25 Ways to Use Up Leftover Sour Cream

If you have an extra tub of sour cream, try these easy sour cream recipes!

It’s great in everything from sour cream cookies and cakes to dips and even lasagna.

Sour cream is an incredibly versatile ingredient. And it often only takes a little bit to make your recipe pop.

Unfortunately, that means you’ll often have half a tub left over.

That’s why I’ve collected these leftover sour cream recipes. So you don’t have to keep throwing it away.

You’re welcome!

1. Swirled Blueberry Lemon Thyme Cake

Let’s start this off right with something sweet, tangy, and full of fruity deliciousness.

The swirled blueberry lemon thyme cake has delightfully crispy edges and a soft, moist center.

You’ll use both blueberries and blueberry jam to make it, so there’s no shortage of berry flavor.

The lemon thyme glaze adds a bright, slightly tart taste that sets the whole thing off.

2. Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Coffee cake is a classic for a reason, and this recipe is one of the best coffee cake recipes there is.

The crunchy cinnamon pecan topping is downright decadent, and the cake itself is light and tender, thanks to the sour cream.

It’s a simple recipe with easy-to-find ingredients. But that doesn’t make it any less scrumptious.

3. Homemade Biscuit Recipe with Sour Cream

If you’re nervous about making homemade biscuits, don’t be.

With this recipe, you can make the softest, flakiest, most buttery homemade biscuits possible.

Best of all, you can have them ready – from scratch – in just 30 minutes.

4. Easy Swirled Cheesecake Brownies

Why choose between cheesecake and brownies when you can have the best of both worlds?

This phenomenal, 30-minute dessert features the rich chocolatey flavor and fudgy texture of brownies mixed with the tangy creaminess of cheesecake.

And yes, they are as rich as you’re imagining.

5. Lemon Sour Cream Cake

Sour cream is a must-have ingredient if you want to make your cakes moist, spongy, soft, and tender, which are all things this lemon sour cream cake is.

The sticky, zesty lemon glaze is truly the icing on the cake (both literally and figuratively).

But honestly, it’s tasty enough even without it. The glaze is just a bonus.

6. Sour Cream and Onion Pasta

Whether you’re looking for a quick lunch or light dinner option, sour cream and onion pasta is just the thing.

You can have it on the table in 20 minutes, and it only uses seven ingredients.

As long as you have some pasta, butter, flour, milk, sour cream, chives, and pepper, you’ll have everything you need.

The pasta is tender, and the sauce is creamy. It’s a winning combination.

7. Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Here’s another excellent recipe for coffee cake because you can never have too many good dessert recipes.

This one takes over an hour to make and has a decadent cream cheese filling.

The pecan and brown sugar topping is incredible, too. It’s crunchy, buttery, and just sweet enough not to be overwhelming.

8. Grandma’s Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

You know those giant frosted sugar cookies you can buy at the Walmart bakery?

That’s almost exactly what these are. They look just like them, and the soft, crumbly texture is the same.

The only difference is the taste; while these are very similar, they aren’t quite as sweet.

Can you freeze sour cream sugar cookies? Absolutely! Just make sure they’re cold and keep them in an airtight container.

9. Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake

Oh. My. Gosh. This cake is insanely amazing. The chocolate bundt cake is great on its own, but once you add those thick stripes of rich cream cheese frosting, it’s game over.

But then, you’ll take it another step and add crushed candy canes, too! It’s sweet, tangy, and has the delicate minty freshness that only candy canes can bring.

If you’re looking for your family’s new favorite holiday cake, this is it. Period.

10. Rugelach Cookies

Unless you come from a Jewish background or have Jewish family and friends, you might not be familiar with rugelach. Now’s the time to change that.

They’re buttery, flaky, and contain a rich filling of your choice – chocolate, jams and jellies, nuts, caramel, etc. People call them cookies, but they’re actually sweet, filled crescent rolls.

You can even dust them with sugar to make them extra decadent if you want. They’re truly amazing.

11. Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts

You might not recognize the name “sour cream doughnuts,” but I’ll bet you’ve bought “cake doughnuts” before, right? These are the same thing, only covered in a sticky sweet glaze.

They’re crunchy and perfect, and if you eat them while they’re hot, they’ll practically melt on your tongue. They take some time to pull together, but you’ll appreciate them once they’re done.

12. 6-Inch Cheesecake

If you’ve never made one before, you’ll be shocked at how simple it is to whip up a homemade cheesecake.

All you’ll need is a graham cracker crust (graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter) and ingredients for the filling (cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cornstarch, and sour cream).

With those few things, you can make a cheesecake that’s rich, sweetly tangy, and velvety smooth. You can do it all in less than an hour (excluding cooling time).

13. Creamy Brussels Sprouts & Shallot Dip

I used to think that the only way I’d ever enjoy Brussels sprouts was roasted with garlic and parmesan cheese. Then, I tried this creamy, herb dip.

I was instantly hooked, and you will be, too. It uses three different kinds of cheese, sour cream, shallots, Brussels sprouts, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

It takes only 20 minutes to make, and it has an unbelievable amount of flavor. Give it a try, but be warned, you’ll want to finish the entire bowl in one sitting.

14. John Wayne Casserole

If you’re looking for something hearty and spicy with enough meat and veggies to feed a crowd, you’ll have to try John Wayne casserole.

With taco-seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, peppers, onions, cheese, and more, it has that yummy South of the Border flair and will keep you full for hours.

It might not be the healthiest dinner option out there, but it’s undoubtedly one of the most filling.

15. Cherry Almond Buckle

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time for another sweet treat. The cherry almond buckle is sweet and buttery with hints of nuts, cherries, vanilla, and a tasty crumb topping.

The topping alone includes dark brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and almonds. Together, the crumble and the topping combine sweetness and tartness, softness with crunchiness.

It has everything you could want in a dessert.

16. Trisha Yearwood Creamy Grape Salad Recipe

Creamy grape salad is sweet enough to enjoy for dessert and light enough to have with your lunch. And because it takes only 15 minutes to make, it’s an excellent option for last-minute dish ideas.

Whether you’re making it for yourself or taking it to the neighborhood barbecue, it won’t disappoint. Just be sure you make enough for everyone because it goes fast.

17. Authentic Chicken Paprikash (Paprikás Csirke)

This Hungarian chicken dish is ideal for anyone who loves tender meat, thick, creamy sauces, and plenty of herbs and tomatoes.

It takes about an hour to make, but your whole house will smell wonderfully savory while you’re cooking it.

It’s also exotic enough to be something new without being so unfamiliar that it makes you nervous to try it.

18. Trisha Yearwood’s Blueberry Pancakes

Adding sour cream to these blueberry pancakes makes them even lighter, fluffier, and more delicious than usual.

Adding frozen blueberries and lemon zest also gives them a vibrantly tart and tangy flavor that pairs well with their natural sweetness.

Top them with more berries, whipped cream, or maple syrup. Breakfast (or brunch) will never taste so good.

19. Mexican Street Corn Dip

This creamy and chunky dip is ideal for those who love Mexican street corn because that’s essentially what it is, only in dip form.

You’ll make it with cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream, adding seasonings like cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and garlic for flavor.

There are also chunks of jalapenos, corn, cotija cheese, and fresh parsley. It’s a lively, colorful dish with abundant flavor and just a little bit of heat.

Serve it with some fresh tortilla chips and watch as it disappears.

20. Louisiana Crunch Cake

Crunch cake has always been challenging for me because I usually get it perfectly crispy on the outside but overcooked and dry in the middle.

Or I’ll get the middle just right, but my crust isn’t entirely done. Thanks to this recipe (and the buttermilk and sour cream in it), I don’t have that problem anymore.

With those ingredients, my cake stays fantastically moist and soft on the inside but gets that perfect, golden-brown crisp crumb.

21. Broccoli Pasta Salad

Broccoli pasta salad combines two of my favorite cold salads. If you guessed broccoli salad and pasta salad, you’re correct!

It has tender noodles, tasty broccoli florets, chewy raisins, crunchy seeds, and a creamy, delicious sauce. (There’s also feta cheese, bacon, and onions.)

It’s one of those summer salads that has it all, and no one can ever get enough of it when I take it to our family gatherings.

22. Pineapple Dream Cake

This pillowy, soft cake takes only 10 minutes of preparation and uses just eight ingredients: cake mix, water, butter, eggs, crushed pineapple, sour cream, vanilla pudding mix, and whipped topping.

It has a wealth of tropical pineapple flavor because you’ll add the crushed pineapples to both the cake mix and the frosting.

It’s pretty sweet, but it’s not overwhelming or heavy because of its fruitiness. It’ll actually leave you feeling pretty light after eating it.

23. Creamy Cauliflower Potato Salad (Keto!)

If you’re on a low-carb or ketogenic diet, potato salad is pretty much out of the question. Of course, you can always have a faux-potato salad that you’ll make with cauliflower instead.

This one is cool, creamy, and full of flavorful, chunky ingredients. It has an earthy flavor and is more filling than you’d think. It also pairs well with barbecue and most other proteins.

24. Sweet Lokshen Kugel

Kugel, or dairy noodle pudding, is a Yiddish staple that combines eggs, egg noodles, sour cream, cottage and cream cheeses, sugar, butter, salt, and your choice of fruits.

You’ll also dust it in cinnamon and sugar once it’s ready. It has a spongy, pudding-like consistency, but the topping is crunchy and mild.

It takes on the flavor of whatever fruits you add to it, so you can easily customize it to suit your tastes.

25. Strawberry Galette

Strawberry galettes are gorgeous, packed with strawberry flavor, and delicious until the last bite. Despite how intricate they look, they’re also relatively simple to make.

You’ll need butter, salt, flour, and sour cream for the pastry crust and strawberries, caster sugar, and vanilla bean paste for the filling.

Top it with a glaze of egg yolk and some raw sugar, and you’re all set.