Did you know that you can make your own sour cream? It’s actually SUPER EASY!
All it takes is cream, and something to culture it with. You can make sour cream using raw vinegar with the mother, milk kefir, yogurt, or even buttermilk!
You can also make it using a starter culture from Cultures for Health if you prefer.
It’s So Easy To Make Sour Cream!
All you have to do to make sour cream is stir in a 1-2 tablespoons of live yogurt into a cup of cream and let it sit in a warm place overnight!
Seriously. That’s it.
If you use kefir or extra kefir grains or buttermilk instead of yogurt, you don’t even have to keep it warm. It really is this easy. I LOVE it!
Related: How To Make Easy Kefir Cheese
Sour Cream Making Tips
You’ll have the best results with pasteurized heavy whipping cream. Raw cream has a lot of other bacteria so it doesn’t culture as well.
The super ultra pasteurized stuff doesn’t always set up correctly either. For more troubleshooting, check out the detailed page from Cultures for Health.
Ways to Use Sour Cream
Of course there are about a billion ways to use sour cream, but my favorite is to melt cheese onto scrambled eggs and top with tomatoes and sour cream.
Related: Crustless Quiche Recipe
It also makes an awesome, creamy homemade ice cream. Click here to get the instructions.
Sour cream also makes a yummy dip for vegetables when you flavor it with your favorite herbs and spices. Parsley, garlic and salt make a nice ranch-like dip.
You can also stir sour cream into casseroles and sauces to make a stroganoff. Start with a nice broth base, and add it in after turning of the heat.
Related: How To Make Super Easy Rabbit Stock and Here’s How To Make Creamy Rabbit Gravy
What’s your favorite way to eat sour cream?
Want To Raise Happy Chickens?
Subscribe for our newsletter and get the free email course Intro To Backyard Chickens as well as a free printable checklist to walk you through step by step!
Christie
Monday 23rd of January 2023
Can you use Greek yogurt?
Kathryn
Thursday 26th of January 2023
Yes! If it has live cultures it will work.
Tawnia
Monday 7th of November 2022
This was simple to make and the end result is delicious! I did use kefir that I buy from a local farm. Texture and taste is perfect! Thank you for sharing this!
Kathryn
Wednesday 9th of November 2022
Wohoo!
Julianna
Sunday 3rd of May 2020
Would this work with the buttermilk from making butter out of cream? Doing a dairy week for homeschool.
Kathryn
Monday 4th of May 2020
It would ferment, but it would not be sour cream, as the cream became butter.
Glenda
Tuesday 6th of August 2019
What is Live Yogurt, Raw Vinegar, and Milk Kefir?
Kathryn
Monday 19th of August 2019
These are all foods that have beneficial probiotics in them. You need the live beneficial bacteria to culture the sour cream. Most yogurt that has live cultures will say something along those lines right on the label.
Milk kefir is less common in grocery stores. Here are some articles about it: https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/tag/milk-kefir/
Here is an example of raw vinegar available in most grocery stores: https://amzn.to/31MZGcj
Jan V.
Sunday 31st of March 2019
All of this sounds soooo good but.... Has anyone tried using just plain yogurt in place of your sour cream? I like both but I like the yogurt best.
Kathryn
Wednesday 10th of April 2019
It should work just fine.