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.
Sour milk
The most common buttermilk substitute is sour milk.
Sour milk is made by adding an acid (lemon juice, vinegar, cream of tartar) to milk and then letting it sit for 5-10 minutes to "sour".
Sour Cream + Milk
To make a buttermilk substitute from sour cream and milk, mix ¾ cup sour cream with ¼ 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.
Yogurt + Milk
Plain yogurt (not Greek yogurt) can be substituted for buttermilk in a 1:1 ratio.
So, for every cup of buttermilk needed, use 1 cup of plain yogurt.
To make a buttermilk substitute Greek yogurt and milk, mix ¾ cup Greek yogurt with ¼ cup milk.
I have used everything from fat-free Greek yogurt to full-fat Greek yogurt with good results.
Also, anything from skim to whole milk will work.
However, your best bet is to follow the recipe. If it calls for full-fat buttermilk, use whole milk-Greek yogurt or full-fat sour cream and a higher fat milk (i.e. 2% or whole milk) will give you a closer result.
Nondairy Substitutes
You can make a nondairy buttermilk substitute by following the directions for making sour milk and substituting nondairy milk for dairy milk.
I've made nondairy substiututes using almond, cashew, and coconut milk, and all have worked well.
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Buttermilk Substitute
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
One of the following
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 ¾ teaspoons cream of tartar
Instructions
- Combine milk and either lemon juice, vinegar, or cream of tartar.
- Let sit 5-10 minutes before using.
Notes
- Check out the other ways to make buttermilk substitutes above the recipe.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
katie
They were fabulous and all went in one sitting! I am making them again.
Kate
Thank you! I'm glad it worked well for you.
Lauren
I am going to make homemade French’s Fried Onions which require soaking in buttermilk before coating in flour and frying. I don’t have buttermilk. Would you think to make my own it would be better to use skim milk and lemon juice or skim milk and full fat sour cream? Those are my two options! Thanks.
Kate
Hi! I would think that the lemon juice/skim milk might work better for soaking the onions. I haven't tried it, but when I've soaked chicken before frying, it's a thinner buttermilk mixture. Hope that helps!
Nina
Worked just like buttermilk! Amazing!
Kate
That's great! =)
Sara
Thank! I never have buttermilk on hand. Making the chocolate zucchini cake today.
Kate
I'm glad it helped! I hope you like the cake as much as we do! =)
Lee Ann
Do you need to use whole milk or can you use 2%?
Kate
You can use 2% milk.
Andrea
I used the lemon juice. It worked out great. Thanks!
Kate
Good! I'm so glad! Thanks for commenting! =)
Linda
This was very helpful. Thank you.
Kate
Good! I'm so glad! Thanks for commenting. =)