I love simplicity and am always looking for ways to share them here. This vegan cashew based ‘sour cream’, is another wonderful addition to the recipe collection!
Vegan Cashew Sour Cream
It’s easy to make your own vegan sour cream and will last up to 5 or 6 days in the refrigerator. Just soak, process and you have yourself a raw, soy free, vegan condiment that is much cleaner than any sour cream you will purchase in the grocery store, vegan or not.
I think you’re going to love it and find it will enhance a variety of meals and recipes. I encourage you to give this a try and be amazed how wonderful these simple ingredients come together to make a vegan sour cream of your dreams!
Soaking Cashew For Cashew Sour Cream
It is recommended to soak your nuts before processing. I know we snack on nuts without soaking or eat them in our foods without going through this process but it does have some advantages.
The soaking of the cashews will increase enzyme activity, offer greater absorption of the food’s nutrients by the body and help to increase digestibility. But please don’t panic if you don’t have time to go through this process, you’ll be just fine if you don’t.
Ideally they should be soaked for 2 – 3 hours, overnight is great too but not necessary for cashews. For a faster soak, add them to hot water and let soak for 5 minutes. Find more about soaking here: How to Soak & Sprout Nuts, Seeds, Grains & Beans from Vegetarian Times & The Benefits of Soaking Nuts and Seeds from Food Matters.
How To Make Vegan Cashew Sour Cream
The process is super simple. Once cashews have been soaked, place them in a personal or high-speed blender along with water/milk, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and pinch of salt, process until creamy smooth. If using a large blender, stop every so often to scrap down the sides.
And that’s it, easy vegan cashew sour cream in minutes!
How To Use Vegan Sour Cream
So now to the good stuff, and where you can use your homemade vegan sour cream. Use anywhere you would normally use sour cream.
- Try adding a dollop on Cuban Black Bean Soup, Texas Three Bean Chili, Raw Taco Salad, Street Tacos, burritos and baked potatoes for starters.
- Use in baking whenever sour cream is called for like this Sour Cream Banana Bundt Cake from VeganYumYum.
- When making ranch or onion dip let this be your go to sour cream.
- Try using it in stroganoff recipes or blend in your mashed potatoes.
- Make a sour cream fruit topping by adding maple syrup and dash of vanilla for a sweet, tangy dessert.
From sweet to savory, this cashew sour cream will come in handy and save the day!
BASIC CASHEW SOUR CREAM
This vegan cashew ‘sour cream’ can be used anywhere traditional sour cream is used. Place a dollop on chili, baked potatoes, ect. You can use it in baking when called for.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked 2 – 3 hours
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or water
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- pinch of mineral salt
Instructions
Soak and drain your cashews. In food processor/high-speed blender, add all ingredients and blend until nice and creamy, stopping to scrap down the sides every now and then. Add a tad more water/milk as needed to create desired consistency. If using fresh herbs, add once the cashew blend is creamy pulsing until just incorporated, or blend in by hand. Best refrigerated for at least an hour before serving but will do fine if served right away. Sour cream will thicken upon being chilled.
Makes about 1 1/4 cup. Will keep in refrigerator for 5 – 6 days.
Variations:
Use lime instead of lemon and add a few sprigs of cilantro at the end for a Lime Cilantro Sour Cream.
Try adding a few dill fronds and 1 tablespoon dijon mustard for a Dill Sour Cream.
Try this Chili Cilantro Sour Cream from Food 52.
Make a sour cream fruit topping by adding 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup and a dash of vanilla to this recipe. Top on strawberries, blueberries, grapes, mango, raspberries, oranges, etc.
Try this Spicy Avocado and Sour Cream Puree from Huff Post.
NOTES:
Adding extra water will depend on how long you’ve soaked your nuts. The longer you soak, the more water they’ll absorb making for less extra liquids needed. Less water will result in a thicker sour cream while more water makes it thinner. If you feel you’ve put in too much liquids, add a few more cashews and blend until smooth. Keep in mind that refrigerating will also thicken your cream.
Alisun says
How long does this keep in the fridge??
julie@thesimpleveganista says
It will keep for 5 – 6 days.
Morgan Haldeman says
How does yours look so creamy? I'm guessing the type of blender really makes a difference. Mine wouldn't blend down past the grainy stage… but still tasted delicious!
julie@thesimpleveganista says
A good food processor will help with that. You can try blending for five minutes or so to see if that helps. At least the flavor is great!
Morgan Haldeman says
Perhaps my Ninja just doesn't cut it. Longing for the day when I can get a Vitamix! :) Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
julie@thesimpleveganista says
I have the Ninja as well and love it for my smoothies, but it just won't do this job. It requires a high speed blender or food processer. I'd love a Vitamix one day myself..until then my food processor is the work horse of the kitchen. :)
julie@thesimpleveganista says
And your very welcome!
veganmiam.com says
Gorgeous minimalistic photos, Julie! Raw cashews are great for creamy sauces & bases! I love simplicity, too! Happy Monday!
julie@thesimpleveganista says
Thank you so much Rika! Happy Monday :)
Anonymous says
This recipe sucked. I'm sure you had good intentions, and it did well for some people. I hated it. Im not sorry. This was just all… Wrong. How long has it been since you had actual sour cream? This tasted like shit, but I guess it isn't the worst recipe out there. Most of the others are the same. At least yours is simple. Still, it doesnt taste good, and it looks Nothing like the picture. 1/10 would not make again.
Anonymous says
Maybe I was too harsh. The recipe, like it says, is purely basic. Add some garlic and onion powder, nutritional yeast, and refrigerate (!!!) and it gets better. Still nothing like the picture/real sour cream, though.
julie@thesimpleveganista says
At least you tried it! I appreciate your response, negative or not. When recreating vegan versions of an original you can't always expect it to taste the same. For myself, I love this sour cream for many reasons and appreciate it for what it is, blended cashews with a few extra ingredients. I don't care for it alone but LOVE a good dollop on chili, black bean soup, taco salads, tacos, burritos, etc. It adds an extra zest and creaminess in place of diary and other highly processed cheeses and creams. As with all things, to each their own! :)
Barbara Miller says
can you use roasted cashews from the bin at the grocery store to make the cashew cream?
julie@thesimpleveganista says
I've only used raw cashews and recommend sticking with those. But you can try the roasted ones and see how it goes. The flavor will be different but it may not be a thing. If you do attempt using roasted cashews, you can skip the soaking. Would love to know how it goes! :)
Anonymous says
What brand food processor do you have?? And which ninja do you have the doesn't do the job?
julie@thesimpleveganista says
I have the Cuisinart Elite 12 cup. The Ninja I have is not the one with the base (which would work fine), it's the portable one.
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