Vegan Sour Cream – cultured / with probiotics
Vegan sour cream is a tangy, dairy-free spread made from soaked cashews cultured with probiotics until they sour and thicken naturally. It gives you the same cool, creamy tang as the dairy version, with none of the dairy, and it works as a topping, a dip, or a dressing. The best part: it basically cooks itself while it sits on your counter.
Have you got a minute to talk about sour cream? I think it’s one of those things that don’t get the attention they deserve. Sour cream is a popular topping all over the world, from the USA and Mexico to Europe. I have the feeling that Eastern Europeans have some kind of cult for sour cream, using it on basically anything. One of my friends recently visited Russia and she told me that, in the four days she spent there, she didn’t encounter any meal that was missing sour cream! And I can actually understand the hype, as it enhances many culinary experiences.
What goes into this vegan sour cream
The ingredient list is short, and every item earns its place. Raw cashews are the base. Once soaked and blended they turn velvety and mild, which makes them the perfect blank canvas for a sour, dairy-like flavor. Use raw cashews rather than roasted or salted ones, since you want that neutral, buttery taste, not a toasty nutty one.
Probiotic powder is the quiet hero here. I just open up a couple of probiotic capsules and tip the powder in. The live cultures ferment the cashew cream over a day or two, and that fermentation is what creates the real, lactic tang you expect from sour cream, instead of a fake sourness from vinegar. Filtered water helps the cashews blend smooth and keeps any chlorine from interfering with the cultures. Finally, sea salt and fresh lemon juice go in right at the end to round out the flavor and add a bright lift.
Why fermentation makes it taste like the real thing
Dairy sour cream gets its signature tang from bacteria fermenting the lactose in cream. This recipe borrows the exact same principle. When you stir probiotic powder into the blended cashews and let the jar rest at room temperature, those live cultures feed on the cashew cream and release lactic acid. That acid is what gives you the deep, clean sourness, and it also gently thickens the mixture as it works. It is a slow process, not a shortcut, which is why the flavor reads as authentic rather than as cashews with lemon. The salt and lemon juice you add at the end are there to season and brighten, not to do the souring.
Tips for getting it right
My recipe for sour cream basically cooks itself, you’ll see, but a few small things make the difference between good and excellent. Soak the cashews overnight so they soften fully, then discard that soaking water and blend with fresh filtered water. Blend longer than you think you need to, since the smoother the cream, the better the final texture. Cover the jar with a clean kitchen towel rather than a tight lid, so the cultures can breathe while still keeping dust out. Let it sit at room temperature for about 48 hours, and trust your senses: when it smells pleasantly tangy and has thickened, it is ready. Only then do you stir in the salt and lemon juice, taste, and adjust.
How to use it and how to store it
If you need some suggestions for using the sour cream, here are my favorites. You can add it as a sauce to a sandwich or use the sour cream as a salad dressing. You can use it as a sauce for a Mexican burrito, and you won’t even feel the difference between my vegan sour cream and the regular sour cream! It is also lovely spooned over warm bowls like a red lentil soup or dolloped onto loaded sweet potato skins. I have chosen a few of my personal favorite combinations, yet the possibilities are endless.
Once it is ready, store it in a sealed jar in the refrigerator, where it keeps well for several days and continues to firm up as it chills. Give it a quick stir before serving if it has separated at all. Just believe me, once you try this recipe you won’t regret it and it will make you always wish for more. This sour cream shouldn’t miss from your fridge at any time!
If you make this cashew sour cream, I would love to know how it turned out for you. Did you spoon it over corn, swirl it into a burrito, or find a new favorite use of your own? Leave a rating and drop a comment below with how long your jar fermented and what you topped it with.
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Vegan Sour Cream – cultured / with probiotics
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup raw cashews ~200g
- ½ tsp probiotic powder – from probiotic capsules
- 1 cup filtered water ~230ml
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in water overnight.
- Discard the water.
- Add the cashews to a food processor and blend until creamy and smooth.
- Transfer the mixture into a jar and add the probiotic powder.
- Stir in the powder to incorporate, cover the jar with a kitchen towel and let sit at room temperature for about 48 hours.
- When the cream is ready and thick, stir in the salt and lemon juice.
- Store in the refrigerator and enjoy however you want!
Frequently Asked Questions
This vegan sour cream is made from just five ingredients: raw cashews, probiotic powder, filtered water, sea salt, and fresh lemon juice. The soaked cashews are blended smooth, then cultured with probiotic powder so they ferment and sour naturally. Salt and lemon juice are stirred in at the end to season and brighten it.
The probiotic powder provides live cultures that ferment the blended cashews over about 48 hours. As they work, they release lactic acid, which creates the real, tangy sour-cream flavor and gently thickens the mixture. I just open a couple of probiotic capsules and stir the powder straight into the jar.
Yes, soaking the cashews overnight is an important step. It softens them so they blend into a smooth, velvety cream rather than a grainy paste. After soaking, discard that water and blend the cashews with fresh filtered water.
Let the cashew mixture sit at room temperature for about 48 hours, covered with a clean kitchen towel so the cultures can breathe. It is ready when it smells pleasantly tangy and has thickened. At that point you stir in the salt and lemon juice, taste, and adjust.
Store it in a sealed jar in the refrigerator, where it keeps well for several days and firms up further as it chills. Give it a quick stir before serving if it separates a little. Always store it cold once the fermentation is done.
It works anywhere you would use dairy sour cream. Spoon it over corn, use it as a sandwich sauce or salad dressing, swirl it into a Mexican burrito, or dollop it onto soups and loaded sweet potato skins. The possibilities are endless, so use it however you like.
My family loved this!
If I have a tree nut allergy, what would u recommended as a cashew sub?
You could try it with macadamia.
Hi! Are you supposed to just blend the soaked cashews in the food processor alone? Or add the 1 cup of water? From watching the video I can’t imagine my cashews getting that smooth without some liquid blended with them.
Hi Becky! Yes, you blend them with 230ml (1 cup) filtered water. Also the cashews must be soaked overnight.
Can you freeze it?
Never tried it. I don’t know for sure if it will retain its texture.
That’s it, I’m never buying vegan sour cream from the supermarket ever again! This one is simply AMAZING! 🙂 Thank you for the inspiration!
You’re very welcome!
Buna , smantana se poate face doar cu probiotice?
Buna! Da.