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This homemade buttermilk substitute comes together in 5 minutes and requires only 2 ingredients. Skip the grocery store and make your own!
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve started pulling out the ingredients for a recipe and realized that I didn’t have any buttermilk on hand. It’s just not something that is regularly in our fridge.
Instead of bribing Eric to make a quick run to our local market or placing an Instacart order, I typically just skip both of those and make a quick and easy buttermilk substitute at home.
Buttermilk is an ingredient that I only pick up from the grocery store if I know I’ll be using most of it, which usually means I’m planning to make multiple recipes that call for it.
If it’s a recipe that requires just a bit of buttermilk, I skip buying the two quart container, and just make a homemade buttermilk substitute to save a few bucks and not be wasteful.
Because let’s be real, I’m definitely not going to be dunking my favorite chocolate chip cookies into an ice cold glass of buttermilk.
In general, I shy away from ingredient substitutions when it comes to baking. Sometimes they can definitely affect the finished product.
However, I’ve used a buttermilk substitute for years in countless recipes without any issues.
From the best chocolate cake, and moist banana cake to Texas sheet cake, this homemade buttermilk substitute works like a charm.
Buttermilk is definitely an ingredient you don’t want to omit. Creamy and tangy, it brings beautiful flavor and tenderness to sweet and savory recipes.
The acidity of the buttermilk also reacts with the baking powder or baking soda, leaving a delicious and delightfully light texture.
Buttermilk can be used in biscuits, cakes, pancakes, fried chicken, waffles, salad dressings, quick breads, and countless other delicious recipes.
If you find you don’t have buttermilk on hand, don’t fret. Before you grab your wallet and jump into the car for a grocery store run, you probably have everything you need in your kitchen right now to make a buttermilk substitute.
And the great news is, once you know how to make buttermilk, you’ll have your buttermilk substitute in a fraction of the time it would take you to go to and from the store.
SUBSTITUTE FOR BUTTERMILK IN BAKING
All you need to make a substitute for buttermilk in baking recipes is milk and white vinegar, or lemon juice. I typically opt for 2% or whole milk and fresh lemon juice, but bottled will also do the trick.
Measure one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup.
Add in a scant cup of milk and fill to the 1 cup measurement line.
Stir the mixture together and let sit for 5 minutes.
HOW TO SUBSTITUTE BUTTERMILK
Once the buttermilk and vinegar (or lemon juice) mixture has rested for 5 minutes, the milk will have thickened and curdled slightly.
That means it worked! You can now use your buttermilk substitute 1-for-1 in your favorite baking recipes. If your recipe calls for 1 cup of buttermilk, use 1 cup of buttermilk substitute, ½ cup for ½ cup and so on.
Can you freeze buttermilk?
Yes! You definitely can. My problem is that I end up leaving it in the fridge too long and by the time I remember to freeze it, it’s gone bad.
As one of my readers pointed out in the comment section below, you can freeze buttermilk in ice cube trays.
The easiest way to do this is to measure 1-2 tablespoons (depending on the size of your ice cube trays) of buttermilk into each ice cube well. Freeze the buttermilk in the trays. Pop the frozen cubes into a freezer bag and place them back into the freezer.
Just be sure to make a note on the bag to reference later. For example, each cube = 1 tablespoon, so you know how much to take out for each recipe.
When you’re ready to bake, you can let the buttermilk cubes defrost in the fridge, or melt them on the lowest power setting in your microwave.
And there you have it, a homemade buttermilk substitute! Add it to the recipe exactly as the recipe reads in the exact amount the recipe calls for.
Try this homemade buttermilk substitute in my raspberry lemon cupcakes, or add it to my red velvet cupcakes for a moist and fantastic flavor and texture.
No need to panic if you don’t have buttermilk in your kitchen. With two basic ingredients, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute for any recipe.
Buttermilk Substitute
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar OR lemon juice
- 1 scant cup milk
Instructions
- Measure one tablespoon of white vinegar, or lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup.
- Add in a scant cup of milk and fill to the 1 cup measurement line.
- Stir the mixture together and let sit for 5 minutes.
Hello thank you for this tip! I just wanted to ask if the buttermilk is left out for an hour prior to throwing it in the batter, is it still ok to use? I didn’t prep the ingredients in the right manner..
Hello! That should be fine. Hope this helps. Happy baking.
Jamie
How long can homemade buttermilk stay in the freezer& also down in the frige?
Hello! I wouldn’t plan to store this buttermilk substitute – I would make it as you need to use it. Hope this helps.
Jamie
Thank you so very much! I’ve started a baking recipe & realized I had no buttermilk. So this was very useful to me.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Maria! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Hi! Is there a difference between using lemon juice or vinegar? Which one gives best results?
Hello! Lemon juice and vinegar work equally well for this. I’ve never noticed a discernible difference between the two! Hope this helps.
Jamie
Hi,
can i substitute apple cider vinegar in place of the lemon of straight vinegar? and if so, will the proportion be the same?
Hello! Yes, you can use apple cider vinegar in the same amount. Hope this helps!
Jamie
Great substitute! You can’t even tell
Can I use 1/2 tbsp vinegar to make 1/2 cup buttermilk? I need only 1/2 cup, so I figured if 1 tbsp is for 1 cup buttermilk, then I should be able to half it.
Hello! That should work fine. Happy baking!
Jamie
I used a cup of milk and 1 tbl of white vinegar and waited 5 minutes. It did not thicken…. I set timer for 2 more minutes and it still has not thickened… Is it still good or should I wait and try another batch??? Not much time here, it taste sour obviously.. hence the vinegar… What to do don’t want to ruin an expensive receipt… I just forgot that it card for 3/4 cp butter milk! Ugh!!!
Bobbi-
It’s not going to thicken to a buttermilk consistency. If you let it set for five minutes, you should be good to go.
-Jamie
Actually I am also looking for an nondairy substitute for buttermilk
Hello! Unfortunately I don’t know a good nondairy substitute. Hopefully someone in the comments here can help you out!
is the 10 paragraph preamble really necessary? If you don’t know what buttermilk is, it’s safe to assume you won’t be reading this.
Clearly you don’t know what a blog is, Art. However, I am a big fan of the Seinfeld/Kardashian reference. Have an amazing day.
The reason for the preamble is simple. It is the same reason there is seemingly pointless preamble on most recipes or other similar ‘blogs’. It means you have to scroll past numerous adverts before you get to the information that you are really after. It is nearly impossible to move on the internet from the sheer volume of adverts. One day it will be different!
There is a “jump to recipe” button at the top of every post. We really couldn’t make it any simpler to skip past the “preamble” if scrolling is too difficult.
@David Ward, if you don’t want to scroll past ‘numerous adverts’ then either use the ‘jump to recipe’ button as Jamie has suggested or use a different site. Personally I found reading the information interesting. I also feel that there are people around the world who would love to be able to access the internet and have a computer so instead of bemoaning the adverts perhaps give thanks that the technology is available to use the internet despite the downsides.
Great point, Caron! Thank you!