Sour Cream Powder substitute

Best substitute

Buttermilk powder

Use the same amount as the sour cream powder you are replacing

Best for ranch seasoning and dip mixes

Different texture

Buttermilk powder is the best 1:1 swap - tangier and leaner, so the blend tastes sharper and less creamy. Yogurt powder also swaps 1:1 and is sourer still. With neither in the house, mix 1 tablespoon of nonfat dry milk with a scant 1/8 teaspoon of citric acid per tablespoon of sour cream powder, which recreates the tang but not the fatty roundness. Real sour cream only works if the recipe can take the liquid - it cannot go into a shelf-stable dry mix.

Other sour cream powder substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Yogurt powder
Close match
Use the same amount
Works directly and is closer in tang than anything else, in fact usually more sour than sour cream powder.
What changes
A sour cream and onion coating made with it tastes noticeably more acidic and less rich, which is pleasant on potatoes and slightly aggressive in a creamy dip mix.
Best for
dip and dressing mixes, seasoning blends, snack coatings, backpacking meals
Dial it back by about a quarter and make up the volume with dry milk powder if the sourness is too forward for your blend.
3Nonfat dry milk plus citric acid
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 tablespoon sour cream powder for every 1 tablespoon dry milk + a scant ⅛ teaspoon citric acid
The pantry version, and it gets you to roughly 80 percent.
What changes
You are rebuilding the two functional parts - dairy solids and acidity - but not the butterfat or the fermented complexity, so the blend tastes clean and simple where the original tastes rounded and cultured. Fine in a spice rub, thin in a dip mix where dairy richness is the whole appeal.
Best for
spice rubs, dry seasoning blends, bread and biscuit mixes, camp cooking
If the mix will be stirred into anything fatty - butter, mayonnaise, oil - the missing richness matters far less, so this substitute performs better in a dip than in a dry coating.
4Nonfat dry milk plus cream of tartar
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 tablespoon sour cream powder for every 1 tablespoon dry milk + ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Same principle with the acid most kitchens already stock.
What changes
Cream of tartar is milder and slightly mineral tasting, so the tang is softer and a bit chalky compared with citric acid. Best in a baking mix, where its acidity also does useful work with baking soda.
Best for
quick bread and scone mixes, pancake mixes, savory biscuit mixes
Watch the interaction with any baking soda already in the recipe, since the extra acid will increase the lift.
5Cheese powder
Different taste
Use the same amount with a pinch of citric acid added
Useful in a snack coating and misleading anywhere else.
What changes
Cheese powder brings the same dry dairy fat and clinging texture, but it tastes distinctly of cheddar rather than of cultured cream, so a sour cream and onion seasoning made with it comes out reading as cheese and onion. The added acid pushes it back toward tangy.
Best for
popcorn and chip coatings, savory snack seasonings, pasta and potato sprinkles
Most cheese powders are heavily salted, so cut the salt elsewhere in the blend and taste before adding more.
6Real sour cream, in wet recipes only
Different texture
Use about 2 tablespoons sour cream, minus 1 tablespoon of another liquid for every 1 tablespoon sour cream powder
Honest limitation: if the recipe is going to be mixed and eaten - a dip, a dressing, a batter - real sour cream tastes better than any powder and you should just use it.
What changes
If the recipe has to stay dry and shelf-stable, such as a rub, a jarred seasoning blend or a snack coating, there is no substitute for a dried cultured dairy powder and this option simply does not apply.
Best for
dips and dressings made fresh, batters and doughs, sauces
Reduce other liquids to compensate, and remember a mix containing real sour cream must be refrigerated and used within a few days.

What is Sour Cream Powder?

Sour Cream Powder is Sour cream powder is cultured cream dried into a fine powder, used to add tangy dairy richness to dry mixes such as ranch seasoning, dip powders and snack coatings without adding any moisture.

Cooking tips

Sour cream powder does three things in a dry blend: it supplies acid, dairy solids and fat, and it is the fat that makes a seasoning cling to a chip and feel creamy on the tongue. Substitutes based on nonfat dry milk cover the first two and miss the third, which is why they taste correct but feel thin.
Because it contains cream, it is the shortest-lived powder in the pantry. Keep it sealed, cool and away from the stove, and smell it before use - rancid dairy fat has a distinct crayon-like note that will ruin a whole jar of seasoning.
Sift or whisk it thoroughly through the other dry ingredients. Sour cream powder is fine and slightly greasy, so it clumps and settles, and an unmixed blend gives you a bland shake followed by an intensely sour one.
A homemade blend using any of these powders usually tastes flat until it is salted properly. Add salt a quarter teaspoon at a time and taste on an actual chip or vegetable rather than off a spoon, where the sourness reads much stronger.
It browns and burns before most spices do, thanks to the milk sugars. Use it in cold or low-heat applications - dips, dressings, finishing sprinkles - rather than in a rub going onto a hard-seared steak.

Frequently asked questions

What can I use instead of sour cream powder?

Buttermilk powder is the best straight swap at 1:1, though it is leaner and tangier. Yogurt powder also works 1:1 and is sourer. Without either, blend 1 tablespoon of nonfat dry milk with a scant 1/8 teaspoon of citric acid per tablespoon needed, accepting that the fatty, creamy quality will be missing.

Can I use regular sour cream instead of sour cream powder?

Only where moisture is acceptable. About 2 tablespoons of sour cream carries the flavor of 1 tablespoon of powder, and you should cut another liquid by a tablespoon to compensate. In a shelf-stable seasoning blend or a snack coating it is not an option at all, since the water makes the mix clump, spoil and refuse to stick as a dry powder.

Is sour cream powder the same as buttermilk powder?

No, though they are used the same way. Sour cream powder is dried cultured cream, so it is richer and rounder. Buttermilk powder is dried cultured low-fat milk, so it is sharper and thinner. They swap one for one, and the difference shows up mostly as mouthfeel rather than flavor.

Can I leave sour cream powder out of a ranch seasoning mix?

You can, but it changes what you have made. Without the cultured dairy element the blend becomes a herb and allium seasoning - dill, chive, onion and garlic - which is genuinely good on potatoes and chicken but does not taste like ranch. If you are mixing the seasoning into mayonnaise or real sour cream anyway, leaving it out matters much less.

Where do I find sour cream powder?

It is a specialty item rather than a supermarket staple, usually sold by baking suppliers, bulk spice sellers and camping or food storage retailers. If your recipe came from a dip-mix or snack-seasoning source and you cannot find it locally, buttermilk powder from the baking aisle is the practical substitute.

Related substitutes

More dairy substitutes

Sour Cream Powder substitute

Other sour cream powder substitutes

2Yogurt powder

3Nonfat dry milk plus citric acid

4Nonfat dry milk plus cream of tartar

5Cheese powder

6Real sour cream, in wet recipes only