If you need a sour cream substitute for baking, the best choice is plain full-fat Greek yogurt, swapped in 1:1. Buttermilk, crème fraîche and cottage cheese blended smooth all work too, depending on whether your batter needs to stay thick or can afford to run a little thinner.
Quick answer
For every 1 cup of sour cream in a baking recipe, use:
- 1 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt for the closest match in thickness and tang
- 1 cup crème fraîche when you want the richest possible result
- 1 cup buttermilk for pancakes, quick breads and cakes (thinner, so not for frosting)
- 1 cup cottage cheese, blended smooth for a milder, less tangy result
- ¾ cup milk plus ⅓ cup melted butter plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar as a homemade stand-in
- 1 cup full-fat coconut cream plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice for a dairy-free option
Sour cream does two jobs in most baking: it adds tang and fat, and its acidity reacts with baking soda for lift and a tender crumb. The closer a substitute matches sour cream’s thickness and acidity, the less you need to change anything else in the recipe.
For reference, 1 cup of sour cream is about 240ml or 230g, and 1 tablespoon is about 15ml. Most people making these swaps outside the US will find it easier to measure by weight (grams) than by the US cup, since sour cream and its substitutes vary a little in density.
Sour cream substitute comparison
| Substitute | Amount for 1 cup sour cream | Best for | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain Greek yogurt | 1 cup | Cakes, muffins, quick breads, frosting | Very close match; slightly tangier if low-fat |
| Crème fraîche | 1 cup | Rich cakes, cheesecake, coffee cake | Milder tang, higher fat, usually pricier |
| Buttermilk | 1 cup | Pancakes, quick breads, thin-batter cakes | Noticeably thinner; not for frosting or dense batters |
| Cottage cheese, blended | 1 cup | Cakes and muffins where mild flavor is preferred | Milder tang; blend fully or texture shows |
| Homemade (milk, butter, lemon juice) | 1 cup prepared | Any recipe when nothing else is on hand | Close in fat and tang; takes 5 minutes to rest |
| Mayonnaise | 1 cup | Chocolate cakes specifically | Works because of egg and oil content; skip for light or fruit cakes |
| Coconut cream and lemon juice | 1 cup | Dairy-free baking | Mild coconut flavor; use full-fat canned coconut cream |
Is Greek yogurt really the best swap?
For most baking, yes. Plain, full-fat Greek yogurt matches sour cream’s thickness and acidity closely enough that you can swap it in without adjusting anything else, using the same amount and same oven time.
Low-fat or non-fat Greek yogurt works too, but it’s tangier and less rich, so cakes can come out slightly less tender. If richness matters (a pound cake or cheesecake, say), reach for full-fat.
Plain regular (non-Greek) yogurt is thinner than sour cream and will loosen your batter a little. It’s fine in muffins and quick breads; for a frosting or a dense cake, Greek yogurt or crème fraîche hold up better.
Can you use buttermilk instead of sour cream?
Yes, but expect a thinner batter. Buttermilk has roughly the same acidity as sour cream, which is useful if the recipe leans on that reaction with baking soda, but it has far less fat and body.
It works well 1:1 in pancakes, biscuits, quick breads and any cake that already has a fairly loose batter. It’s a poor match for sour cream coffee cake, cheesecake or frosting, where the thickness is doing real structural work.
If you only have buttermilk and need something closer to sour cream’s body, whisk in a tablespoon of melted butter per cup to add back some of the missing fat.
How do you make a sour cream substitute from scratch?
Combine:
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ⅓ cup melted unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar
Whisk together and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes so it thickens slightly and the acid does its work. It won’t be as thick as real sour cream, but the fat and acid balance is close enough for most cakes, muffins and quick breads.
Kitchen Answers Tip: Whichever substitute you use, bring it to room temperature before mixing. A cold, dense substitute stirred into a warm batter can shock the fat and leave streaks instead of blending in smoothly.
What about sour cream in frosting?
Frosting is less forgiving than a batter, because thickness is the whole point. Full-fat Greek yogurt or crème fraîche are the only substitutes thick enough to hold up here; buttermilk and thinned homemade versions will leave a frosting too loose to spread.
If a Greek yogurt frosting still seems thin, chilling it for 20 to 30 minutes before using firms it back up.
Which substitutes don’t work well?
- Skim or low-fat sour cream alternatives: too thin and too tangy to carry the fat side of the job.
- Heavy cream alone: plenty of fat, no acidity, so it won’t react with baking soda the way sour cream does.
- Plain non-fat yogurt: too thin and too sharp; fine diluted into a sauce, not into a cake batter.
- Mayonnaise, outside chocolate cake: its flavor is more noticeable in a plain or fruit-based cake than in something already rich with cocoa.
Frequently asked questions
Can you use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream in cheesecake?
Yes, plain full-fat Greek yogurt works well in cheesecake, using the same amount as the sour cream called for. Cheesecake is delicate enough that the swap can slightly change texture (a touch less rich, a bit tangier), but it still sets and slices normally.
Does a sour cream substitute change baking time?
Not noticeably for the substitutes on this list, since they’re swapped in at the same weight and similar moisture level. The one exception is a batter thinned by buttermilk or a homemade version, which can bake slightly faster because there’s more moisture to cook off. Start checking a few minutes early if you’ve thinned the batter.
Can you substitute sour cream for oil in a cake mix?
Sour cream and oil aren’t doing the same job, so this isn’t a direct swap. Oil adds fat and moisture without much structure; sour cream adds fat, moisture, and acidity that reacts with baking soda. Some boxed cake mix recipes call for sour cream in addition to oil rather than instead of it, so check what the specific recipe is asking for before swapping.
Is mayonnaise really an acceptable sour cream substitute?
In chocolate cake specifically, yes. Mayonnaise is mostly egg and oil, both of which are already doing work in a chocolate cake recipe, and its flavor disappears into the cocoa. It’s a poor swap in anything pale or fruit-flavored, where the flavor has nowhere to hide.
Can you use plain kefir instead of sour cream?
Kefir is thinner than sour cream, closer to a drinkable buttermilk than a scoopable one, so treat it the same way you’d treat buttermilk in this list: fine for pancakes and quick breads, too thin for frosting or a dense cake.
How long does a homemade sour cream substitute keep?
Use the milk-butter-lemon juice version right away rather than storing it. It’s meant to mimic sour cream’s fat and acidity for one recipe, not to be a shelf-stable product, and it separates on standing.
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