8 Sour Cream Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

Whether you're using sour cream as a base for a flavorful dip, a topping for your tacos, or to give your baked goods extra density and moistness, it is a super-versatile ingredient that you should have on hand. Although it can be used in many different ways, it delivers a consistent flavor and textural profile that can provide your dishes with both tang and creaminess. But, as you probably know if you've tried different sour cream brands before, not all sour creams are created equally.

I've picked up eight different sour creams from a few grocery stores in my area and ranked them from worst to best. Although none of the sour creams I tried on this list were particularly bad, some are better than others. I looked for sour cream that had a rich, dense texture and a balanced tang — definitely some acidity, but not so much that it became overwhelming. Let's take a closer look at these popular sour cream brands.

If I were to taste Hood Sour Cream all on its own without comparing it to other brands of sour cream on this list, I would have no problem with it. It's rich and creamy, and it has a subtle tang that isn't too strong. However, it has an unfortunate wateriness, which isn't exactly ideal, and it's not quite as creamy as I want it to be. But it would get the job done if I were trying to add sour cream to a recipe in which it isn't the star of the show.

But compared to the other sour cream brands on this list, Hood can't compete. It has the thinnest consistency out of all the sour creams I tried, and the flavor isn't particularly strong – although it is nicely balanced. It falls flat when you taste it alongside richer, creamier, and ultimately more flavorful varieties.

Lucerne Sour Cream is next on the list, and it's not terrible if you're looking for a budget sour cream option. It's a step up from Hood Sour Cream thanks to Luceren's much thicker and less watery consistency. However, the texture is still a bit strange — it has a plastic-like appearance that doesn't seem fresh. The flavor is okay, but it's not as pronounced as I want it to be. I think that the tang is slightly overpowering here, considering you can't taste that light, clean dairy flavor that I discovered in better sour cream brands.

Since this is one of the cheaper sour cream options on this list, I don't think you need to totally write it off, especially if you're on a budget. However, there are better sour creams out there if you're willing to spend a bit more.

You'll have a few different sour cream options at most grocery stores, but if you're shopping at Trader Joe's, you really only have one variety from which to choose: the store brand's sour cream. After tasting a variety of Trader Joe's dairy products to determine which to buy and which to skip, I ultimately decided that this sour cream was a skip. That's mostly because of its lack of tang, and I still stand by that assessment.

Comparing this sour cream to other brands, though, I also realized that this variety of sour cream has a subtle but still unpleasant, strange, slightly bitter flavor. However, on the texture front, this stuff delivers a nice creaminess and richness that makes it ideal for using as a spread. Still, though, that's not enough to knock it into the top half of this ranking.

Admittedly, I might have been somewhat biased coming into this sour cream ranking. I grew up eating Daisy Sour Cream, and it's been my go-to brand ever since. I had unquestioned brand loyalty, so I expected it to land near the very top of the list. What I discovered, though, is that Daisy doesn't taste quite as good to me as some of its competitors.

Texture-wise, it's excellent. This is one of the thicker sour cream options listed here, and that makes every dollop taste rich and decadent. What I don't like about this sour cream, though, is its relative lack of flavor. It doesn't have much tang, tending toward the fresher dairy end of the spectrum. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you're looking for a creamy topper for your favorite nachos recipe, but it's not ideal if you are using sour cream to provide your dish with brightness and acidity.

Whole Foods is known for its 365 brand, which offers a variety of essential, everyday food products. Sour cream happens to be one of them. Although this certainly isn't my favorite sour cream of the bunch, I still think it deserves a spot in the top half of this ranking. The texture is nice and creamy, although there is a hint of wateriness that makes the cream a bit thinner than I prefer once you stir it in.

This sour cream earns its place on this list because of how potent the flavor is — it actually adds a different taste, not just creaminess, to whatever dish you use it in. However, it has a super-pronounced, unbalanced, and overpowering tanginess that isn't for me, which is why it doesn't rank higher. This brand may be worth checking out for sour cream lovers who can embrace that tang.

Good Culture is a dairy brand that gets a lot of love from loyal fans, and I personally love its cottage cheese. Therefore, I was excited to try out the brand's sour cream as well, and I wasn't disappointed. First of all, the consistency is super thick, but without that mouth-coating richness that you sometimes get when you eat a super fatty dairy product.

The flavor, though, makes this sour cream shine. There is acidity, but it's not too pronounced; it's nicely balanced with the subtle, creamy dairy flavor to temper some of the tang. Overall, it's a fresh-tasting sour cream that's not flashy or attention-getting. It's a high-quality version of a basic ingredient, and I'm a fan. Another Good Culture product added to my grocery list.

Now, we're getting to the best of the bunch. Enter Organic Valley Sour Cream, another sour cream brand that delivers a lovely, balanced flavor profile that can enhance just about anything you use it in. There's a slight acidity, but what you're really tasting is beautiful, fresh dairy. It almost tastes like regular cream, but with that slight tang to keep things interesting.

The airy, almost whipped texture of the sour cream is a bit unexpected and makes every bite taste more luxurious. Although I tend to prefer thicker and denser sour creams, this variety was lighter than most of the others in this lineup, and I love it. Use it to whip up flavorful dips, or include it in your gluten-free bakes for moister baked goods. Basically, you can't go wrong with this brand, no matter what you're using sour cream for.

Finally, we arrive at the most delicious sour cream of them all: Cabot Sour Cream. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I could probably eat an entire container of this stuff for dessert in lieu of ice cream — that's how rich and deliciously creamy it is. This is another sour cream that has a hint of tang to keep the acidity to a minimum, which allows those fresh dairy flavors to prevail. Those beautifully creamy notes will have you adding several extra dollops to your dish.

Cabot also delivers on the texture front. Although this sour cream doesn't have the densest texture of all of the varieties on this list, it's still thick and rich, for a scoopable consistency that works well for all kinds of dishes. However, like the Organic Valley variety, there's also an element of lightness to this sour cream, without it being watery.

These sour cream brands were chosen based on availability at a few local grocery stores in my area. I tried all of these sour creams plain, cold, and with a spoon. I ranked the brands based on flavor and texture. I favored sour creams with a more balanced flavor profile that still delivered plenty of potency. On the texture front, I prioritized sour creams with a creamier, denser consistency that weren't too watery.