The best all-round sour cream substitute is full-fat Greek yoghurt, used 1:1 — same thickness, same tang, a little less fat (5-10% against sour cream's 18-20%). If it is going into anything hot, use crème fraîche 1:1 instead: at 30-40% fat it is the only common substitute that will not curdle when it boils. UK soured cream is the same product as US sour cream and swaps straight across with no adjustment at all.
Sour cream is one of those things you only notice you have run out of when the bowl is already half made. The good news is the fridge nearly always has an answer in it. The only thing you really need to know is which ones can take the heat, and which ones will break your sauce.
| Substitute | Fat | For 240 ml (1 cup) sour cream | Heated? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greek yoghurt, full-fat | 5-10% | 240 ml (1 cup), straight swap | Splits above a gentle simmer. Stir in off the heat, or add 1 tsp cornstarch (cornflour) per 150 g | Dips, dolloping, cakes, scones |
| Crème fraîche | 30-40% | 240 ml (1 cup), straight swap | No. Safe to boil and reduce | Hot sauces, soups, stroganoff, anything cooked |
| Soured cream (UK) | 18-20% | 240 ml (1 cup), straight swap | Same as sour cream: keep it below a simmer | Everything. It is the same product |
| Buttermilk | 1% | 240 ml (1 cup), and take 60 ml out of the recipe's other liquid | Splits almost at once | Batters and cakes only. Far too thin to dollop |
| Heavy cream (double cream) plus lemon | 36-48% | 240 ml (1 cup) cream plus 1 tbsp lemon juice, stand 30 min | Holds to a simmer, not to a hard boil | Baking, dolloping, when the shop is shut |
| Cream cheese thinned with milk | About 33% | 180 g cream cheese beaten smooth with 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk | Turns stringy at a boil | Frostings, thick dips, rich batters |
| Mayonnaise | About 75% | 240 ml (1 cup), straight swap | Splits outright | Cold dressings and slaws only. Never baking |
The best substitute for sour cream, job by job
The right substitute for sour cream depends entirely on what you are doing with it. Cold work is forgiving — dips, a dollop on chili, dressing a slaw — and full-fat Greek yoghurt, crème fraîche or UK soured cream all go in 1:1 without anybody asking questions. Baking is nearly as forgiving, so long as whatever you use is acidic. Hot work is where it falls apart, and I mean that literally: anything under about 20% fat will split the moment it meets a boiling pot.
So reach for Greek yoghurt first if it is going in cold or into a cake batter. Reach for crème fraîche if it is going into a hot pan. Reach for buttermilk only for batters, and only if you hold back some of the other liquid. And if the shop is shut, 240 ml (1 cup) of heavy cream (double cream) with a tablespoon of lemon juice stirred through it will see you right.
Which sour cream substitutes curdle when heated
Fat is what protects dairy from splitting. Sour cream itself sits at 18-20% fat, which is enough to survive being stirred into a warm sauce but nowhere near enough to survive a boil. That is why every stroganoff recipe worth its salt tells you to take the pan off the heat first.
Crème fraîche, at 30-40%, is the exception. It will boil, it will reduce, and it will hold together the whole time. It is the only substitute on this page you can add early and then forget about. Everything else needs handling: Greek yoghurt at 5-10% splits at anything above a bare simmer, buttermilk at 1% splits almost the moment it warms through, and mayonnaise breaks outright. If Greek yoghurt is all you have and it must go into something hot, stir 1 tsp of cornstarch (cornflour) into every 150 g of yoghurt first and keep the pan below a simmer. That is a patch rather than a cure, but it usually holds.
Greek yoghurt: the everyday substitute for sour cream
Full-fat Greek yoghurt is the substitute most people already have in the fridge, and it is a good one. Swap it 1:1 by volume or by weight — 240 ml (1 cup) for 240 ml (1 cup), or 150 g for 150 g. It is thicker than sour cream if anything, and tangier, because the culture is sharper. The gap is fat: 5-10% against sour cream's 18-20%, so a cake made with yoghurt comes out a shade less tender and a dip a shade less rich. If that bothers you, beat 1 tbsp of melted butter into every 240 ml of yoghurt and you have closed most of the distance.
Do not use 0% fat Greek yoghurt as a straight swap in baking. Take the fat out and you have taken out the very thing the sour cream was there to provide, and you will taste it in the crumb. Cold, on a baked potato, it is perfectly fine.
Crème fraîche and soured cream: the closest cousins
Soured cream is not really a substitute for sour cream — it is sour cream. UK and Irish soured cream and US sour cream are the same 18-20% cultured cream under two names, and they swap straight across with no adjustment. The only difference you might notice is thickness: American sour cream is often stabilised with guar gum and will stand up in a spoon, while soured cream is a touch looser. Stirred into a dip, nobody could tell you which was which.
Crème fraîche is the richer French cousin at 30-40% fat, cultured with gentler bacteria, so it tastes rounder and less sharp. Use it 1:1. In cold dishes you may want a squeeze of lemon to make up the tang it is missing. In hot dishes it is not a compromise at all — it is simply the better ingredient, because it will not curdle and sour cream will.
How to make a sour cream substitute with cream and lemon
The quick version takes 30 minutes. Pour 240 ml (1 cup) of heavy cream (double cream) into a jug, stir in 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar, and leave it on the counter for 20-30 minutes. The acid tightens the proteins just enough to thicken it. It ends up pourable-thick rather than spoon-thick, richer than sour cream and less tangy, but it bakes beautifully and dollops well enough. UK double cream at 48% thickens noticeably more than US heavy cream at 36%, so expect a looser result in an American kitchen.
The proper version takes overnight. Stir 2 tbsp of cultured buttermilk into 240 ml (1 cup) of heavy cream, cover it loosely, and leave it somewhere warm — 20-24C (68-75F) — for 12 to 24 hours, until it has set. Chill it for 4 hours and you have real cultured sour cream, better than most of what is sold in tubs. One warning on both: milk and lemon juice will not do this. You get soured milk, which is a fine buttermilk stand-in, but it will never thicken. You need the fat.
Substituting sour cream in baking
Sour cream does two jobs in a cake. It brings fat, which means tenderness, and it brings acid — and the acid is the one people forget. If your recipe uses baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), that soda needs an acid to react with, and the sour cream is usually it. Swap in something with no acid in it, like plain cream or plain milk, and the cake comes out flat with a faint soapy taste from the soda that never reacted. Greek yoghurt, crème fraîche, buttermilk and the cream-and-lemon version are all acidic, so they all keep that reaction going.
For a cake, a batch of scones or a donut dough calling for 240 ml (1 cup) of sour cream: Greek yoghurt, 240 ml straight. Crème fraîche, 240 ml straight. Cream and lemon, 240 ml straight. Buttermilk, 240 ml but take 60 ml (1/4 cup) out of the recipe's other liquid or the batter will be too slack. And not mayonnaise, whatever the internet tells you about chocolate cake — mayonnaise cake is its own recipe, where the mayonnaise stands in for the oil and egg. It is not a substitution for sour cream.
Questions we get asked
What can I use instead of sour cream?
Full-fat Greek yoghurt, 1:1, is the best everyday answer — same thickness, a bit tangier, a bit leaner. Crème fraîche, also 1:1, is better if the dish gets hot, because it will not curdle. UK soured cream is the identical product and swaps straight across. In a pinch, 240 ml (1 cup) of heavy cream (double cream) with 1 tbsp of lemon juice stirred in and left for 30 minutes will do the job.
Can I use Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream?
Yes, 1:1, in almost anything. Use full-fat — at 5-10% fat it is already leaner than sour cream's 18-20%, and 0% yoghurt makes for a dry, tight cake. The one place to be careful is heat: Greek yoghurt splits above a gentle simmer. Stir it in off the heat, or stabilise it with 1 tsp of cornstarch (cornflour) per 150 g.
Is crème fraîche the same as sour cream?
No, though they swap 1:1. Crème fraîche is 30-40% fat against sour cream's 18-20%, and it is cultured with milder bacteria, so it tastes richer and less sharp. That extra fat is why it holds together in a boiling sauce where sour cream would curdle. Cold, add a squeeze of lemon if you miss the tang.
What is the difference between sour cream and soured cream?
The name, and that is about it. Soured cream is what the same 18-20% cultured cream is called in Britain and Ireland. Swap either way with no adjustment. American sour cream often has guar gum in it and sits thicker in the tub, but in a dip or a batter you would never know the difference.
Does sour cream curdle when heated?
Yes, if you boil it. At 18-20% fat it will hold in a sauce kept below a simmer, but a rolling boil splits it into grains and whey. Stir it in at the end, off the heat. If the sauce genuinely needs to cook with the dairy already in it, use crème fraîche instead — at 30-40% fat it will not split.
What is a dairy-free substitute for sour cream?
Cashew cream is the closest. Soak 150 g of cashews in hot water for 30 minutes, drain, then blend with 120 ml (1/2 cup) of fresh water, 2 tbsp of lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of salt until completely smooth. It is thick, properly tangy, and having no dairy protein in it, it will not curdle in a hot pan — which is more than sour cream can manage. Chilled coconut cream with lemon juice works too, but it tastes of coconut, so keep it for sweet things.