Vegan Silken Tofu Sour Cream

Creamy, smooth and low in fat, silken tofu blends up into a thick sour cream, ready to use on your favorite plant-based, vegan meals. Dollop this vegan tofu sour cream (without cashews) on nachos, tacos, chili or potatoes.

This quick homemade sour cream made with silken tofu (no cashews!) is plant-based, vegan, nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and wfpb. It can be made SOS-free by omitting the salt.

If you're looking for a richer sour cream, try making this vegan cashew sour cream. Or, for a nut-free, soy-free option, try this sunflower seed sour cream.

What can you use it for? Anything you would use sour cream for! Drizzle over tacos, nachos, enchiladas, 7-layer dip, baked potatoes and chili.

Jump to:

• 🎙 What people say about this recipe
• 🧄 Ingredient notes
• Silken tofu 101
• 📋 Substitutions and variations
• 🔪 Instructions
• ❓ FAQ
• 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Serving suggestions
• 💜 More recipes you'll love
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

🎙 What people say about this recipe

"This is a great sauce! I use it like sour cream but I have also added things to it like Ranch Dressing seasoning (I make my own) or Everything Bagel seasoning to make more great tasting sauces. It is nice to have an alternative to nut-based sauces (though, I like those, too!). Thanks for your consistently great content; you are one of my go-to bloggers when I need a plant based recipe!"

- Angie

🧄 Ingredient notes

This vegan silken tofu sour cream (without cashews!) recipe has the following plant-based ingredients:

• Silken tofu - use firm or extra firm silken tofu by brand Morinu (pictured above) for the best results. See below for more info about silken tofu, where to buy it, how to use it and other recipes using silken tofu.
• Fresh lemon juice - fresh lemon juice is preferred for a fresh acidity and brightness to cut through the richness of creamy tofu.
• Apple cider vinegar - a touch of vinegar amps up the acid and sour flavor that is necessary in a sour cream

Silken tofu 101

Where can you buy silken tofu?

The best brand of silken tofu for this recipe is Morinu silken tofu, extra firm. You may find it at your Asian grocery store, in the Asian foods aisle of your supermarket or at international food stores. Or, you can buy it online at Amazon.

Often, silken tofu is packed in aseptic, shelf-stable containers and does not need to be refrigerated. So, you will find it on the shelf with other packaged dry goods.

I usually buy it in bulk on Amazon when the price is good and keep it in the pantry. Saves room in my refrigerator and has a long shelf life, as it's usually good up to a year unopened.

Other brands of silken tofu come packed in water and can be found in a refrigerated section, usually with the other tofu and vegan products.

How do you open the box? Set it on one of the short sides. Pull up the little triangle-shaped corners. Cut them off with kitchen scissors. Then, cut down the middle of the end flap, where you see the dotted line.

Open the flaps, hold one finger on the block of tofu, turn it upside down to drain any excess water. Then, turn it over onto your plate or scoop it out with a spoon.

How to use silken tofu

Silken tofu is processed differently and has a different texture than the more common water-packed tofu that is typically pressed and then pan-fried, air-fried or baked.

Silken tofu is much smoother and more delicate, with a silky texture. Silken tofu does not need to be pressed. In fact, if you try to press it, it will fall apart. Just drain any excess water in the container, then it's ready to use.

If you're blending it, use a spoon to scoop it out into the blender or food processor.

Silken tofu is edible raw or cooked.

Silken tofu uses and recipes

• Blend up into sauces, like this sour cream
• Blend into creamy desserts, like my vegan pumpkin pie
• Make thick, low fat mayonnaise
• Make tofu soft scrambled "eggs", although I prefer the chewier texture of (not silken) firm tofu packed in water for that.
• Cut into small cubes and add to vegan ramen noodle soup or miso soup
• Cantonese-style steamed tofu
• Vegan mapo tofu

📋 Substitutions and variations

Here are some suitable substitutions for the ingredients called for in this recipe:

• Silken tofu - I would not recommend using a different kind of tofu for this recipe, as I have not tested using a standard tofu (even soft varieties) that are not silken, so I cannot comment on their effectiveness. If you are looking for a different sour cream main ingredient, try one of these soy-free options:
  • Cashew Sour Cream
  • Sunflower Seed Sour Cream
• Fresh lemon juice - use bottled lemon juice instead. Or, use lime juice.
• Apple cider vinegar - use white wine vinegar, distilled vinegar or extra lemon juice instead of ACV.
• Sea salt - use twice the amount of kosher salt (I recommend Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt) instead of sea salt, as kosher salt is about half as salty as sea salt. If you are SOS-free, omit the salt.
• Cane sugar - instead use another sweetener, like maple syrup or agave nectar

Want to switch up the flavors? Here are some variations to try with this tofu sour cream recipe:

• Vegan Miracle Whip Substitute: use silken tofu to make vegan mayonnaise.
• Spicy - add sriracha, chipotle pepper powder, cayenne powder, taco seasoning or cajun salt to infuse a little heat to this sour cream.
• Garlic Aioli: add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 extra garlic cloves when blending. Great with paella or as a mayo substitute!
• Chipotle Sour Cream: add 2 chipotles in adobo sauce when blending. Delicious on tacos, nachos, tostadas, burritos or anything TexMex.
• Taco Dip: mix in 1 package of taco seasoning to prepared vegan sour cream.
• SOS-free - make this SOS-free by omitting the salt

🔪 Instructions

Add everything to a high speed blender, food processor or mini food processor and process until completely smooth. You'll have to stop a few times to scrape down the sides. It will look separated at first, but keep processing and it will all combine together to form a smooth sour cream.

At this point, it's ready to be eaten atop chili, nachos, tacos, baked potatoes or whatever else you'd like a dollop of sour cream on!

It will thicken up more once cooled in the refrigerator.

Keep it stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. It does not freeze well.

❓ FAQ

We like all three but our favorite is cashew cream.

But, I know cashews can be expensive and some are allergic. If you're looking for a vegan sour cream without cashews, then try either tofu sour cream or sunflower seed sour cream.

The lowest fat and easiest option to make is this recipe made of silken tofu. Sunflower seed sour cream is best for those with nut or soy allergies, in addition to those avoiding dairy.

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Serving suggestions

What can you serve this vegan tofu sour cream with? Try dolloping it on or mixing it into one of these plant-based recipes!

💜 More recipes you'll love

If you like this tofu cream recipe, then check out my recipes for other plant-based sauces and condiments!

📖 Recipe