Out of Milk, one case
Can you substitute sour cream for milk?
5 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Sour cream + water
½ cup sour cream + ½ cup water for every cup of milk
Yes, in baking and in creamy dishes. For batters, whisk ½ cup sour cream with ½ cup water to replace each cup of milk; the result is a little tangier and more tender. In boxed mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, use sour cream straight in the same amount as the milk. It will not work in coffee, cereal or a sauce that boils, where it curdles.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Whisk the sour cream and water until smooth before adding to the batter. If the batter is still thicker than the recipe describes, add water 1 tbsp at a time.
- Best for —
- muffins, quick breads and cakes
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full milk card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 cup milk | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sour cream + watermuffins, quick breads and cakes | ½ cup sour cream + ½ cup waterTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Sour cream, straightboxed mac and cheese | 1 cupTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Plain yogurt + watermuffins and quick breads | ½ cup yogurt + ½ cup waterTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Half and half + watercream sauces and soups | 1/3 cup half and half + 2/3 cup waterTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Water + butterboxed baking mixes | 1 cup water + 1 tbsp butterTweak it | Tweak it |
| Not a swap | Sour cream, in hot drinks or boiled sauces | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Sour cream + water
a light tang, like buttermilk
Sour cream is much thicker, fattier and more acidic than milk. Thinned with an equal amount of water it pours like milk and brings about the richness of half and half.
- Best for
- muffins, quick breads and cakes, pancakes and waffles, biscuits and cornbread
- Prep
- Whisk the sour cream and water until smooth before adding to the batter. If the batter is still thicker than the recipe describes, add water 1 tbsp at a time.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Custards, puddings and anything that boils. Light and fat-free sour cream contain thickeners and behave less predictably in batter.
Treat the half-and-half split as a starting point. Brands of sour cream differ in thickness.
Sour cream, straight
tangy and rich
Where milk is a few spoonfuls stirred in for creaminess, sour cream can go in undiluted in the same amount. The dish comes out thicker, richer and tangy.
- Best for
- boxed mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs and casseroles
- Prep
- Stir it in off the heat or over low heat, at the end.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Recipes that need a pourable liquid, such as cake batter, where a full cup of straight sour cream gives a stiff batter and a dense crumb.
Plain yogurt + water
tangy, and leaner than sour cream
Plain yogurt does the same job as sour cream with less fat. Use it the same way if the sour cream tub runs short.
- Best for
- muffins and quick breads, pancakes, marinades and dressings
- Prep
- Whisk smooth with the water. Greek yogurt is thicker, so add a little more water until it pours.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Like sour cream, it curdles if boiled.
Half and half + water
the same as milk
If there is half and half in the fridge, it is the better stand-in where sour cream fails: it has no tang and it does not curdle when heated.
- Best for
- cream sauces and soups, custards and puddings, coffee and tea
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Nowhere milk works.
Water + butter
plainer and less rich than milk
For a recipe where tang would be unwelcome and there is no other dairy, water with a little melted butter replaces the liquid and the fat.
- Best for
- boxed baking mixes, yeast breads, pancakes
- Prep
- Melt the butter and stir it into the water or straight into the batter.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Puddings, custards and cream sauces, which need the milk itself.
Sour cream, in hot drinks or boiled sauces
sour, with curdled flecks
Sour cream is acidic, and it separates into grainy flecks when it boils or meets hot coffee or tea.
- Best for
- nothing here
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cereal, instant pudding, custard, and any white sauce or soup that is simmered after the dairy goes in.
Tips for substituting milk
5 tips- Baking: ½ cup sour cream whisked with ½ cup water per cup of milk. For ½ cup of milk, that is ¼ cup of each.
- Boxed mac and cheese: replace the ¼ cup milk with ¼ cup sour cream, stirred in off the heat with the butter and cheese powder. Add 1 tbsp of the pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Mashed potatoes: stir sour cream in at the end in place of the milk, starting with half the amount and adding until the potatoes are as loose as you like.
- Soups and pan sauces: take the pot off the heat, stir a few spoonfuls of the hot liquid into the sour cream, then stir that back in. Do not let it boil again.
- Use full-fat sour cream. Light and fat-free versions are more likely to turn grainy with heat.
Questions
4 questionsCan I use sour cream in place of milk in mac and cheese?
Yes. In boxed mac and cheese, use the same amount of sour cream as milk, usually ¼ cup, and stir it in off the heat. The sauce is thicker and tangier. In a baked mac and cheese built on a white sauce, replace only a small part of the milk and stir the sour cream in after the sauce comes off the heat.
Do I need to change the baking powder or baking soda?
Not at this amount. Thinned sour cream is mildly acidic, like buttermilk, and a recipe leavened with baking powder rises as usual. The crumb comes out slightly more tender and tangy.
Can I use sour cream in place of milk in a cake mix?
Yes, thinned. Whisk equal parts sour cream and water and use that in the amount of milk or water the box asks for. The cake is a little denser and moister than usual.
Why did my sauce curdle when I added sour cream?
It got too hot. Sour cream separates when it boils. Add it at the end with the pot off the heat, and warm it gently if needed. Once a sauce has curdled it is safe to eat but stays grainy.