Substitutions
Cream cultured to a gentle sourness at around 30% fat — thick, silky and, unusually among cultured dairy, stable in heat.
What it does in a recipe: Tang plus enough fat that it will not split when it hits a hot pan. Pick the swap that covers that job — the ratios below are written so you can act on them without doing any arithmetic.
Quick answer
Sour cream
1 cup crème fraîche = 1 cup sour creamAll substitutes, best first
1 cup crème fraîche = 1 cup sour creamThe closest common product — cultured cream with the same tang, just leaner.
Trade-offLower fat means it can curdle in a sauce that crème fraîche would survive. Keep it off a hard boil and stir it in off the heat.
1 cup crème fraîche = 1 cup heavy cream + 2 tbsp buttermilk, left at room temperature 12-24 hoursThe live cultures in buttermilk ferment the cream exactly as a dairy would, producing the real thing rather than an imitation.
MethodCover loosely and leave somewhere warm until noticeably thickened, then refrigerate. Use pasteurised, not ultra-pasteurised, cream — UHT cream often refuses to set.
Trade-offNeeds a day of lead time, which is the only reason not to do it.
1 cup crème fraîche = 1 cup mascarpone + 1 tsp lemon juice, whiskedMascarpone matches the fat level, and the lemon stands in for the culture's acidity.
Trade-offSharper and simpler than fermented tang, without the same depth.
At a glance
| Category | Dairy & milks |
|---|---|
| Job in a recipe | Tang plus enough fat that it will not split when it hits a hot pan |
| Suits | Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Egg-free, Soy-free |
| Swaps available for | Egg-freeGluten-freeNut-freeSoy-freeVegetarian |
| Number of substitutes | 3 |
Related
Cooking around an allergy? Diet tags here describe the ingredient itself, not any particular brand. Processed products change formulation without notice and shared production lines are common, so read the label on everything you use. A severe allergy is a medical matter — confirm with the manufacturer or your clinician rather than relying on a substitution chart.