How to Make Sour Cream with Only 2 Ingredients

You will be surprised how ridiculously easy it is to make sour cream at home! You only need 2 ingredients!

So many people have been asking me how to make sour cream at home.

After I posted my recipe on how to make cream cheese with only one ingredient, I received so many requests for a homemade sour cream recipe.

Before I ever post any recipe, I test it and want to make sure it is both delicious and easy. I am so thrilled to tell you that this recipe is both!

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Why you’ll love this recipe

You are probably here because you like to make food from scratch. That way you know that there are no sketchy ingredients in it.

It is also very economical to make your own!

Sometimes, we have run out of something or can’t get it at the store.

Therefore, I always find it so useful to know how to make food at home.

This sour cream with only 2 ingredients is so simple to make. In fact, you might never want to go back to storebought!

Especially since the flavor of this homemade fermented dairy is just right on and delicious!

What are the 2 ingredients for the sour cream

All you need is

• cream: I love using the cream that I get from the top of our raw milk. You can use pasteurized cream as well. I have not tried using ultra-pasteurized cream but try to avoid that in general.
• buttermilk: both homemade or store-bought buttermilk works well in this recipe.

Yep, it’s that simple!

Useful tools and equipment

There isn’t a whole lot you will need for making this recipe.

• As always, I love using 16 oz wide-mouth mason jars. They hold the perfect quantity of any homemade dairy. Since I pretty much only have wide-mouth mason jars in different sizes, I can switch out the lids very easily. Pouring ingredients into and out of them is also a snap.
• A spoon. Any old spoon will do. It can be a stainless spoon or a wooden spoon. Your choice.

How to make the sour cream

I almost think it’s not worth an entire blog post to teach you how to make this recipe but here it goes:

1. Start with the best quality cream you can afford. Also, the fresher the better, and raw cream gives you great results. Pour this into your mason jar or another container. Leave some room at the top.
2. To this add about 2 tablespoons of cultured buttermilk. And yes, it has to be cultured. It cannot be the buttermilk you get from adding an acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to milk. Homemade buttermilk is all I use.
3. Stir well to combine the two ingredients.
4. Let this sit at room temperature for about 24 hours or until set and solid.
5. If after 24 hours, your ‘sour cream’ is still liquid, leave it for another 12 or 24 hours. Eventually, it will set.
6. When set, place it in the refrigerator where it will even set some more.

And that’s all!

Sour cream substitutions and variations

Now you might be wondering if you could use some other ingredients.

• Cream: you can really use any cream in this recipe. If you’re buying from the store you can use heavy cream OR whipping cream. You can use raw cream or pasteurized cream. I have not played with plant-based creams but imagine that they might work as well.
• Buttermilk: As I mentioned above, to make this sour cream you have to use cultured buttermilk. Again, it doesn’t matter whether you make your own or use store-bought. However, you can yogurt and kefir for making sour cream. In the end, I like the taste best when I use buttermilk.

How to use it

You can use this sour cream in all your favorite recipes just like you would use store-bought. Because of its nice, complex flavor, I use it much more often than regular, sweet cream in most of my recipes.

A dollop of sour cream takes recipes like these to the next level: creamy celery soup, Hungarian beef goulash, German onion pie, and quiche.

If you like, you can add herbs or spices to your sour cream and use it as a dip.

But you can also use this sour cream to make your own cream cheese. And you can make delicious cultured butter.

How long does homemade sour cream last?

You can easily keep your homemade sour cream in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. On rare occasions, we have kept it longer and it was fine. As always, use your best judgment. If you detect an off-smell or mold on your sour cream it’s best to throw it out.

Other recipes you might like

How to make Cream Cheese

How to make Buttermilk

How to make German Quark

Homemade Yogurt

Shop this post:

“The Art of Natural Cheesemaking” by David Asher

16 oz mason jars

Buttermilk starter

Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

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