In a pinch and you need buttermilk? Do not fear – I can show you how to make a buttermilk substitute with 2 ingredients and 5 minutes.
We’ve all been there before – you’re in the kitchen, have already started a recipe, then you realize that you don’t have any buttermilk.
Or maybe buttermilk isn’t an ingredient you use often, so you don’t want to buy a whole container of it for one recipe.
What do you do?
You use this easy trick to make your own!
When to Use a Buttermilk Substitute
I am actually a huge fan of buttermilk. I love the tenderness and lift that it gives to baked goods.
And I love that this buttermilk substitute is so easy and fast.
But I might go against the majority here and say that sometimes, real buttermilk is best.
When you’re in a pinch and a substitute is all you have, go for it. But if you want the best results, stick with real buttermilk in the recipes that really need it – like Buttermilk Biscuits or Irish Soda Bread.
But in recipes where it plays a smaller role, like Ranch Dressing or my favorite Mashed Potato Recipe, the substitution works just fine.
That being said, the substitution should work for any recipe – you’ll just get better results with actual buttermilk than a substitute in some.
Ingredients
All it takes is 2 ingredients to make a buttermilk substitute!
- Milk: I use 2% because that is what I keep on hand, but it would thicken up even better with whole milk. But either will work!
- Acid: The two most popular additions are either lemon juice or vinegar. If using lemon juice, use fresh. For the vinegar, I will use white vinegar.
How to Make a Buttermilk Substitute
Simply stir your ingredients together and let it sit for 5 minutes. If you have 10 minutes, it will thicken even better.
That’s all!
Make it Vegan
This recipe is easy to make dairy free, as well. Just choose a dairy free milk of your choice (almond, coconut, soy, etc.) and add the lemon juice or vinegar.
Recipes Where You Can Use This Buttermilk Substitute
Carrot Sheet Cake with Toasted Coconut
Corn Muffin Recipe
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Coconut Bread
Sticky Buns
How to Make a Buttermilk Substitute
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or white vinegar
Instructions
- Combine the milk and the lemon juice (or vinegar) and stir to combine. Let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
Erin says
I use that method whenever I don’t feel like buying buttermilk, but I feel liek it’s still not the same. Maybe 2% milk is too low fat?
Thomas Foster says
Powdered buttermilk should be on everybody’s “pantry musts” list. I prefer it for baking, ’cause it’s perfectly consistent, and it gives me options when to make the liquid phase thicker. That being said I breed the wet stuff in a jar for pancakes. (Finish a carton, wash it out with milk, milk goes into a jar, jar goes onto the counter for a few hours, buttermilk goes in fridge.)
Ali @ Around the VeggieTable says
Ugh I hate when that happens! I think you can use this trick with nondairy milks too, but I haven’t tried it yet. There are some “buttermilk” pancakes calling my name though so now I will have to give them a whirl 🙂
Julie @ Table for Two says
If only I had saw this this past weekend 🙂 I went out and bought buttermilk instead of making my own! ha
Katrina says
Something everyone should know! I hate when I get stuck without buttermilk but it happens more times than I’d like it to!