A creamy vegan sour cream recipe made from silken tofu! This vegan sour cream is gluten-free, palm oil-free, nut-free, and of course... vegan. Creamy and delicious, this sour cream can be whipped up in minutes with just 5 simple ingredients.
It makes the perfect topping for tacos, fajitas, and burritos. It can be used in place of regular sour cream 1:1 in most recipes too. A dollop on the top of your favorite soup transforms it into creamy deliciousness, and makes baked potatoes into a full meal!
After reading about the negative impacts of palm oil, I have tried to avoid it when I can. All the store-bought vegan sour creams that I could find had palm oil, so I decided to create my own. I now prefer this recipe to the store-bought versions.
I love to use silken tofu to make vegan cream instead of raw cashews like in other recipes. This way there is no need for soaking nuts for hours, boiling, draining, or the need for a high-speed blender to make your sour cream substitute creamy.
I use silken tofu to make creamy dishes packed with protein like tofu pasta sauce, tofu mac and cheese, tofu cream pie, and even silken tofu scrambles.
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❤️ This recipe is
- quick and easy to make.
- made with shelf-stable ingredients that you can always keep on hand.
- creamy and delicious.
- a healthier cruelty-free vegan sour cream option.
- free of nuts, dairy, and gluten!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Tofu - Silken tofu works the best for this recipe (firm or the extra firm version of the silken type) it is the shelf-stable kind that comes in a little box. You can also use soft tofu that comes in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
- Lemon Juice - for some sourness and a little tang. It can be freshly squeezed or bottled. You can also swap it for apple cider vinegar.
- Sea Salt- for flavor.
- Sugar - for a little sweetness.
- Oil - to make it a little richer and creamier to mimic real sour cream. You can use any neutral-flavored oil like canola, vegetable, or light olive oil. (optional- leave it out for oil-free sour cream).
🔪 Helpful tools
A blender - or an immersion blender to mix it together and get it creamy.
❔ Where can you buy silken tofu?
I usually purchase mine at the local Asian market since they usually have the best price, but they also have this kind of tofu in most grocery stores or you can order it. Sometimes it is in the refrigerated section, but it can be kept in your pantry.
*If you can’t find silken tofu, any soft tofu will work, it just may not be as creamy.
🥄 Instructions
Step 1 - Just dump everything into your blender or immersion blender cup and mix until creamy. It's that easy!
Step 2 - Use your plant-based sour cream as you would regular sour cream on baked potatoes, vegan tacos, sauces, or in creamy vegan dips.
The perfect vegan sour cream to whip up for your next vegan taco party!
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Store extra in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- If you like tangier sour cream, omit the sugar.
- Omit oil for oil-free sour cream.
🥡 Storage
You can keep the sour cream in an airtight container or glass jar in the fridge for about 5 days. Enjoy it on tacos, burritos, soups, and baked potatoes.
You can freeze the vegan sour cream, but since it's tofu-based, the texture will change slightly when frozen and thawed.
🌮 How to use vegan sour cream
This homemade dairy-free sour cream recipe is perfect for anything that you like to put sour cream into.
- My kids love it spread on tempeh tacos, TVP tacos, or tostadas and top them with veggies.
- A dollop of this sour cream in my vegan lemon orzo soup, vegan lentil soup, or pumpkin bean soup tastes amazing!
- You can also use it to make a simple garlic cream sauce like in my vegan scallops, creamy vegan mushroom pasta, or vegan "beef" stroganoff recipes.
- Use it in homemade vegan dips like my easy vegan spinach dip.
- You can even use it in desserts like my vegan bundt cake.
- Bake it into my popular vegan cornbread casserole!
✨ More homemade vegan staples
I love making my own homemade dairy-free staples. It saves a ton of money at the grocery store and allows me to control the ingredients. I have many of these recipes included here on the blog and even more in my cookbook, The Ultimate Guide to Homemade Vegan Staples.
- Vegan Butter
- Vegan Egg Substitutes
- Homemade Coffee Creamer
- Vegan Cheese
- Dairy-Free Alfredo Sauce
- Vegan Mayo
- Vegan Ranch
- Soy Yogurt
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Tofu sour cream recipe
Vegan Sour Cream with Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 (12 oz.) block silken tofu (or 1 1/2 cup soft tofu well-drained)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or any neutral-flavored oil (optional)
Instructions
- Put all ingredients into a blender, food processor, or use an immersion blender.
- Blend well until creamy.
- Store in the refrigerator and use as you would regular sour cream to top your burritos, tacos, nachos, or soups!
Notes
- Store extra in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- If you like tangier sour cream, omit the sugar.
- Omit oil for oil-free sour cream.
Nutrition
This was originally posted on March 8, 2017. It was updated on February 26, 2021, to include new images and more detailed instructions.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Thank you so much for this recipe…I’ve tried every one out there including Miyoko’s from Vegan Pantry and was decidedly unimpressed. I am Asian, tofu is a staple of our diet. I finally got tired of the mess making it in the Vitamix, and started using Tofutti, but that stuff is ghastly and has maltodextrin in it.
I found your recipe….and it’s heavenly. I also bought the Ninja Twistie which has a “spread” option…and it literally is no clean up.
Here’s my little tweaks:
1 box Mori-Nu, any consistency, don’t drain
1 TBS Micro Ingredients Organic lemon powder
1/2 tsp Redmond Salt
1 tsp organic white sugar
2 TBS Organic Sunflower Oil
In the Ninja Twistie it turns out like whip cream consistency.
Thank you again…It’s si good you can eat it by the spoonful
I'm so happy that you like my recipe and finally found something that works for you! 🙂
I had a soft version of the Silken Tofu. I wish I had drained it though but it still was good enough. I added 1/2 tsp lactic acid plus one probiotic pill and even with the sugar, the tang was perfect. I'm not vegan but have a Tyramine issue so can't have fermented foods.
I'm glad that you liked the recipe and that it worked for your dietary needs. 🙂
This was great! I only had medium-firm tofu on hand (which is actually quite soft), so I mixed it about half and half with some neutral tasting oat-milk based yogurt I had, and otherwise followed the recipe. The result was very creamy and delicious; perfect texture. My omni friend really liked it with her vegan tacos and asked how it was made! Next time I have soft/silken tofu I will make it with that. Thank you Monica for another great recipe.
You are so welcome! I'm glad that you liked the recipe! 🙂
Hi Monica,
How long does the Vegan Sour Cream lasts in the fridge? Can I freeze it?
Thank you for all the great recipes.
You're welcome! I'm so happy that you like my recipes! 🙂 This will last about 5 days in the fridge. You can freeze it, but it gets a little grainy after freezing.
This recipe was so amazing! I omitted the sugar for tangier taste as you suggested and it was so perfect!
I used it in the vegetarian stroganoff recipe you posted which was also INCREDIBLE!
Thank you!!
I'm so happy that you like the recipes, Nikki! The stroganoff is one of my favorites too! 🙂
I can’t tolerate lemon juice what could I use instead?
You could use apple cider vinegar or lime juice. You just want to give it some acidity and tang. Enjoy! 🙂
I stumbled across this recipe after I made a tofu cream(blended the tofu with lemon juice, salt, oil, soy milk, dried chives, garlic powder and nutritional yeast) for borscht, but I added probiotic capsules to add tang. Not sure how this experiment will turn out though. Leaving it on the counter for a couple of hours to maybe 12 hours before I put it in the fridge.
I bet that will come out well, Lexy.
Can’t wait to try this recipe
One of my favorite things to eat is southwestern style black beans which is
Black beans ,salsa , sour cream & cheese have t been able to enjoy this for near a year now.
This recipe should be perfect for that! Enjoy!
I made this with soft tofu and it is fantabulous!! I tried another recipe with cashews, but really like this one better. It's hard to believe that something so easy to make, low in both fat and calories, and non-dairy can be this good. Thank you for your recipe!
You're welcome! I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
Tried this tonight and it works out very nice. Nice mouth feel, tangy and creamy.
I also made up a batch and doubled the amount of lemon juice and it makes a nice,mayonaisse substitute.
I'm glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Glenn! 🙂
It's really liquidy...I've tried it 3 times now and 1st time I followed exact, 2nd time I lessened the lemon juice and did half lemon juice, half citric acid. 3rd time I eliminated lemon juice and just subbed citric acid. Still runny. Was yours runny too or more like "real" dairy sour cream? And what could I have done wrong? I used the silken tofu but im new to tofu...maybe I have to use the extra firm?
Hi Heather, use firm or extra firm silken tofu and drain off all excess liquid before adding it to your blender. (There is usually about a tablespoon of liquid in the package.) Other than that, I'm not sure why it would be liquidy for you.
It was okay, it didn't taste close to sour cream. I know that vegan alternatives arent exactly alike, but this one is just not that great. It has a very weird taste and texture.
It was probably because I used extra firm tofu. I'll try silken tofu next time.
Will there be a difference if I use extra firm tofu? That's the only tofu I have in the fridge.
It doesn't get as silky and creamy with the extra firm tofu, but it will still work okay. Enjoy! 🙂
I have thyroid and autoimmune diseases and can not have any soy, dairy or gluten. I was so excited to see your recipe for cheese! However I can not have soy which the cream cheese and other recipes have. What is a good substitute for tofu?
The best swap for soy would be cashew cream. Soak cashews overnight, then blend in a high-powered blender with a little water until very smooth.
I use homemade chickpea tofu instead of soy tofu and most recipes turn out perfectly.
Amazing recipe! The taste reminds me of cream cheese but the texture is lighter. Maybe I don't remember the taste correctly 🙂 Can this be used to make a cheesecake? I saw that you already have a recipe with cream cheese, can I use this sour cream instead?
I accidentally bought soft silken tofu in the cardboard box can that work?
I accidentally bought soft silken tofu. Will it work? Thanks.
Yes, there is not a huge difference between the soft and firm when it comes to silken. It may be a little softer, but will definitely work. 🙂 Enjoy! 🙂
Thanks I just saw you replied. Sorry for asking twice. Can’t wait to try this.
Loved it!! I tried this sour cream with potatoes and corn. It was really easy to make. Definitely, one of my favorite recipes. Yummy!!
Best recipe ever!
Love it 💚💚💚Thank you!!
You're welcome! I'm so happy that you like it! 🙂
Tried this tonight and really liked it - way better than the cashew version we've tried before. I only had firm tofu in my fridge, but added a bit more lemon juice and it was great. My husband said he could eat it on it's own.
I'm so happy that you and your husband liked it! 🙂
Easy and I had all the ingredients! Love making spinach dip but I'm tired of paying a premium for a fair-tasting little container of the vegan kind. I used "smooth" tofu and it worked splendidly. I used the left overs for vegan tacos the following weekend. Never going back to the container again. Thank you!
You're welcome! I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
Hi! How long will this last in the fridge? And does it freeze? Thanks!
It will last about 3-5 days in the fridge. You can freeze it, but it makes the texture a little grainy after it has been frozen. Enjoy! 🙂
How long can this be stored in the fridge?
It will keep for about 5 days in a sealed container in the fridge. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
When you say 1 block, is that 8 ounce or 16 ounce block?
I use the shelf stable silken tofu that comes in a 12/3 oz. cardboard box. If you don't have that type, you can use 1 1/2 cups of soft tofu. 🙂
Making this right now for some black bean and sweet potato taquitos that I am making for dinner. Can't wait!
Great! Hope that you like it Jen! 🙂
It was great! We used it plain and also I made a cilantro, avacado, lime crema. Everyone loved it. I did not tell the tofu haters how it was made and enjoyed watching them eat it lol.
That's great!!! So happy that everyone loved it! Sounds like a delicious meal! Anything with cilantro and lime is delicious too! 🙂
This was SO simple to make.
Creamy and delicious...why ever buy it again?
Its really good in your soups as well.
Thanks!!
Just a bit confused about the tofu. Does this call for 1 block silken PLUS 1 cup soft tofu???? Or one OR the other ? ??. Thanks!!
Gail, Sorry for the confusion. You can use 1 block of silken tofu OR 1 cup of soft tofu instead if you don't have the silken type.