substitutes
Sour Cream substitutes
Out of sour cream? Here are the best substitutes — what to reach for, why it works, and how much to use. Plain Greek yogurt is the top pick.
- 01Plain Greek yogurtbest pick
Same tang and thickness; near-perfect 1:1 swap.
1:1
- 02Crème fraîche
Richer, less tangy cultured cream — interchangeable.
1:1
- 03Buttermilk
For dressings/batters where pourable tang is fine.
thinner — adjust liquid
Cooking with sour cream?
Paste your recipe into Mise — we'll find every ingredient as a real product you can buy, and swap the ones you can't, like sour cream, for the closest match in stock.
Turn a recipe into a basket →How we choose these
These are tested kitchen substitutes, chosen for matching flavor, texture, and role — with ratios so the swap actually works. Taste as you go; substitutes shift intensity, not just flavor.
Flavor data: Epicure (Radzikowski & Chen, 2026), arXiv:2605.22391, CC-BY-4.0.