It's easy to make a very quick buttermilk substitute in less than 10 minutes. Here's how.
Makes1 cupPrep5 minutes to 10 minutesWe independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
How many times have you found yourself in desperate need of Southern-style biscuits, but without the requisite buttermilk in the fridge? Or there’s the other scenario: You have a hankering for Nashville hot chicken, but you’re reluctant to buy an entire carton of buttermilk when you only need a cup.
For either situation, I have a solution: It’s easy to make a very quick buttermilk substitute in less than 10 minutes. The closest buttermilk substitute is milk with a spoonful of lemon juice or white vinegar.
Why Do We Need Buttermilk Anyway?
Whether we’re talking pancakes or quick breads, the role of buttermilk in almost any baking recipe is to add tenderness and lighten the batter.
Making a Substitute for Buttermilk
If we don’t have buttermilk in the fridge, the closest substitute would be another dairy product with a little acidity added; milk with a spoonful of lemon juice or white vinegar does the job quite nicely.
This mixture won’t get as thick and creamy as buttermilk, but it will perform its role in the batter just as well. Incidentally, yogurt or sour cream thinned with milk (or plain water, in a pinch) also work well as buttermilk substitutes.
Thank goodness for buttermilk substitutes, because a good pancake craving should never go unsatisfied.
Try These Buttermilk Recipes
Now that you can make a quick and easy buttermilk substitute, go ahead and make these delicious recipes.
How To Make a Quick & Easy Buttermilk Substitute
It's easy to make a very quick buttermilk substitute in less than 10 minutes. Here's how.
Prep time 5 minutes to 10 minutes
Makes 1 cup
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 scant cup
whole or 2% milk, or heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon
freshlyl squeezed lemon juice or distilled white vinegar
Equipment
Stirring spoon
Instructions
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Combine the milk or cream and acid. Stir 1 scant cup of milk or cream and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar together in a measuring cup.
Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes. When it is ready, the milk will be slightly thickened and you will see small curdled bits. This substitute will not become as thick as regular buttermilk, but you will also not notice the curdled bits in your finished recipe.
Use the buttermilk. Use this substitute (including curdled bits) as you would buttermilk in your recipe.
Recipe Notes
Other Buttermilk Substitutes:
- Yogurt: Mix 3/4 cup plain yogurt with 1/4 cup water to thin. Use as you would buttermilk.
- Sour cream: Mix 3/4 cup sour cream with 1/4 cup plain water to thin. Use as you would buttermilk.
- Kefir: Thin kefir as needed with milk or plain water until it reaches the consistency of buttermilk. Use as you would buttermilk.
- Cream of tartar: Mix 1 cup of milk with 1 3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened and curdled.
