How to Make Buttermilk

If you’re new to the kitchen, you might not know just how essential buttermilk can be. Even some seasoned pros can underestimate its importance! And while we love how delicious it can make our baked goods, we’ve definitely run into recipes that need buttermilk and realized we don’t have any in the refrigerator.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve given up the dream of making buttermilk pancakes or buttermilk biscuits after finding myself short of this ingredient. As it turns out, learning how to make buttermilk at home is wildly easy. We’ll show you how to make buttermilk from milk and vinegar or lemon juice—ingredients you probably already have on hand.

We’ll also share some other buttermilk substitutes just in case you also ran out of milk and vinegar. Seriously, learning how to make homemade buttermilk might even be easier than taking a trip to the store. So, let’s dive in!

Ingredients for Buttermilk

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• Milk: Our buttermilk recipe uses 2% milk, but you can start with any type of milk, like whole or skim.
• Vinegar or lemon juice: An acidic ingredient like white vinegar or fresh lemon juice stirred into the milk will help curdle and sour it (a good thing, in this instance). Any clear, light-colored vinegar will do, like apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar.

Directions

Step 1: Stir together vinegar and milk

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Add the white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Pour enough milk on top to measure 1 cup. Give everything a quick stir.

Step 2: Let it stand until curdled slightly

Let the mixture stand at room temperature for five minutes. Once the timer is up, your homemade buttermilk is ready to use!

Buttermilk Substitutes

• Yogurt: Yogurt makes a great substitute for buttermilk. Just use 1 cup of yogurt for each 1 cup of buttermilk in your recipe. If using thick yogurt, like Greek or Icelandic yogurt, thin it with some water first before measuring out a cup.
• Cream of tartar: If you don’t have any vinegar in the house, break out your cream of tartar! Add 1-1/2 teaspoons of cream of tartar to 1 cup of milk, stir to combine and let the milk sit for five minutes before using it.
• Sour cream: Sour cream is an excellent buttermilk substitute. To replace 1 cup of buttermilk, stir together 3/4 cup of sour cream with 1/4 cup of water.
• Powdered buttermilk: You can also use powdered buttermilk, such as Saco Cultured Buttermilk Blend, which you can find on Amazon or near the dry and canned milk in the grocery store.

How to Store Buttermilk

Store buttermilk in a glass jar with a screw-on lid or pour it into an airtight container. Basically, store buttermilk in any container that has a tight seal. Otherwise, your buttermilk may soak up unpleasant fridge smells.

Once you find the right container, stash the buttermilk in the fridge for up to two days.

Can you freeze buttermilk?

Yes, you can freeze buttermilk. Store it in an airtight container, leaving about 1 inch of headspace so there’s room for expansion. The buttermilk can be kept in the freezer for up to one month. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before using it.

Buttermilk Tips

Do I need to use buttermilk?

When a recipe calls for it, yes, you need to use buttermilk. It makes a difference in the finished recipe. Buttermilk brings a pleasant tang to cakes, breads, biscuits and other bakes while adding very little fat. Like yogurt and sour cream, this acidic ingredient also helps tenderize gluten, giving baked goods a softer texture and more body. Plus, it helps quick breads rise.

Is buttermilk necessary when baked goods have baking soda?

Baking soda, a leavening agent in many baked goods, requires acidic ingredients such as buttermilk, lemon juice or molasses to activate it. If the baking soda doesn’t properly activate, your light-and-fluffies will be more like dense-and-heavies.

Does buttermilk work in all baked goods?

Buttermilk can be used in almost all baked goods, but keep an eye on other acidic ingredients in your recipe. Especially take note if your recipe calls for baking powder, which already contains an acid to help with leavening. You may want to use regular milk, so you don’t end up with a baked good that’s too tangy.

Is there a dairy-free buttermilk option?

You bet. To make dairy-free buttermilk, combine 3/4 cup of plain or vanilla almond milk yogurt with 1/4 cup of almond milk and 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar. Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before using it.