Buttermilk Substitute

Make your own buttermilk substitute for when you don’t have any using this easy recipe! Milk, yogurt, sour cream, and nondairy substitutes are all given.

What is buttermilk used for?

Buttermilk is a common ingredient in biscuits, pancakes, waffles, muffins, quick breads, and cakes. You can even use it to make buttermilk syrup!

Buttermilk serves a few purposes in a recipes.

First, the acid in buttermilk helps to activate baking soda. This produces gas which helps baked goods to rise.

Second, buttermilk provides flavor. Buttermilk’s acidity helps provide balance and flavor for baked goods.

Third, the acids helps to break down protein. Protein gives baked goods chew, and buttermilk is used in baking recipes to break down the proteins helps to give baked goods a more delicate texture.

Buttermilk is also used in a number of savory recipes. It is a common brine for fried chicken, can be used as a base for recipes like ranch dressing, and it adds a delicious tangy flavor to mashed potatoes.

Sour cream + milk

To make a buttermilk substitute from sour cream and milk, mix 3/4 cup sour cream with 1/4 cup milk.

I don’t recommend using fat-free sour cream, but lite or full-fat sour cream is fine.

Also, anything from skim to whole milk will work.

Dairy-free buttermilk substitutes

You can make a dairy-free buttermilk substitute by following the directions for making sour milk and substituting nondairy milk for dairy milk.

I’ve made substitutes using non-dairy milk like almond milk, cashew milk, and coconut milk, and all have worked well.

How to store leftovers

If you have any leftover buttermilk substitute mixture, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for about 3-4 days.

Can you freeze buttermilk?

You can! The easiest way to store extra buttermilk or buttermilk substitute is to freeze it in an ice cube tray. That way you can just pull out what you need in the future.