Alternative To Buttermilk In Recipes

Creamy, tangy, and thicker than regular milk, buttermilk can be found in a variety of favorite recipes. It’s a staple ingredient in Southern biscuits or fried chicken and provides that signature tang to diner pancakes and red velvet cake. Unfortunately, it’s not an ingredient many people keep on hand, and it can be hard to use up the whole carton. Not to worry! You’ll find plenty of buttermilk substitutes below (including dairy free options!) no matter what you plan on making.

Traditionally, buttermilk is the liquid leftover after churning butter. What is sold in most grocery stores is cultured buttermilk, which is made by adding lactic acid bacteria to regular milk. Buttermilk has a sour taste and can be drunk straight or used in cooking and baking.

Buttermilk is usually sold in small cartons or bottles. Find it in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, near other milk products like sour cream and heavy cream.

How To Make Buttermilk Substitute

Powdered buttermilk, or buttermilk powder, is a shelf stable powder that makes liquid buttermilk when combined with water or milk. The general ratio used is 1 part buttermilk powder to 1 part liquid.

You can also make traditional buttermilk by making your own butter at home! To make your own butter, you will need heavy cream, a mason jar, and some upper body strength. For a quick and easy option, use a stand mixer instead. Process until the cream solidifies and butter forms. The remaining liquid is buttermilk. To thicken, you’ll need to culture your buttermilk.

Buttermilk reacts with rising agents, like baking soda and baking powder, to form carbon dioxide and act as a leavening agent. If you have a recipe that calls for both buttermilk and a rising agent, you shouldn’t substitute regular milk. Either purchase a carton or make your own substitution for buttermilk at home.

How To Make Buttermilk

If buttermilk isn’t available, or you don’t want to make a special trip to the store, you can create a homemade substitution for buttermilk with ingredients you already have on hand! Find exact measurements and instructions in the recipe card below.

You can also use plain American-style yogurt as a buttermilk replacement in many baking recipes. Since it has a nice, thin consistency, simply measure out the amount listed for the buttermilk.

You can use any of the first three combinations listed above — lemon juice, distilled white vinegar, or cream of tartar — with your choice of dairy free milk. Oat milk or soy milk will provide the most similar texture and flavor to dairy milk, while almond milk may come out a bit thinner. Keep in mind that soy is naturally sweet, so we recommend one of the other options for savory recipes.

How To Make Buttermilk (6 Substitutes For Buttermilk)

Other varieties will also work in a pinch, but sometimes coconut milk and rice milk have a hard time curdling or thickening just right. You may need to experiment to find what works best for you!

Not all buttermilk substitutes are alike, so you may need to be more selective depending on the type of recipe you make. Milk with either lemon juice or vinegar will work in just about any recipe, especially breads and pastries. It’s also more likely that you will have what you need on hand.

Choose the cream of tartar option when you want that signature tangy flavor but need a looser batter or dough. It’s also a good choice for cream sauces so they don’t become too thick. For buttermilk pancakes, fried chicken, or meat marinades, use one of the sour cream or yogurt options.

Substitutes For Buttermilk

It’s so quick and easy to make homemade buttermilk substitutes, so we suggest mixing just what you need as you need it. If you happen to use this ingredient frequently, you can store larger batches in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Keep the mixture in a tightly sealed jar or container and give it a good shake before each use.

You can also freeze your buttermilk replacement for future recipes. Add it to a freezer-safe container, leaving space at the top for the liquid to expand. For smaller amounts, divide the liquid into an ice cube tray and transfer the cubes to an airtight container once they are solid.

We share restaurant-quality recipes you can easily make at home. Our team of chefs and creatives is bringing back the family dinner in a really delicious way!What you buy in the grocery stores is now cultured, which is produced by adding cultures to milk during the fermentation process to simulate the lactic acid that would naturally occur in the traditional kind.

How To Make Buttermilk Substitute With Vinegar Or Lemon Juice • Food Folks And Fun

Buttermilk adds a rich, tangy flavor and a thicker consistency than other kinds of milk. It works to tenderize meat and vegetables. The lactic acid also reacts with other ingredients like baking powder and baking soda in recipes and acts as a leavener. This helps batters and doughs to rise and be more tender.

My homemade substitute works the same in cooking and baking. It’s such a time saver to be able to make your own.

Buttermilk is one ingredient that I love to have on hand. I never like being without it. But, sometimes, I think I have plenty in the fridge, only to realize that I don’t.

Of The Best Buttermilk Substitutes To Use In A Pinch

It is easy to do and only takes two ingredients that work perfectly in baking and cooking. It tastes just like store-bought buttermilk.

There are a few homemade substitutions you can use when a recipe calls for buttermilk. Pick the option that works for you based on what you have available.

The simplest way to make your own homemade buttermilk substitute is to add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of regular milk or dairy-free milk (see below). Allow the milk to sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. You can expect it will appear to be slightly curdled. Stir the mixture to combine and use as you would buttermilk. The texture and consistency will be very similar to traditional buttermilk once combined.

How To Make Vegan Buttermilk Substitute

You can use any of the combinations I’ve provided above to make one cup of homemade buttermilk substitute. If you need more or less buttermilk, you can easily scale the recipe to fit the amount you need.

You can also make an easy dairy-free buttermilk substitute to use in your recipes. This is perfect for those who have dairy allergies or who need a vegan buttermilk substitution.

To make a dairy-free and/ or, use your favorite non-dairy milk such as almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or oat milk in place of the store-bought buttermilk called for in the recipe! It’s that easy!

Dairy Free Buttermilk Substitute

Yes! Spoon any that has not been used by the tablespoon into an ice cube tray. Place the tray into the freezer until frozen well, about an hour. Remove from the freezer and dispense the frozen cubes into a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months.

It reacts with other chemical leaveners in recipes to produce gas bubbles which then helps cakes, cookies, and other baked goods to rise.

Dairy-Free Buttermilk: For dairy-free buttermilk, substitute your preferred non-dairy milk (coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, oat milk, etc.) with the whole milk called for in the recipe. 

How To Make A Buttermilk Substitute

Serving: 1 cup | Calories: 149 kcal | Carbohydrates: 11 g | Protein: 8 g | Fat: 8 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g | Cholesterol: 29 mg | Sodium: 93 mg | Potassium: 366 mg | Sugar: 12 g | Vitamin A: 395 IU | Calcium: 301 mg

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Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.Buttermilk is a must for weekend pancakes or waffles, but it’s not always something you keep in your fridge. Here’s what you can use instead, plus how to make sour milk.

How To Substitute For Buttermilk In Baking

Food and wine writer, recipe developer, and the author of Mediterranean Every Day. Her work can be found in numerous online and print publications.

All too often I wake up Saturday morning with a craving for pancakes and no buttermilk in the refrigerator. Although I love buttermilk’s pleasant tang and its ability to make my short stack ultra-tender, I rarely keep buttermilk on hand.

Because of this, I’ve learned to adapt and use substitutes! Luckily, there are a lot of great ones. Here are the very best, including one that’s dairy-free.

Buttermilk Substitute: Alternatives, Vegan, And Recipes

Traditionally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter. Nowadays, however, buttermilk is made by adding bacterial cultures to low-fat or whole milk to produce a fermented milk product that’s slightly thick, with yogurt-like tartness.

Buttermilk is most commonly used in baking. When paired with baking soda, it helps things like pancakes and biscuits rise, while giving them exceptional fluffiness. It’s also often used to help tenderize chicken before frying or roasting it, and it’s an essential ingredient in creamy dressings like ranch.

If you don’t have

How To Make Buttermilk Substitute Or Replacement: 5 Ways