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    You are here: Home / Kitchen Tips / Kitchen Tips: Buttermilk Substitute

    Kitchen Tips: Buttermilk Substitute

    November 23, 2016 Updated March 25, 2020 BySam 166 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
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    Buttermilk Substitute

    A quick and easy 2-ingredient buttermilk substitute made using milk and lemon juice (or vinegar).  Save yourself a trip to the store and spare the expense of store-bought buttermilk, and make it yourself in under 5 minutes.

    Overhead of mixing milk and lemon juice in measuring cup to make a buttermilk substitute

    If you’re just popping over from Google I want to make this really easy for you so you don’t have to read the whole post.

    How to make Buttermilk Substitute:

    1 cup buttermilk = 1 Tbsp lemon juice + 1 scant cup milk.  To make, pour 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar into a measuring cup, and then fill the rest of the way to the “1 cup” line.  For a more detailed discussion, please read on! 

    Man, do I have the easiest “recipe” for you today.

    Today I want to show you a simple substitution that I use frequently in my kitchen.  It’s nothing groundbreaking or new (in fact, I’ve been using it for essentially my whole baking life), but it’s a tip that not everyone is familiar with.

    You can substitute buttermilk with two simple and inexpensive ingredients that you probably already have in your refrigerator: milk and lemon juice.

    Let’s talk about this for a minute before we start mixing.

    Ingredients (lemon juice and milk)

    Buttermilk vs. Milk — Can I use milk instead of buttermilk in a recipe?

    The short answer is no, if a recipe calls for buttermilk, you cannot use milk instead of buttermilk in that recipe.

    Buttermilk is an acid, and any recipe that has been created using it is typically designed to have a specific reaction between the buttermilk (acid) and the leavening agents used (usually baking soda). Note: sometimes I do use buttermilk without baking soda, like in my coffee cake or vanilla cake. In these instances it is to enhance the moisture and flavor of the recipe.

    Just plain regular milk will not work as a substitute because it is not naturally acidic, and so will not react appropriately in your recipe. Using milk instead of buttermilk will likely result in drier, less flavorful, less tender baked goods, and can even affect the rise that you get in your biscuits or muffins (like these banana muffins!).

    banana muffin with high muffin top in white liner

    What Makes It Work?

    This buttermilk substitute works because adding lemon juice instantly causes a change in the milk particles and actually makes your milk acidic — exactly what your buttermilk-using recipe is looking for!  You can visually observe this as certain proteins in the milk begin to clump and you’ll see small curdles in your milk.

    This acidification happens instantly, and, according to my favorite trusty kitchen guide, it means that you don’t need to let the mixture sit for any amount of time before using.

    I’ll admit, though, I always allow it to rest for five minutes because it’s been ingrained in my mind for years that this is necessary (and I usually prepare my buttermilk substitute at the beginning of any baking session, so it ends up sitting anyway).  OK, so…

    Pouring milk into a measuring cup

    HOW do you make Buttermilk at home?

    It’s simple, really.

    • Pour one Tablespoon of lemon juice (or one Tablespoon of vinegar) into a liquid measuring cup.  Then add your milk until it reaches the 1-cup line.  Stir.  The milk will thicken and look a little… chunky or curdled.  As we discussed above, this is a good thing, and exactly what we want here!

    The recipe is written for a full cup of buttermilk, but here is a breakdown for different measurements:

    • 1 cup buttermilk = 1 Tablespoon lemon juice* + enough milk to fill to 1-cup line
    • ¾ cup buttermilk = 2 ¼ teaspoons lemon juice* + enough milk to fill to ¾-cup line
    • ⅔ cup buttermilk = 2 teaspoons lemon juice* + enough milk to fill to ⅔-cup line
    • ½ cup buttermilk = 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice* + enough milk to fill to ½-cup line
    • ¼ cup buttermilk = ¾ teaspoon lemon juice* + enough milk to fill to ¼ cup line

    *In all of these scenarios, the lemon juice can be substituted for distilled white vinegar. Substitute 1:1, the buttermilk substitute will work just as well either way. I’ve used both substitutions without issue. 

    Stirring together milk and lemon juice in a measuring cup to make a buttermilk substitute

    How long will my buttermilk substitute stay good?

    If you somehow made too much buttermilk substitute, don’t worry, you can store it!  It should hold up about a week in a sealed container in your refrigerator.  However, I recommend just making it as needed rather than making it in bulk in advance.

    Can I substitute a non-dairy milk for regular milk in this recipe?

    Yes!  Almond milk or soy milk would work fine as a substitute.  I rarely bake with these milks, but this substitution will work and will help replicate the taste of traditional buttermilk in your recipe, and is a good vegan substitute.

    I keep seeing buttermilk substitutes that call for a “scant cup” of milk.  What is a”scant cup”!?

    A scant cup just means just shy (usually 1-2 Tablespoons) of a full cup.  In this instance, we’re pouring the lemon juice into the measuring cup first, so, even though we’re filling the milk up to the 1-cup line, the amount of actual milk that is used will be just less than a full cup, or a “scant cup”.

    Phew, OK, thank you for letting me ramble on about how to make buttermilk for well over 800 words — who knew there would be so much to say about such a simple substitution!?

    I know that this isn’t new information to many seasoned bakers, but I’m hoping that it will help someone out in a pinch, and if you have any more questions about buttermilk substituting, please leave them in the comments and I’ll try my best to answer them!

    Now that you’ve got the substitution down, let’s put it to good use! Here are some great recipes that use buttermilk (or, in this case, a buttermilk substitute!):

    • Buttermilk pancakes
    • Buttermilk cornbread
    • Chocolate cake
    • Birthday cake
    Overhead of milk and lemon juice mixture in measuring cup

    How to Make Buttermilk Substitute

    A quick, 2 ingredient substitute for buttermilk, made with milk and lemon juice
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: ingredient
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes
    Servings: 1 cup
    Calories: 100kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (fresh or bottled) may substitute 1 Tablespoon white distilled vinegar
    • 1 scant cup* milk
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Pour one Tablespoon of lemon juice (or one tablespoon of vinegar) into a liquid measuring cup. 
    • Add milk until liquid reaches the 1-cup line (at eye level). 
    • Stir. The milk will thicken a little and appear to be slightly curdled or chunky.  For peace of mind, let it sit for 5 minutes, even though we learned above that this isn't truly necessary.
    • Use buttermilk in your recipe as instructed.

    Notes

    *A scant cup just means just shy (usually 1-2 Tablespoons) of a full cup.  In this instance, we're pouring the lemon juice into the measuring cup first, so, even though we're filling the milk up to the 1-cup line, the amount of actual milk that is used will be just less than a full cup, or a "scant cup".

    Nutrition

    Calories: 100kcal

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jen

      January 22, 2022 at 2:06 pm

      Hello there! I am making gobs for a fundraiser and have been asked to make orange creamsicle ones. Is there a way I can use a traditional gob recipe and sub out some of the ingredients?

      Reply
      • Sam

        February 01, 2022 at 11:18 am

        Hi Jen! I’m sure you could, but without having tried it I’m not sure how it would be done.

        Reply
    2. Kim

      November 21, 2021 at 3:51 pm

      Can you use fat free buttermilk?

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 21, 2021 at 5:27 pm

        Hi Kim! That’s a very tough question to answer. It’s really going to depend how the buttermilk is used in each particular recipe.

        Reply
    3. Marilou

      October 15, 2021 at 12:41 pm

      Hi Sam! Can I use a evaporated milk? , because I have only fat free milk in my house!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        October 15, 2021 at 5:37 pm

        Hi Marilou! It will depend on the recipe that you are using the buttermilk for. It is best made using whole milk. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Patti

      September 04, 2021 at 5:23 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve seen and done this many times, but with baking bread I’ve used a dry buttermilk powder. It gives you a ratio of powder to water to “make” buttermilk in the amounts needed. It tastes great in breads, but I’ve never tried it in any other recipes. Have you heard of this, or used it?

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 06, 2021 at 9:17 pm

        Hi Patti! I have seen buttermilk powder, but unfortunately I haven’t tried baking with it so I can’t say for sure how it would work.

        Reply
    5. Morgan

      September 02, 2021 at 8:23 am

      hi, can i substitute sour cream for buttermilk in the vanilla cake recipe, i don’t trust myself to do this recipe and in my head sour cream resembles buttermilk more.
      I read about having to “thin” the sour cream with a 1/4 cup of milk to a cup?

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 03, 2021 at 11:30 am

        Hi Morgan! Unfortunately, I haven’t tried this myself. I think you would need to thin the sour cream a bit but I’m not sure how to go about doing it. If you try it let me know how it goes. 🙂

        Reply
    6. Emma

      August 23, 2021 at 12:05 pm

      Hi,Sam,
      Can I substitute buttermilk with greek yoghurt?

      Reply
      • Sam

        August 25, 2021 at 9:13 am

        Hi Emma! The process for substituting greek yogurt is a little different and I haven’t tried it so I can’t really advise on exactly how to do it. 🙁

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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