Substituting Greek Yogurt for Sour Cream in Recipes

Greek yogurt and sour cream are both sour-tasting, thick dairy products, so it’s not crazy to think they could be interchangeable. To test this, we tried Greek yogurt in our Sour Cream Drop Biscuits, in a sour cream–based horseradish sauce, and in beef stroganoff. In the biscuits and the cream sauce we thought that the Greek yogurt was a fine substitute; it felt slightly leaner than the sour cream in both applications, but overall it was acceptable. However, the Greek yogurt broke when it was added to the hot sauce in the beef stroganoff. While tasters said it was fine—albeit less rich—it was visually unappealing. The lower fat content of Greek yogurt is the reason it broke in the stroganoff. While 1 cup of sour cream has 40 grams of fat, the same amount of whole-fat Greek yogurt has only 11 grams of fat, making it much less stable when exposed to high heat.

THE BOTTOM LINE: In a pinch, go ahead and substitute whole-fat Greek yogurt for sour cream. Just be wary of using it in recipes that require high heat.