Out of Heavy cream, one case
Can you substitute sour cream for heavy cream?
4 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Sour cream
1 cup for every cup of heavy cream
Yes in sauces, soups and baking, with two limits: sour cream curdles if it boils and it will not whip. To finish a sauce or soup, take the pan off the heat and stir in 1 cup sour cream per cup of heavy cream. For batters and anything that has to pour, whisk ½ cup sour cream with ½ cup milk. The dish will taste tangy.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Take the pan off the heat. Stir a few spoonfuls of the hot liquid into the sour cream first, then stir that back into the pan. Do not boil it afterward.
- Best for —
- finishing pan sauces, stroganoff and paprikash
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full heavy cream card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup heavy cream | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sour creamfinishing pan sauces, stroganoff and paprikash | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Sour cream + milkcakes, muffins and quick breads | ½ cup sour cream + ½ cup milkTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Creme fraichesauces that have to boil or reduce | 1 cupWorks | Works |
| 4 | Half-and-half + butterAlfredo and other mild cream sauces | ¾ cup half-and-half + ¼ cup butterTweak it | Tweak it |
| Not a swap | Sour cream for whipping | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Sour cream
tangy; the sweet, neutral taste of cream is gone
Cultured cream at about 18 to 20% fat, half that of heavy cream. It is already thick, so it gives body to a sauce without reducing, but its acid and lower fat make it split at a boil.
- Best for
- finishing pan sauces, stroganoff and paprikash, cream soups, stirred in at the end, mashed potatoes and casseroles, dips and cold sauces
- Prep
- Take the pan off the heat. Stir a few spoonfuls of the hot liquid into the sour cream first, then stir that back into the pan. Do not boil it afterward.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Anything that boils or reduces after it goes in: the sauce turns grainy. It also fails in whipped cream, ganache, caramel and ice cream.
Use full-fat. Light and fat-free sour cream split much more easily.
Sour cream + milk
mildly tangy; a tender, moist crumb in baking
Thinned to the pouring thickness of cream, so it mixes into a batter or a custard evenly.
- Best for
- cakes, muffins and quick breads, scones and biscuits, quiche and baked casseroles
- Prep
- Whisk the two together until smooth before adding to the recipe.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Stovetop sauces that simmer: thinned sour cream curdles even more readily than straight sour cream.
Creme fraiche
lightly tangy and rich
The cultured cream that behaves like heavy cream. At about 30% fat or more it can simmer and reduce without splitting, and it is milder than sour cream.
- Best for
- sauces that have to boil or reduce, soups with wine, tomato or lemon in them, when the tang of sour cream is too much
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- It whips only to soft, loose peaks, so it does not replace stiff whipped cream on a cake.
Half-and-half + butter
close to cream, with a faint butter note
The swap to use when the dish should not taste tangy at all, such as Alfredo or a sweet custard.
- Best for
- Alfredo and other mild cream sauces, sweet custards and puddings, recipes where tang would be wrong
- Prep
- Melt the butter, let it cool until warm, and whisk it into the half-and-half.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- It will not whip, and it can split at a hard boil.
Sour cream for whipping
tangy
Sour cream has too little fat to trap air. Beating it only thins it.
- Best for
- nothing that has to hold peaks
- Where it fails
- Whipped cream, mousse, ganache that must set, caramel sauce and churned ice cream. For a topping, spoon on the sour cream as it is, sweetened with a little sugar, and do not expect it to hold a shape.
Tips for substituting heavy cream
5 tips- Heat is the problem. Take the pan off the burner, wait a minute, then stir the sour cream in. Rewarm gently and stop before it bubbles.
- For more insurance in a hot sauce, stir 1 tbsp flour into each cup of sour cream before it goes in. The starch helps keep it from splitting.
- Bring the sour cream to room temperature first. Cold sour cream dropped into a hot pan is the most common cause of a grainy sauce.
- In baking, use ½ cup sour cream plus ½ cup milk per cup of cream. Expect a slightly denser, moister crumb.
- Taste before you add lemon juice, vinegar or wine. Sour cream has already added acid.
Questions
5 questionsCan I use sour cream in place of heavy cream in a sauce?
Yes, as a finishing step. Cook the sauce without it, take the pan off the heat, and stir in the same amount of full-fat sour cream. Do not boil it after that, or it curdles. The sauce is thick and tangy, which suits stroganoff and paprikash better than Alfredo.
Can I use sour cream in place of heavy cream in soup?
Yes. Take the pot off the heat, whisk a ladle of hot soup into the sour cream, then stir that back into the pot. Use the same amount as the cream, adding it in two parts and tasting between them, since sour cream is thicker and tangier.
Can sour cream replace heavy cream in pasta sauce?
In a cooked sauce it works off the heat, in the same amount. Toss it with the hot pasta and a splash of pasta water instead of simmering it. In Alfredo the tang is noticeable; half-and-half plus butter is closer.
Can you whip sour cream like heavy cream?
No. It has about half the fat of heavy cream and will not hold air. For a whipped topping you need cream with at least 30% fat, or chilled coconut cream.
How much sour cream replaces ½ cup of heavy cream?
Use ½ cup sour cream to finish a sauce or soup off the heat. In a batter, use ¼ cup sour cream whisked with ¼ cup milk.