If you are dairy-free and miss the classic taste of sour cream, then you are going to become obsessed with making my Homemade Cashew Sour Cream. It tastes just like the real thing, but is made with whole, real-food ingredients rather than a store-bought processed version. There are a million ways to use this! I like to add it to my One Pan Taco Casserole or One Pot Mexican Quinoa, on top of Chili Baked Sweet Potatoes, or with my Bean & Sweet Potato Crispy Tacos! Make a batch at the start of the week and use it on meals all week long.
Jump to:
Notes on Ingredients
- Cashews: Use raw cashews for this recipe and be sure to soak or boil them before using so they are soft enough to blend.
- Apple cider vinegar: I like the flavor apple cider vinegar adds to this sour cream, but white vinegar would work too.
- Lemon juice: Adds tanginess to the dairy-free sour cream. This can be replaced with additional vinegar.
Please take note that this is important information about the ingredients used in this recipe and the FULL recipe with measurements and details can be found DOWN BELOW (scroll to it) in the recipe card.
How do you make Homemade Cashew Sour Cream?
- Soak cashews overnight or in boiling water for 5-10 minutes to soften them.
- Add all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Serve immediately or chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
- Enjoy!
- Step 1: First, soak the cashews overnight or in boiling water for 5-10 minutes to soften.
- Step 2: Then, add all ingredients a high-speed blender.
- Step 3: Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Step 4: Finally, serve on top of meal of choice!
Commonly Asked Questions
This dairy-free sour cream will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days. You can also freeze it for up to 1 month so you could make a double batch and freeze half for later!
I like to boil my cashews for 5-10 minutes to soften them because it’s way quicker than soaking them overnight for 10 hours. Either way works, but you do need to do one method so they get soft!
Macadamia nuts might work, but we have not tried. If you want a nut-free sauce, make this Avocado Green Goddess Herb Sauce.
This recipe makes about 2.5 cups of dairy-free sour cream. A typical serving size is about 2 tablespoons, so this makes roughly 20 servings.
Save this for later?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Extra Helpful Tips
- Use this sour cream to add on top of tacos, burritos, chili, baked potatoes, or in baking even!
- Mix in hot sauce or sriracha to make a spicy aioli version, or fresh herbs like basil, parsley, and cilantro for an herby version.
- Use a high-speed blender to blend the sour cream. A food processor will not be powerful enough to get a creamy sour cream.
- This recipe is adapted from Oh She Glows.
How to Store
Store this sour cream in the fridge for up to 7 days. You can also freeze it for up to 1 month so you could make a double batch and freeze half for later!
If you tried this Homemade Cashew Sour Cream or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 5-star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Homemade Cashew Sour Cream (dairy-free!)
Equipment
- 1 pot for boiling cashews
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups raw cashews
- ¾ cups water
- 2.5 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Soak cashews overnight (8-10 hours) or boil cashews for 5-10 minutes to soften them.
- Add all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Serve immediately or it’s best chilled in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
- Enjoy!
Biljana says
This is an awesome recipe! Quick, simple and delicious – my kind of recipe! Thank you, Danielle! As I’m avoiding salt as much as I can, I will replace 1/4tsp salt with 1/2tsp white miso paste next time and see how it pans out. I love sour cream with chilli and was searching for a good replacement. Your recipe is it, Danielle :). <3
Gabby says
This is perfect!!! Thank you so much! My last cashew sour cream attempt was a disaster but this turned out amazing! If I halved the recipe do you think it would still blend in my blendtec?
Does it freeze well?
Danielle Keith says
Making half should still work! I haven’t tried freezing it yet.
Jan says
I don’t have a Vitamix – yet. (It’s on my list!) In the meantime, for how long should I soak or boil my cashews with using a regular blender.
Taylor From HealthyGirl Kitchen says
You can boil the cashews for 5 minutes, or soak them for a few hours.
Julia K says
I made this to go with tacos, but as I was making this, it reminded me of the vegan pesto sauce my daughter makes for me. So I added fresh basil, fresh garlic and evoo. PERFECT! And a bit easier and faster to create a fast pesto pasta dinner. I use whole grain pasta and because the basil is such strong flavor, no one even noticed the pasta! Win-win 😁
Danielle Brown says
wow!
Christy Jeneen says
I can’t wait to try this!! Wondering if I can blend in my blendjet or ninja
Danielle Brown says
Potentially! Boil the cashews first to soften!
Lisa says
How long does this last?
Taylor From HealthyGirl Kitchen says
up to 5 days
Jordan Stacy says
This DF cashew sour cream is so good you won’t even miss regular sour cream! It’s creamy, tangy, and so satisfying. It’s great added to chili or baked potatoes, or really anything!