Easy Kefir Sour Cream

A tasty way to add probiotic goodness to your life, kefir sour cream is super easy to make and tastes delicious!

Kefir sour cream may just my be favorite of all of the kefir goodies that I have made myself over the years. Not only is it tasty, but it is super easy to make!

Using kefir grains

The first time I made it was by accident. I was trying to make some sort of kefir ice cream (aka. Frozen kefir). To make a smoother ice cream, I wanted to add more fat content to the recipe. To achieve that, I added some kefir grains to a heavy whipping cream. The idea was to make a kefirized cream to incorporate into the recipe. (If you don’t know what kefir grains are, I explain more about them in my post about how to make kefir.)

Kefir grains will thicken milk into a delicious yogurt-like product, known as kefir. Milk kefir is, however, generally thinner than yogurt.

Kefir grains
Milk fermented with kefir grains.

After leaving the kefir grains in the cream overnight, I was surprised to find an almost solid mass of kefirized cream

I loved the resulting cream, but it was very difficult to remove my kefir grains from the solid mass. (Normally, you strain the grains from the milk so that you can reuse them in your next batches.)

Using ready made kefir

After the messy, albeit delicious, first attempt a kefirizing cream, I was determined to find an easier way to make it. I decided to try using a sort of second fermentation, like people often do when making water kefir and kombucha.

Guess what? It worked! I ended up with a smooth and creamy kefir sour cream that was delicious.

Ingredients

The ingredients are just as simple as the recipe itself. You only need some milk kéfir and some heavy whipping cream. You can use a lighter cream, but keep in mind that the resulting product will be thinner than if you use a heavier cream. The higher the fat content, the thicker the resulting sour cream!

Procedure

This may just be my easiest recipe on the blog. (Although I do have a few that are pretty simple. Have you tried my 5-minute watermelon sorbet?)

Just mix together the kefir and the whipping cream, and you should immediately notice that the cream begins to thicken. I’m not sure if it would thicken right away, in the same way, if you are using store bought milk kefir vs. homemade. That said, store-bought should work fine if you allow it time to ferment.

Mix together the ingredients fully with a spoon. You want the milk kefir to be fully incorporated into the cream mixture.

While it should thicken immediately, it probably won’t be very sour yet. You can use it immediately in place of mascarpone in recipes, but if you want something sourer, you need to ferment it more.

Cream
Milk kefir
It thickens immediately!

Fermenting the mixture

To get a sour “sour cream,” we need to allow the mixture to ferment for a while.

Fermenting is a simple process, it just takes a little time and patience. All you need to do is to cover it and leave it at room temperature for several hours or, even better, several days. The longer you allow it to ferment, the more sour it will get.

You may also notice that with time, some of the whey will separate out. (It’s a pale yellow liquid that will float on top of the cream.) You can either mix it back into the cream or pour it off to remove it. (By removing it, your cream will be slightly thicker.)

Once you are happy with the level of tartness, you can slow the fermentation process by moving your kefir sour cream to the fridge.

How to use it

The cool thing about kefir sour cream is that it is very versatile. If you use it before it gets sour, it is almost like mascarpone, and can be used for desserts!

Try mixing it with cocoa powder and honey to make a filling similar to the chocolate mascarpone filling used in my heart-shaped chocolate ravioli.
It can be worked into other desserts too like cheesecakes or ice cream.

It makes a great garnish. You can also use it in any recipe that would normally call for sour cream.

I like to use it as a topping for Mexican recipes like carnitas.
It’s delicious on baked potatoes and/or baked sweet potatoes. (Bonus recipe below the recipe card.)

How long does it keep?

Because it has been fermented, kefir sour cream will keep a long time. (It will keep much longer than the cream would have kept had it not been fermented.)

Even outside of the fridge, it generally doesn’t go bad, it just gets sourer and sourer with time. Eventually, you may find it too sour to enjoy. (It likely won’t last that long anyway, as it’s delicious!)

Video

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Mix together the heavy cream with the milk kefir in a jar. The heavier the cream, the thicker your resulting sour cream will be. You can keep experimenting to get the consistency that you want with the cream you are using. If you want to end up with a thinner sour cream, you can also bring down the fat content of the cream by mixing it with some milk.
The cream should immediately begin to thicken. At first, it won’t be sour, but you could use it in place of mascarpone in recipes.

Fermenting the cream

To sour the cream, it needs to be fermented. Cover the jar, and allow it to rest at room temperature. At first, allow it to ferment overnight.
In the morning, taste the kefir sour cream. If you want it to be sourer, leave it out to ferment longer.
Once you’ve achieved the level of sourness that you want, use it right away or store it in the fridge for later. Storing it in the fridge will slow down the fermentation process and keep it from getting sourer as quickly.

Kefir sour cream is very versatile. If you use it before it gets sour, it is almost like mascarpone, and can be used for desserts.

It also makes a great garnish. You can also use it in any recipe that would normally call for sour cream. It goes especially well as a garnish for Mexican recipes or served atop baked potatoes and/or baked sweet potatoes.

Condiments, DIY Pantry Foods, Side dishes

Gluten Free, Low Salt, Vegetarian

frozen kefir, sour cream

Baked sweet potatoes

As a bonus, I’ll teach you how I make my baked sweet potatoes. They’re the perfect accompaniment to the sour cream.

Baked sweet potatoes are very simple to make. All you have to do is to clean the potatoes and prick them with a fork to help let steam escape and prevent them from exploding.

Place them on the wire rack of the oven, above a lined tray to catch any drips, and turn the heat up to around 400ºF (200ºC).

After around 30 minutes, start checking on the sweet potatoes to see if they are starting to soften. When they do begin to soften, turn off the heat of the oven. Leave the sweet potatoes in the oven to finish cooking while you finish up the rest of your meal.

Once ready, slice the sweet potato open. Serve it topped with your homemade kefir sour cream.

There is no doubt that I absolutely love having kefir in our home – kefir grains soaked daily and strained make for a quart of kefir milk that we can enjoy in smoothies, and we can use to make a soft kefir cheese.

If you know kefir well, though, you’ll know that it multiplies very, very fast – and before you know it, you are swimming in kefir milk.

We can easily drink more smoothies, but sometimes we need a change too – and being able to use the kefir to make this yummy sourdough bread is quite amazing.

One day a few years ago, we were on a mission to help my husband heal his leaky gut after a myriad of prescriptions played a large role in destroying his gut bacteria. Those prescriptions were the result of several years of military training and deployment in which he returned with anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder.

Two things we relied upon largely to help with that area of his life were fermented foods and essential oils.

What are Fermented Foods?

Fermented Foods are foods that are full of probiotics – also known as good bacteria. When your gut has the ideal balance of good and bad bacteria, your body forms the foundation for a healthy mental, emotional and physical well being.

There are many reasons to consume fermented foods – one of those reasons is to help seal that seal a leaky gut that has developed as a result of a reliance on prescription medicine.

Prescriptions have their place, but we try very hard to avoid them completely because when you consume them, they get rid of the good and bad gut bacteria in your body. When you get rid of the good gut bacteria, a your body finds an imbalance and that leads to a host of problems such as suppressed immune system, and more.

Lets talk about this bread.

It’s easy – and fool-proof. It really is.

It has no preservatives – so it won’t last you 5-6 days – instead, the loaf will last you a day if not a few hours. Your family might enjoy it so much that they inhale it within an hour – at least our family of 7 can.

It’s important to have a dutch oven to make this bread. If you don’t, please invest in one – you will use it for far more than making sourdough bread with kefir.

Sourdough Bread with Raw Milk Kefir

A delicious loaf of homemade sourdough bread with just 4 ingredients including raw milk kefir.

3 C. all purpose, organic, unenriched flour
1 – 1/2 C. raw milk kefir
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp organic maple syrup

The CentsAble Shoppin https://www.thecentsableshoppin.com/

Make a successful quick kefir sourdough bread using kefir fermented milk in lieu of a sourdough starter. It bakes up beautifully!

I’m not a chef, nor have I spent years in culinary school learning how to cook a wide array of foods and dishes. I do, however, spend a great deal of time in my kitchen making food from scratch.

Fermenting and pickling, canning and bread making are very rewarding to me. Thus I continue to tinker around with recipes and find things that work for my 5 kids and I.

It would be an understatement if I said I enjoyed bread. I absolutely go crazy for a wonderful loaf of bread – from sourdough to fresh rolls. I have to limit myself almost because I’ll fill up with so much bread I won’t want to eat regular food (and that’s a very bad thing!)

I have pondered the idea of using my kefir fermented milk as a sourdough starter in lieu of keeping a sourdough. Although I have kept a sourdough starter, I find that my kitchen counters are often times overflowing with ferments, kombucha, 2nd brew kombucha and even sweet potato fly.

Kefir fermented milk is a wonderful starter.. and unlike regular sourdough starter, you don’t have to worrry about feeding it daily. As long as you have a daily supply of kefir, it’s a great way to use it up.

Quick Kefir Sourdough Bread

If the thought of making your own bread confounds you, trust me when I say that this is very simple. It’s not so much difficult, but just needs time. Most of this recipe is hands off – anyone with kefir can make this quick kefir sourdough bread.

Mix up your ingredients in a KitchenAid using your dough hook. If you need to add additional kefir, do it a Tablespoon at a time (you shouldn’t need more than 2 additional Tablespoons).

Oil a big bowl, place the ball of dough within, flip it to make sure it’s coated in oil just a bit, then cover with plastic wrap. Push back on the counter and let it sit for 8-12 hours. Once that time passes, dough will have risen dramatically.

Bake the Bread

Turn the oven on 450 degrees and let it heat up. Move the racks so you have space for your dutch oven. Remove the dough from the oiled bowl, turn out on a lightly floured counter and fold it into a nice round ball. Don’t be too rough with it, you don’t need to “knead” it either, just tuck the ends under and make a nice ball.

Flour the bottom of your dutch oven a bit, then place the ball of dough in there. Make two slits in the top of the dough to allow it room to expand as it cooks. Place the lid on the dutch oven.

Put in the oven for 25 minutes at 450. (All this heat will help it rise). Then, remove the lid and reduce heat to 400. Let it cook for 20 minutes. The bread will brown up nice, and be hollow when tapped. Allow the bread to cool before slicing.

breadmaking, kefir, raw milk, Sourdough, sourdough bread

maple syrup or raw honey
active dry yeast
all purpose flour

Combine everything in your KitchenAid, use a dough hook. Mix until it all comes together, adding extra kefir (by the Tbsp) if needed. If you need to add more you should only need max of 2 extra Tbsp. Dont add too much.
Mix super well with the dough hook, until it’s all combined. Dough will be somewhat sticky.
Turn out on a lightly floured counter, knead for one minute.
Oil a big bowl, place the ball of dough within, flip it to make sure it’s coated in oil just a bit, then cover with plastic wrap. Push back on the counter and let it sit for 8-12 hours.
Once that time passes, dough will have risen dramatically.
Turn the oven on 450 degrees and let it heat up. Move the racks so you have space for your dutch oven. Put the Dutch oven in there to preheat (lid must be on top).
Remove the dough from the oiled bowl, turn out on a lightly floured counter and fold it into a nice round ball. Don’t be too rough with it, you don’t need to “knead” it either, just tuck the ends under and make a nice ball.
Place the dough on a piece of parchment. Then place the parchment of dough in the Dutch oven. Make two slits in the top of the dough to allow it room to expand as it cooks. Place the lid on the dutch oven.
Put in the oven for 25 minutes at 450. (All this heat will help it rise). Remove the lid and reduce heat to 400 degrees F. Bake for 20 additional minutes.
Bread should be hollow when tapped, remove and allow to cool before slicing.

Looking for another sourdough recipe? You might want to try this Easy Whey Sourdough.

If you loved this recipe, I would be so appreciative if you gave the recipe a review.