You can use it with chicken, fish, potatoes, you name it, it adds delicious tart creaminess. I especially love it drizzled on tacos and as a dip with nachos. If you’re looking for a fast and easy sour cream sauce, this is it. No roux, no flour, just sour cream and flavor!
What is sour cream sauce?
It’s exactly what it sounds like, sauce that’s made with sour cream. Essentially it’s a flavored sour cream that’s a bit looser than plain sour cream, making it easy to drizzle or smother over anything that needs a bit of creamy, fresh, tart flavor.
What is it made of?
The main ingredient is sour cream. No surprises there, sour cream sauce is simple and consists of: sour cream, spices, and a bit of milk to thin it out.
Sour cream sauce ingredients
sour cream – at its heart, sour cream is simply regular cream that’s been fermented with enzymes and active cultures (like yogurt) so it thickens. My all time favorite brand of sour cream is Good Culture. Sour creams vary by thickness, tanginess, and creaminess, so grab a brand that you love the taste of.
garlic and onion powder – a small amount of garlic and onion powder stirred into sour cream is virtually indistinguishable, texture-wise, but it adds so much savoriness and flavor. You could use fresh garlic and onion, but I find that granulated/powdered garlic and onion powder superior because you end up with a smooth sauce. Just be sure to get garlic power and onion power, not garlic salt or onion salt.
milk – just the tiniest bit of milk is going to thin out sour cream to a saucy, pourable consistency. I like using whole milk to keep the sauce creamy but if you don’t have milk on hand, you can actually use a bit of water.
salt and freshly ground pepper – this is pretty self explanatory, add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste to your sauce.
optional add ins: lemon/lime juice. If you want a bit of tartness and more sour acidity, add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice to your sauce. This goes especially well with Mexican food. Thinly sliced green onions or chives create a classic sour cream and onion feel. Stir them in to taste or finish your sauce sprinkled with a generous amount.
Can you heat up sour cream?
For this sauce, you don’t need to heat up your sour cream, so it’s not relevant, but for the sake of science, let’s talk about heating up sour cream. The answer is yes, you can. The key to adding sour cream to warm sauces is to add it at the end, when your hot sauce is off the heat. The residual heat of your sauce will gently heat and melt the sour cream without breaking it. If you heat it too high or too quickly sour cream has a tendency to break or curdle. If you want to add something that’s similar to a warm sauce that you bring to a boil, it’s better to reach for crème fraîche.
Is it the same as crema or crème fraîche?
Sour cream sauce is not the same as crema or crème fraîche, but you can certainly use it as a substitute, especially if you using sour cream to finish your dish.
Crème fraîche vs crema vs sour cream
Crème fraîche – 30% butterfat, rich, thick, works well cold and hot. Naturally cultured cream with tang and richness.
Mexican crema – 30% butterfat, slightly thick but drizzleable, tangy, rich, works well cold and hot. Naturally tangy, slightly thickened cream that tastes like a mix of sour cream and crème fraîche.
Sour cream – 20% butterfat, lots of body, thick, mildly tangy, better for cold sauces/finishing. Naturally cultured, cooling, rich, and creamy.
What to use sour cream sauce for
This sauce is perfect for serving with:
paprika chicken
wings
salmon
chicken
steak
tacos
chili
tostadas
baked potatoes
beef tenderloin
chilaquiles
potatoes
lasagna soup
enchiladas
tortilla soup
Pasta too!
Also, if you love sour cream, please check out our sour cream and onion pasta recipe – it’s a warm sour cream sauce made with a roux (butter and flour cooked together) served on penne and it’s AMAZING.
Sour cream can enhance both the taste and texture of your pasta sauce. It works in a similar manner to when you add heavy cream to a pasta sauce, only it imparts a lovely tart flavor that is irresistible to the palate. Sour cream is a dairy product that has been fermented with lactic acid.
Sour cream is commonly used as a condiment on foods, or combined with other ingredients to form a dipping sauce. It can be added to soups and sauces to help thicken and make them creamy, or in baking to help increase the moisture level over and above using milk.
Surprising, to me anyway, was my discovery that sour cream has a fat content sufficiently lower than heavy cream, such that boiling it will cause problems. So my recommendation is to add it at the end of cooking your dish, on low heat, and just keep it on the flame long enough to heat it. That way you're totally safe.
Chipotle uses the brand Daisy, so that's what we're using. Put the sour cream in the bowl. All you gotta do is whisk it. Keep whisking until you reach the desired texture.
1 cup of evaporated milk, 1 tablespoon vinegar and let it sit until it thickens, allways start with both at room temp and keep them there, it kind of clots up on its own, refrigerating may be what kept your method thin. The vinegar works on the protein in the cream to make it thick.
While freshly made crema can be thicker than American sour cream, added ingredients like lime juice create a thinner consistency than the majority of sour creams found elsewhere in the world. This makes it perfect for drizzling on tacos, burritos, bueno bowls, and other classic Mexican street foods.
The main health benefits of sour cream come from probiotics. Probiotics are healthy live bacteria that live in the human gut. Probiotics help people with lactose intolerance break down lactose in the small intestine before it reaches the colon (large intestine).
Creme Fraìche makes whatever it touches fancy. It's the cultured French cousin of sour cream, a rich and luscious topping for everything from baked vegetables, to pancakes, to soups, to tacos, and beyond.
The signature KFC Sauce is a classic choice that never goes out of style. Its savory and slightly tangy flavor makes it a versatile option for various KFC menu items. Perfect for dipping chicken, drizzling over biscuits, or even adding a kick to sandwiches, the KFC Sauce is a must-try for any sauce enthusiast.
The USDA gives a 21 day window for food safety, assuming the sour cream has been continuously refrigerated. Sour cream that has been exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than one to two hours should be discarded.
Sometimes over culturing (too long or too warm) can cause it to curdle or become lumpy before it separates fully. To make a smooth consistency, simply whisk it. (Remove some of the whey if you like, or stir it back in.) Check the culturing temperature to make sure it is within range, according to the instructions.
Tossing in strips of basil, a sprig of thyme or some oregano can take your sauce to the next level. Although fresh herbs might pop a bit more, dried herbs and spices can work just as well. Sprinkling in some red pepper flakes, a pinch of parsley and a dash of salt and pepper can liven up your jarred pasta sauce.
How Is Sour Cream Used in Baking? Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products; the extra fat content (for example, adding sour cream to a cake instead of milk) will make the cake moister and richer, says Wilk. "Fat, in any form (butter, lard, cream, etc.)
A generous sprig or two of fresh herbs like basil, parsley, rosemary, or sage can all amp up the flavor of a jarred pasta sauce. Alternatively, some of those herbs, like parsley, sage, and rosemary, can be great minced up and gently fried into fresh olive oil before adding the sauce to the pot.
It will curdle and create a texture that is highly unappetising. Make sure you stir your sauce continuously, so no parts of the soured cream heat too quickly or get too hot. This will help prevent curdling. Once it's cooled slightly, add a little pasta water to the sauce.
Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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