This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Ever wondered how to make buttermilk? When you need a substitute, quickly make your own with these tips!
Don’t Have Buttermilk? Make It!
No buttermilk? No problem! Here’s your guide to baking bliss with clever substitutes for this key ingredient.
There are a lot of recipes that call for this tangy ingredient. Homemade Biscuits, Buttermilk Syrup, Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe, and Homemade Ranch Dressing to name a few. When we are in a pinch, these substitutions come to the rescue. We love kitchen tips!
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Fresh and Tangy Flavor. Homemade buttermilk adds a delightful tang and depth of flavor to your baked goods, elevating them from ordinary to extraordinary.
- No More Grocery Runs. Skip the extra trip to the store! With just a few pantry staples, you can whip up a homemade version whenever your recipe calls for it.
- Simple and Quick. Making this substitute at home is incredibly easy. It requires minimal ingredients and only a few minutes of your time.
Ingredients
TOTAL TIME: 6 minutes
- 1 cup milk – use whole milk, skim milk, or anything in between.
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice – use either bottled lemon juice or fresh lemon juice as both will add the acidity needed to curdle the milk.
How to Make Buttermilk
Our Favorite Substitution
- Stir 1 cup milk and 1 tablespoon lemon juice together until combined.
- Let sit for 5 minutes before using in a recipe.
- After it has rested for 5 minutes, you’re ready to use it in any recipe that calls for it.
Always use a 1:1 ratio substitute.
So if the recipe calls for ½ cup buttermilk, then use ½ cup of your substitute.
Additional Substitutions
Yogurt Substitution
- ¾ cup plain yogurt (regular or Greek yogurt)
- ¼ cup milk
- Mix and sit for 5 minutes
Always allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes allowing it to combine and curdle a bit.
Sour Cream Substitution
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup milk
- Mix and sit for 5 minutes
This hack is particularly good in coffee cakes and pancakes.
More Like This
- More kitchen tips: How to Soften Butter Quickly, Baking Powder Substitute, How to Separate Egg Whites, Common Baking Powder Substitutions
- Recipes that utilize buttermilk: Buttermilk Syrup, Buttermilk Waffles, Buttermilk Pancakes, Cinnamon Buttermilk Syrup, Buttermilk Pie
More collections: Pantry Staple Recipes, 3 Ingredient Recipes
How to Make Buttermilk
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Stir milk and lemon juice together until combined.
- Let sit for 5 minutes before using in a recipe.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
milk vs buttermilk?
- Buttermilk is NOT regular milk that has gone bad. If you have sour-smelling milk, toss it out. It is milk combined with lactic acid that creates a tangy flavor. When used in a dish along with baking soda the chemical reaction adds tenderness to the dish.
Can I use kefir as a substitute?
- Kefir is a fermented milk drink that has a similar tang. Substitute an equal amount of kefir, just be sure to use unsweetened and unflavored kefir.
Dairy Free?
- Use non-dairy milk, such as almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, or soy milk, and add acidity to mimic the tang of buttermilk.
- For every cup of non-dairy milk add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. Stir it together and let it sit for 5 minutes to curdle and thicken. This vegan dairy-free buttermilk substitute can be used in recipes just like regular buttermilk.
What does buttermilk do in baking?
- The acidity helps activate leavening agents such as baking soda, resulting in lighter and fluffier baked goods.
- It adds moisture to the batter.
- It contributes a distinct tangy flavor that enhances the overall taste of recipes like pancakes, biscuits, and cakes.
How to store homemade buttermilk?
- Store in an airtight container like a mason jar in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
How to Freeze?
- Freeze both store-bought a substitute. I suggest using an ice cube tray.
- Measure 1 tablespoon for each slot in the tray. Freeze. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer Ziploc. Label and keep frozen for up to 3 months.
I was somehow never able to make the lemon juice hack work until I started getting the True Lemon brand freeze-dried juice powder! (You can get this online and in some stores, and they have other citrus flavors too that are very nice for putting in water or using in recipes. Want Orange-Cranberry scones but you’re out of OJ, or want a more pronounced orange flavor? It’s your answer!) And I’ve never had a better homemade lemonaid in my life than with this stuff and SO quick!!
I think the bottled liquid lemon juice has added ingredients that make it shelf stable, makes it taste awful and seems to interfere with the above process somehow. HOWEVER, adding just a little water to some of the powdered True Lemon (that tastes SO much better than the bottled stuff anyhow) before adding it to the milk makes this recipe PERFECT without adding too much liquid that it just thickens right up!!
Another fairly important note is that 1% and non-fat milk have never worked for me, no matter how hard I tried. And whole milk *always* works better than 2% – think about the name “butter-milk”.. the higher the butterfat content, the better it works. I haven’t ever tried to make buttermilk with heavy cream because I think it would be way too think and heavy cream is expensive to throw out if it fails, so I’ve never tried it. I have however used 1/2 and 1/2 and it’s amazingly thick and works awesome for something like a homemade ranch for people who are used to HV brand shelf-stable ranch! That stuff is so think with thickeners, something people used to store-bought ranch dressing are used to, texture-wise. It’s the only way I got my grandkids to eat the homemade type, they’re used to the thick store bought and wouldn’t touch the homemade because it was “too watery.”
Once I made it with 1/2 and 1/2, they just asked about the tangy taste and I had a pouch of the powdered HV brand buttermilk-style in the panty (that had been sitting there forever because hubby bought it thinking he was helping me out,) and I showed them it said “buttermilk” on it and they just shrugged and ate it happily. They recognized the branded label. When they’re older I’ll teach them to make the homemade version and explain I switched “years ago” and they never noticed, and they’ll be fine. Just gotta work with their limited understanding and social programming.
Now if I could just get that to work with my brand-obsessed S-I-L and I’d be golden… LOL
Thanks for sharing all of those tips!!
Does this recipe work ok with regular milk?
Yep! That’s typically what I use…. milk and lemon juice. But there are a few options listed in the post to make your own buttermilk.
Need buttermilk, this helps to know how to make my own!! Have plain Yogurt, did not know what to do with it, now I know one thing!! Have anymore, how to use plain yogurt?? Would love to here them!!
Oh I’m glad this was helpful! Yes, a few ideas are to fluff up waffles, use it in a warm soup (similar to a sour cream substitute), use it as a veggie dip (add some other spices or a packet of dry onion soup mix), make frozen yogurt pops or drops, use it in smoothies, etc. There are lots of ideas on the internet too!
I love the convienence of using Regular items when you Dont have buttermilk in your fridge. There really is no difference. So nice to know!
I didn’t know you could use lemon juice, i always just use vinegar. You would think i would keep regular buttermilk on hand as often as I use it!
I have never thought to make my own buttermilk. Thanks for the idea. It will save me a trip to the store one of these days for sure.
I have done this with vinegar before. Such a great hack when you are in a pinch. 🙂
this is wonderful because recipes never usually call for that much buttermilk so i end up wasting my store-brought ones. i will just make my own now!
I have never made my own & hate when a recipe calls for buttermilk, but I am out. This will come in so handy!! Thanks!