Name: Buttermilk Substitute
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup milk; 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

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This easy buttermilk substitute is perfect for using in your favorite baking and dinner recipes! All you need is a TWO simple ingredients that you will most definitely have on hand, and you'll have a great substitute for buttermilk without ever having to make a trip to the store.

A small pouring glass filled with curdled milk, resting on a blue check napkin.

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When I first moved way out here in the boonies, I had to quickly learn how to properly stock my pantry and fridge with the essentials that I needed on a day to day basis. Gone were the days when I could take a quick run to the store and grab what we needed for a recipe. Now, that wasn't going to happen and we still needed to eat.

Buttermilk is a cornerstone of baking, but it goes bad quickly, so it can be hard to keep this essential ingredient in stock at all times. Often, I go into my fridge and see if I have a carton (or some of my homemade cultured buttermilk) on hand, only to find that my carton was expired before I had a chance to use it as a starter for another batch of whole milk buttermilk.

But for all problems, there is a solution! And this one doesn't involve doing without the lovely tangy and moist impact that buttermilk makes. Instead, you can easily make a buttermilk substitute from just TWO simple ingredients!

All you need to do is curdle some milk!

Using an Acid to Curdle Milk

The most straightforward way to curdle your milk for a buttermilk substitute is to add an acid. Vinegar and lemon juice are the acids most commonly used, since they are both mild and work with a variety of flavors without competing. Other acids, like apple cider vinegar, have strong tastes and need to be carefully used depending on the ingredients in the particular recipe.

Ingredients

The thing that is so wonderful about this easy recipe is that it requires just TWO ingredients, and you likely have them on hand in your fridge and pantry right now!

Milk: Any type of cow's or goat's milk will work well for making a buttermilk substitute. We drink whole milk, so that's what I use for my buttermilk substitute.
Vinegar: A regular strength white vinegar has a mild flavor, and works great for this recipe! Lemon juice also works well, but the flavor is a little more distinct in the recipe. If lemon won't compete with the flavors in your recipe, go ahead and use it!

How to Make a Buttermilk Substitute

Adding vinegar to milk to make a buttermilk substitute

Get started by adding your milk to a measuring up or glass.

Remove one tablespoon of the milk (I always drink it or add it to my coffee) and replace it with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice.

Stir the mixture and set aside for 5 minutes.

Milk after being soured with vinegar or lemon juice

After your milk has had the change to react with the vinegar or lemon juice for 5 minutes, it should look like it's beginning to separate on top and curdling. This is good!

Give your curdled milk a good stir, and now it's ready to replace buttermilk in your favorite recipes!

A small cruet of homemade buttermilk rests on a blue check napkin.

When to Use Real Buttermilk vs. When to Use a Buttermilk Substitute

While this easy buttermilk substitute is a total cinch to make, and works great in all kinds of recipes to replace buttermilk. It isn't ideal in all situations.

There are some recipes that really require you to use proper cultured buttermilk in order to get the results you want. An example of this is a recipe where "Buttermilk" is a key ingredient or star of the show. Think buttermilk chicken tenders, Buttermilk Cake, Irish Soda Bread, or anywhere that "buttermilk" is featured in the title like my Strawberry Buttermilk Muffins. Since these recipes seek to showcase the texture and flavor of true buttermilk, it would be inappropriate to use a substitute.

For recipes that have buttermilk as a minor addition, it's totally fine to use an easy buttermilk substitute like this to replace store bought cultured buttermilk! When in doubt, check the recipe. Since buttermilk isn't a super common ingredient, bloggers and cookbook authors often include substitution information about the buttermilk used in the recipe.

Can I Substitute Buttermilk for Milk?

Yes, in most cases! Just be sure that the recipe calls for baking powder, versus baking soda, which will react with the acid in the buttermilk. Otherwise, go ahead and swap for milk in all of your favorite recipes! Buttermilk makes for a more tender and moist result, and is always a go in my books!

Buttermilk being poured into an imaginary dish

Variations and Substitutions

Buttermilk Substitute with Apple Cider Vinegar: While you can use apple cider vinegar to make a buttermilk substitute, note that it will have a very strong taste. If that will work with your finished recipe, go ahead. Otherwise, err on the side of caution and use white vinegar or lemon juice.

Buttermilk Substitute with Coconut Milk: Add 1 cup of canned coconut milk to a glass jar or measuring cup and remove 1 tablespoon. Replace with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before using as a buttermilk substitute.

Buttermilk Substitute with Almond Milk: Add 1 cup of almond milk to a glass jar or measuring cup and remove 1 tablespoon. Replace with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before using as a buttermilk substitute.

Buttermilk Substitute with Yogurt: Yogurt makes a decent buttermilk substitute, but you need to get the consistency right. Since yogurt is thick, you'll need to add milk to give it the same consistency of buttermilk. Start with ½ cup of yogurt, and add milk to thin the consistency. Add more yogurt if you need a thicker consistency, and go back and forth between the two to reach the volume needed for your recipe.

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