What Is Sour cream, non-fat and How Can I Use It?

Here's everything worth knowing about sour cream, non-fat and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 89 recipes to cook tonight.

What is sour cream, non-fat?

Non-fat sour cream is the fat-free version. The cream is gone entirely, so the body and creaminess come from starches and gums rather than milkfat. It keeps the cultured tang of regular sour cream but tastes leaner, with a slightly gummy texture and a sharper sourness.

For the full story on what sour cream is and how to use it, see sour cream. Here we cover only what changes when the fat is removed.

Cold, yes. Hot, no.

Without fat, non-fat sour cream is fragile under heat. It curdles and turns watery the moment it gets hot, because there is no milkfat to keep the proteins and starches from splitting. That makes it a poor choice for any cooked sauce.

Cold is where it does its best work. As a topping for tacos, baked potatoes, or chili, and stirred into cold dressings, it does the job at zero fat. Broccoli Slaw is a good fit, since the dressing is mixed cold and never sees the stove.

If a recipe bakes or simmers, like Creamy Hash Brown Casserole, use full-fat sour cream instead so it stays smooth through the heat.

Buying and storing

You will find it in the dairy case marked fat-free or non-fat. Keep it refrigerated and sealed, and use it within about a week once opened. Stir in any liquid that separates on the surface. Skip freezing, which wrecks the texture.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Food group: Sour cream, non-fat is a member of the Dairy and Egg Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

酸奶油，无脂

British (UK) term

Sour cream, non-fat

en français

crème sure, non gras

en español

crema agria, sin grasa

How much does sour cream, non-fat weigh?

Related

Dairy and Egg Products

Recipes using sour cream, non-fat

There are 89 recipes that contain this ingredient.

50 percent Reduced Fat Banana Nut Bread

Reduced fat banana nut bread with non-fat sour cream and egg substitute, swirled with chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Half the fat of standard banana bread, all the moist banana flavor.

Fat Free Multigrain Pancakes

Fat-free multigrain pancakes with whole wheat flour, cornmeal, oatmeal, and a tangy buttermilk-sour cream base. A high-fiber breakfast that beats heavy diner pancakes.

Fresh Corn Blinis with Roasted Bell Pepper, Artichoke Hearts & Arugula

These corn blinis are topped with roasted bell peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, olives and arugula leaves. They are so cute, easy to pick up and pop into your mouth. A great appetizer when you have company to come over or host a party.

Salmon Fillet with Dilled Potatoes

Quick, easy and delicious. The creamy potato salad was a great side dish to serve with dilly salmon, and we had all the goodness our bodies needed as well. A perfect dinner on a busy weekday.

Garden-Fresh Turkey Burgers

Lean turkey burgers loaded with shredded zucchini, sweet bell pepper, and onion. Oats bind everything together for juicy, vegetable-packed patties on whole wheat buns.

Chipotle Coleslaw

Super quick, easy to make, and it's creamy and delicious with some nice crunch and freshness.

Lemony Cranberry Cornmeal Muffins

Lemony cranberry cornmeal muffins balance tart fresh cranberries against bright lemon zest in a cornmeal-buttermilk batter, kept light by whipped egg whites and non-fat sour cream.

Greens with Roasted Corn & Pepper Salad

This is one of my favorites, and is always a hit when I bring it to potlucks.

Savory Tortilla Soup

This soup came out so tasty and flavorful. The pan-fried tortilla strips added some nice crunch, and I also served the soup with some sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese, cilantro and scallions. It was an easy, light yet tasty soup.

Fresh Corn Blinis with Smoked Salmon & Chive Cream

Fresh corn blinis topped with smoked salmon and chive cream. Fluffy cornmeal pancakes flecked with fresh corn kernels, crowned with silky cold-smoked salmon and a dollop of tangy cream. Elegant bite-sized appetizer.

Chicken Mushroom Quesadillas

An easy Mexican-style chicken, mushrooms and spinach between crispy tortillas.

Cabbage-Apple Slaw

Made this recipe with low-fat sour cream and a bit mayonnaise, deliciously creamy, and loved the fruitiness from the apples. This coleslaw is delicious at many ways, topping for burgers, sandwiches, even hot dogs, pulled pork...

Mushroom & Leek Gallette

This mushroom and leek pizza may be a little bit different from the normal pizza, but they are delicous. Mushrooms are cooked with leeks, just perfect.

Chicken Salad Contessa

Chicken salad Contessa: roasted chicken tossed with sweet grapes, toasted walnuts, and a creamy tarragon dressing. Roasting the chicken instead of boiling builds real flavor. Pile it on greens or a croissant.

Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake

This cheesecake is amazingly chocolatey and delicious. It screams out the cherry flavour. Definitely worth the effort.

Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits with Chives

Cheesy, moist and delicious! These biscuits are certainly one of the best ones we have ever had.

Chicken Mac Casserole

Chicken mac and cheese casserole. Crusty, cheese topped, satisfying bubbly perfection.

Phyllo Chicken Pot Pie

An excellent way to use up leftover chicken or turkey meat. The recipe uses phyllo instead of a carb-dense and high-fat pie crust, which significantly reduces the amount of calories.

Apple Celery & Walnut Salad

A crunchy combination of apples and celery with bits of toasted walnut in a creamy dressing. Perfect along side of pork or any other main dish.

Pork in Mustard Sauce

Pork chops in Dijon mustard sauce with tarragon and sour cream, served over egg noodles. A quick French-inspired skillet dinner with a creamy, tangy pan sauce.

Chocolate Ripple Cake, Low Calorie

Lower-calorie chocolate ripple cake baked in a clay pot with a coconut cream cheese swirl. Made with nonfat cream cheese, egg whites, and fat-free sour cream. Serves 12.

Skillet Chicken'N' Noodles

Ground chicken and ramen noodles tossed in a tangy tomato-sour cream sauce with Worcestershire and mustard. A 30-minute skillet dinner that upgrades instant noodles into a real meal.

Turkey Chimichangas

Ground turkey seasoned with taco mix and nonfat sour cream, rolled in flour tortillas and pan-fried until crispy. These lighter chimichangas skip the deep fryer but keep all the crunchy, creamy, spiced flavor you crave.

Taco Bar

Full-spread taco bar: chipotle-spiced ground beef simmered in tomato broth, chunky homemade guacamole with lime and garlic, and fresh serrano pico. Twelve tacos' worth of filling with every fixing on the table.

Old-Fashioned Potato Salad

Low-fat old-fashioned potato salad with red-skinned potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, celery, onion, and pickle relish in a nonfat sour cream and fat-free mayonnaise dressing with dry mustard.

Nonfat Cheesecake Fruit Pie

Nonfat cheesecake fruit pie with a crisp corn flake crust, fluffy marshmallow-and-cream-cheese filling, and a swirl of fruit cocktail. Light, no-bake-style cheesecake with serious retro charm.

Garlic Chicken Pizza

Garlic chicken pizza on a creamy garlic-sour cream base, topped with chicken, red onion, mushrooms, mozzarella, and parmesan. White pizza ready in 30 minutes.

Spinach Dip With Mushrooms

Lightened-up spinach dip with fresh mushrooms, scallions, fat-free mayonnaise, and nonfat sour cream. A five-ingredient party dip that comes together in five minutes and keeps things low-calorie.

Chicken Salad with Rosemary & Mayonnaise

Rosemary chicken salad with fat-free mayo, nonfat sour cream, and celery. A lighter take on classic chicken salad with herby, aromatic flavor in 20 minutes.

Creative Cranberry Jello

Two-layer cranberry Jello salad with cranberry sauce and juice on the bottom and a creamy sour cream and walnut layer on top. A classic holiday gelatin side dish.

Lemon-Scented Broccoli Soufflé

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Blueberries with Brown Sugar Cream

Blueberries with brown sugar cream is a 3-ingredient dessert: fresh blueberries, a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of brown sugar that slowly melts into dark ribbons. Ready in 5 minutes.

Sour Cream Cherry Coffee Cake

Sour cream coffee cake swirled with cherry preserves and brightened with lemon zest. A dense, moist breakfast cake with no yeast required, ready in under an hour.

Creamy Tarragon Chicken Salad

Creamy tarragon chicken salad with red grapes, celery, and toasted walnuts in a sour cream-mayo dressing. Elegant lunch salad for sandwiches, lettuce cups, or a scoop on greens.

Berry Delite Fruit Dip

Berry fruit dip blends non-fat sour cream with seedless raspberry jam, honey, and bright lime zest. A 5-minute, no-cook party appetizer that chills into a tangy-sweet dipper for fresh fruit.

Turkey Red Grape Salad

Turkey pasta salad with red grapes, celery, and creamy mayo-sour cream dressing over mostaccioli. An easy cold lunch or potluck side that turns leftover holiday turkey into something genuinely crave-worthy.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup(Lacto)

Lacto-vegetarian sweet potato soup with carrots, celery, peas, and a triple-herb blend of thyme, basil, and tarragon. Finished with nonfat sour cream for a lighter, meatless comfort bowl.

Creamy Crab Quiche

A crustless crab quiche packed with sweet corn, Parmesan, scallions, and dill, made lighter with evaporated skim milk, egg substitute, and nonfat sour cream. All the flavor, less of the guilt.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

Chunky sweet potato soup loaded with carrots, celery, peas, and herbs, finished with nonfat sour cream and skim milk. A big-batch comfort soup that serves 16 and feels lighter than it tastes.

Fiesta Quiche

Fiesta quiche layers fat-free tortillas, cheddar, green chilies, and picante sauce under an egg-substitute custard. A lean Tex-Mex twist on the classic French quiche, ready in 60 minutes.

Three Step Taco Salad

Seasoned ground beef, crunchy tortilla chips, black beans, and sharp cheddar piled high on shredded lettuce with a creamy salsa dressing. Three steps, under 20 minutes, feeds a crowd.

Eating Well Pbt (Portabello, Basil & Tomato Sandwich)

Portobello, basil, and tomato sandwich (PBT) on garlic-rubbed grilled sourdough with a lemony mayo spread. A vegetarian take on the BLT with meaty grilled mushrooms instead of bacon.

Peach & Raspberry Pie

Peach and raspberry pie pairs juicy summer peaches with tart raspberries in a flaky double crust. The fruit juices are reduced to a syrup first, so the filling sets thick and glossy instead of runny.

Favourite Lemon Cookies

Lemon roll-out cookies with sour cream, lemon zest and lemon extract, brushed with fresh lemon juice before baking. Tender citrus shortbread for tea trays and gift tins.

Good Karma Schawarma

Homemade chicken shawarma: yogurt-marinated thigh meat layered with spinach and roasted red peppers, baked into a stacked loaf, sliced thin, and served on fresh chapati flatbread with tzatziki.

Fajita-Style Orzo

Fajita-style orzo tossed with grilled red peppers, charred red onion, a fresh jalapeno-lime salsa and a dollop of sour cream. Tex-Mex flavors in a pasta bowl, perfect for summer grilling.

Chicken Paprikash Topped Potatoes

Paprika-dusted chicken thighs with mushrooms and onions in a sour cream pan sauce, spooned over fluffy baked potatoes. Hungarian comfort meets loaded potato.

Poppy Seed Casserole

Poppy seed pasta casserole with ground turkey in tomato sauce layered over creamy fettuccine tossed with Neufchatel, cottage cheese, and sour cream.

Strawberry Cream Soup

A chilled dessert soup of blended fresh strawberries, tangy sour cream, and vanilla, served with toasted pound cake croutons. Refreshing, unexpected, and ready in under an hour.

Spiced Lentil Tacos

Smoky, hearty lentil tacos loaded with chipotle sour cream, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. A low-fat vegetarian taco night that even meat lovers will devour.

All 89 recipes