The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of proteolytic and lipolytic Bacillus spp. isolated from raw milk at a dairy processing facility on microstructure, graininess, lipolysis and sensory properties of sour cream. B. subtilis (a proteolytic Bacillus strain) and B. licheniformis (a proteolytic and lipolytic Bacillus strain) were spiked at 10³ cfu/mL individually and together in sour cream blend and fermented at 26°C until a pH value of 4.6 ± 0.05 was attained. Sour cream was evaluated for microstructure, graininess, sensory, phospholipids and free fatty acids at the end of 30 d of storage at 4°C and compared with a control, without added Bacillus. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy observations revealed a tighter protein network in all Bacillus containing samples with extensive crosslinking that was not seen in a control. The proteolytic activities of all Bacillus treated samples may induced inter and intra molecular aggregation that could be responsible for crosslinking and dense appearance of the network. Graininess of sour cream was visualized under a stereomicroscope and grains with perimeter >1 mm were enumerated. We observed 272, 171, and 185 grains/g of sour cream spiked with B. subtilis, B. licheniformis, and both Bacillus species, respectively. All Bacillus treated sour creams showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher numbers of grains/g of sour cream compared with control (23 grains/g of sour cream). Sensory evaluation also indicated increased graininess in sour cream containing Bacillus subtilis. No Bacillus induced flavor defects (P > 0.05) were observed by sensory analysis in all Bacillus spiked sour creams compared with control. Sour cream was evaluated for phospholipids and free fatty acids contents to indicate lipolysis. The level of phospholipids and free fatty acids did not differ (P > 0.05) between sour cream containing a lipolytic B. licheniformis individually, combined Bacillus treated sour cream and control. In conclusion, Bacillus spiked at 10³ cfu/mL did not induce lipolysis or flavor defects in sour creams. However, it produced a compact microstructure with increased graininess.