Day: October 6, 2019

Plant-based Sour Cream

6 Oct 2019 Plant-based Bear

Seems I had a another hankering for some good ole country potatoes this morning, which works out, since I just bought a big bag of potatoes. (And, fun fact, as I look back, this is almost the exact sentence I used to introduce the recipe for my No-Oil Air Fryer Country Potatoes, originally, in September!) But, I wanted this to be great, so I couldn’t just make the potatoes; I had to make it, um, better!

I’d mentioned in my No-Oil Air Fryer Country Potatoes recipe that most plant-based sour creams are about the same. And they are, with a few variations. The Seven Secrets Cookbook (which seems to be cheaper right now than I’ve noticed it before…hint, hint) has a good one that has silken tofu and a bit of cashews in it. But, that wasn’t my favorite, and seems to get quite hard after a few days in the fridge.

So, with help from Angela Liddon at Oh She Glows (which, the childish side of me says, “Maybe she ought to get that checked…”), I present her recipe, in typical form, slightly modified by me to be better and more amazing (of course, in my opinion!) Or something like that.

Plant-based Sour Cream
Print Recipe

Plant-based Sour Cream

Cashew-based Sour Cream substitute, oil-free, gluten-free, sugar-free
Last updated Oct. 6, 2019.
Prep Time10 minutes
Course: Sauce/Spread
Cuisine: American
Keyword: sour cream
Author: Angela Liddon & The Plant-based Bear

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked
  • ¾ cup water err on the side of less rather than more*
  • 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tsp white vinegar
  • ½ tsp salt

Instructions

  • Cover cashews with water in a bowl and soak overnight in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can do the "quick-soak method", where you pour boiling water over the cashews and soak them for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the cashews when ready to use.**
  • Put all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Blend on high until super smooth. For me, this was 1-2 minutes. At the end, you might slowly slow down your blender until stopped to get out extra air bubbles. Depending on your blender, you may also have to stop a few times and scrape the mixture down a bit. Adding slightly more water will help it, if it doesn't seem to be blending.
  • Scrape out of blender and into an airtight container and chill. The cream thickens as it chills, and will last 1-2 weeks.
  • Angela says: You can also freeze it for up to 1 month. I like to freeze it in silicone mini muffin cups. Once solid, transfer the cups into a freezer-safe zip bag for easy grab and go portions.

Notes

*Start with barely 3/4 cup water and see how it goes.  Don’t use a “generous” 3/4 cup.  If you need more liquid to make it properly blend, add it, just a little at a time, until you get a good blend going.  Remember, this cream will thicken in the refrigerator, and it’s best to chill before serving, as the blender can heat this up quickly!
**After soaking cashews, they are a weird gray color.  Don’t worry.  The cream gets pretty white upon blending!

Angela’s original recipe calls for less lemon juice, and the use of apple cider vinegar.  I find that the extra lemon juice makes the cream more “soury” and that the apple cider vinegar adds a strange sweetness that seems to get even stronger over the life of the cream.  I don’t really want my sour cream to be sweet, so I’ve made these modifications, and find it pretty tasty, indeed.

And those country potatoes I wanted for breakfast? They were delicious! I added in diced bell peppers and yellow onions before I was done cooking, and then topped them with last week’s Plant-based Cheddar Cheese (shredded), and some salsa!

No-Oil Air Fryer Country Potatoes with bell peppers and onions, and topped with Plant-based Sour Cream, Plant-based Cheddar Cheese (shredded) and some salsa!

May your days be sour, and creamy! Or at least your potatoes!

PBB