream with chives and lemon.

How to make vegan sour cream

Soaking is required if you are using a regular blender or food processor. It’s not required but recommended if you have a high-speed blender like Vitamix.

Soak the cashews with hot water for about 1 hour.

soaking cashew nuts in hot water.

Drain and rinse the soaked nuts and add them to the blender with water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt.

ingredients in a blender.

Blend at high speed until silky smooth. It might take from 3 to 7 minutes. Add more water if you want thinner sour cream.

A spoonful of vegan sour cream after blending.

You can use the vegan sour cream immediately, although still slightly warm from the blending. You can add some finely chopped dill or chives on top.

Or you can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

It will thicken up as it cools down, becoming easier to spoon. If you want to make it thinner, add water.

dairy-free sour cream stored in a jar.

Serving suggestions

This vegan sour cream is versatile, and thanks to its neutral flavor and creamy texture, it elevates many vegetarian dishes:

Is vegan sour cream good for you?

Yes, we would consider substituting vegan sour cream for regular sour cream a wholesome food choice because this recipe contains mainly unsalted, almost raw cashews.

Cashew nuts are a healthy whole food, rich in protein, healthy fats, and antioxidants, and can benefit your health.

Vegan sour cream is a convenient and delicious way to increase your cashew nut consumption.

Storage

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container like a mason jar for up to 5 days.

The sour cream thickens up in the fridge, making it perfect for spooning.

To bring it back to a thinner consistency, add a little water and whisk it. We do not recommend freezing this sour cream.

vegan sour cream with a silver spoon.

For more condiment ideas, check out our dressing and sauces category page.

vegan easy sour cream in a bowl with a spoon.

Vegan Sour cream

5 from 4 votes
This vegan sour cream is silky smooth, ready in 5 minutes, and made with simple ingredients.
Blended cashews are like magic! They turn into a silky, almost dairy-like texture that is irresistible.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Soaking time (if required): 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 1 cup
Course: Condiment, Dressing & Sauces
Cuisine: American

Equipment

  • High speed blender

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup cashew nuts not salted
  • ½ cup water + hot water for soaking the nuts
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions 

  • Soaking is required if you are using a regular blender or food processor.
    It's not required but recommended if you have a high-speed blender like Vitamix.
    Soak 1 cup cashew nuts in hot water for about 1 hour.
    soaking cashew nuts in hot water
  • Drain and rinse the soaked nuts and add them to the blender with ½ cup water1 tablespoon lemon juice1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, and ½ teaspoon salt.
    ingredients in a blender
  • Blend at high speed until silky smooth. It might take from 3 to 7 minutes. Add more water if you want thinner sour cream.
    spoonful of vegan sour cream
  • You can use the vegan sour cream immediately, although still slightly warm from the blending.
    Or store it in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
    It will thicken up as it cools down, becoming easier to spoon. If you want to make it thinner, add water.
    You can add some finely chopped dill or chives on top.
    vegan sour cream with chives and lemon.

Video

Vegan Sour Cream with 5 Ingredients

Notes

STORAGE
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container like a mason jar for up to 5 days.
The sour cream thickens up in the fridge, making it perfect for spooning.
To bring it back to a thinner consistency, add a little water and whisk it. We do not recommend freezing this sour cream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoon, Calories: 49kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 74mg, Potassium: 59mg, Dietary Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 0.1IU, Vitamin B6: 0.04mg, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Vitamin E: 0.1mg, Vitamin K: 3µg, Calcium: 4mg, Folate: 2µg, Iron: 1mg, Manganese: 0.1mg, Magnesium: 26mg, Zinc: 1mg
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Nico and Louise in front of the Consolazione church in Todi

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

Weโ€™re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) ๐ŸŒฟโœจ.

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5 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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