Buttermilk Substitute
Updated August 15, 2026
Stir 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into 1 cup of milk and let it sit for 5–10 minutes until it looks slightly curdled — that's a working buttermilk substitute for any baking recipe. Thinned plain yogurt or kefir works even better.
| Substitute | How | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Milk + acid | 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, rest 5–10 min | Any baking |
| Plain yogurt, thinned | ¾ cup yogurt + ¼ cup milk or water | Pancakes, cakes — closest texture |
| Kefir | Straight, 1:1 | The truest match — it's a cultured milk |
| Sour cream, thinned | ¾ cup sour cream + ¼ cup milk | Rich bakes, dressings |
| Milk + cream of tartar | 1 cup milk + 1¾ tsp cream of tartar | When there's no lemon in the house |
Why the acid matters
Recipes calling for buttermilk almost always pair it with baking soda — the soda needs buttermilk's acidity to fire, producing the rise and tenderizing the crumb. Plain milk leaves the soda unreacted: flat pancakes with a soapy, metallic edge. The lemon-or-vinegar trick restores the acid, which is the part the chemistry cares about. What it can't fully fake is cultured buttermilk's thickness and tang — fine in a batter, noticeable in a dressing.
For drinking, dressings, and brines
Where buttermilk is the star — ranch dressing, fried-chicken brine, cold soups — reach for the cultured substitutes: kefir straight, or yogurt thinned to pourable. They bring the lactic tang and body the acid trick lacks. The marinade case is forgiving anyway: yogurt tenderizes chicken exactly the way buttermilk does, which is why half the world's fried and tandoori chicken starts in one or the other.
Quick answers
- Can I use plain milk instead of buttermilk?
- In soda-leavened recipes, no — the soda needs acid to rise. Add the tablespoon of lemon or vinegar; it takes five minutes.
- Does the milk fat percentage matter?
- Barely. Whole milk gets closest to buttermilk's richness, but 2% and even non-dairy milks work with the same acid ratio.
- What do I do with leftover real buttermilk?
- It keeps ~2 weeks past opening, freezes fine in ice-cube portions, and makes the pancakes, biscuits, and marinades that got you here.