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How To Make Homemade Sour Cream (Easy & Fast)

Making homemade sour cream is actually quite simple to do.

It only takes a few ingredients and a mixer. 

There are plenty of reasons to make sour cream at home.

You could just want to be creative and make your own homemade sour cream without preservatives or you could be out and don’t want to go to the store. 

In this house, we are big fans of sour cream.

We add dollops of it to our baked potatoes, atop our chili and of course, we want it on tacos.

What goes in sour cream?

Homemade sour cream includes heavy cream, milk, vinegar, lemon juice, and a dash of salt.

The vinegar and lemon are what sours the milk and gives it that tangy taste. This reaction is similar to making homemade buttermilk.

How to make homemade sour cream

While there are several different methods for making sour cream at home, we prefer the fast method. Add ¾ cup of heavy cream, 3 Tablespoons of whole milk, ½ teaspoon of white vinegar, and ½ teaspoon of lemon juice to a mixing bowl. 

Blend with a mixer until soft peaks start to form. Stop the moment that you see the hint of those peaks.

Using a fork, blend in a dash of salt. Transfer the mixture to a container with a lid. Refrigerate your sour cream for at least an hour. 

Stir before serving!

How long will homemade sour cream last?

Homemade sour cream will last 5-7 days in the refrigerator. Remember that this is a preservative-free condiment so it won’t keep as long.

We recommend that you store in the back of the fridge where it is coldest.

Why is my homemade sour cream thin?

Homemade sour cream tends to be a bit thinner than store-bought sour cream because it doesn’t have any thickening agents. While it may be a bit runnier, it will be quite tasty. 

How To Make Homemade Sour Cream

How To Make Homemade Sour Cream

Yield: 10 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

This is a homemade sour cream recipe that only contains 4 ingredients that you likely have at home. 

Ingredients

  • ¾ c heavy cream
  • 3 T milk
  • ½ t white vinegar
  • ½ t lemon juice
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients except the salt to a mixing bowl.
  2. Blend with a mixer until soft peaks start to form.
  3. Using a fork, blend in a dash of salt.
  4. Transfer the mixture to a container with a lid.
  5. Refrigerate your sour cream for at least an hour.
  6. Stir before serving!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 63Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 21mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Suzanne

Sunday 23rd of July 2023

Thank you for this recipe! I realized very last minute I needed sour cream and had none. I did use my vitamix for this and I think it took less than two minutes for it all to come together. So a high-powered blender would actually do the trick faster than a mixer. It turned out great!

Morgan

Tuesday 13th of June 2023

Worked like a charm! Thanks!

Jamie

Saturday 14th of January 2023

A. The “10 minute” total time doesn’t include the at least 1 hour of rest in the fridge.

B. TOO MANY ADS

Andi Reis

Tuesday 17th of January 2023

Hi, Jamie. Thanks for your feedback, it's an important fix! Sorry about the ads. I know they're a pain.

Lory

Sunday 25th of December 2022

Thanks, worked great! Saved Christmas and our first try at homeade chili.

Lynda Mason

Saturday 1st of October 2022

Just made this recipe worked out really good and so easy to make.Thankyou very much.Looking forward to seeing more good ideas and very helpful ways of doing them.

Andi Reis

Sunday 2nd of October 2022

Thanks, Lynda! I'm glad it worked so well for you.

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