You’re halfway through measuring ingredients when you discover the carton of buttermilk you thought was in the fridge is empty.
Fortunately, you probably don’t need to abandon the recipe.
A good buttermilk substitute may already be sitting in your fridge or pantry.
Several common ingredients can replace buttermilk in cakes, muffins, pancakes, biscuits, and quick breads. The best choice depends on what you’re baking and what you have available.
Quick Answer
For most baking, plain yogurt or Greek yogurt thinned with milk is one of the best substitutes for buttermilk because it provides acidity and a similar dairy flavor.
For a quick substitute using basic ingredients, put 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup, then add enough milk to make 1 cup.
Buttermilk Substitute Chart
| If You Need | Use | Best For | What to Expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup buttermilk | 1 tbsp lemon juice + enough milk to make 1 cup | Cakes, muffins, pancakes, quick breads | Easy all-purpose substitute; less complex flavor |
| 1 cup buttermilk | 1 tbsp white vinegar + enough milk to make 1 cup | Cakes, muffins, pancakes, quick breads | Similar to lemon and milk; neutral flavor |
| 1 cup buttermilk | Plain or Greek yogurt thinned with milk or water | Biscuits, pancakes, cakes | Excellent texture and tang |
| 1 cup buttermilk | 3/4 cup sour cream + 1/4 cup milk or water | Cakes, muffins, quick breads | Rich, tender results |
| 1 cup buttermilk | 1 cup plain kefir | Most baking | Very close acidity and fermented flavor |
| 1 cup buttermilk | Buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions | Frequent baking | Convenient and consistent |
| 1 cup buttermilk | 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar + enough unsweetened plant milk to make 1 cup | Dairy-free baking | Easy dairy-free option |
Why Buttermilk Matters in Baking
Buttermilk isn’t included in a recipe simply to make the batter wet.
Modern cultured buttermilk is acidic, slightly thick, and tangy. Those characteristics can affect several parts of your baking.
It Helps With Leavening
When acidic buttermilk is combined with baking soda, the acid-base reaction produces carbon dioxide. Those gas bubbles help pancakes, biscuits, cakes, and quick breads rise.
That’s one reason replacing buttermilk with ordinary milk isn’t always a good idea.
It Contributes to Tenderness
Buttermilk can help create the soft, tender texture associated with many cakes, biscuits, pancakes, and quick breads.
It Adds Flavor
However, buttermilk’s tang becomes subtle after baking. It can still contribute to the characteristic flavor of foods such as pancakes and biscuits, making it a suitable buttermilk substitute.
It Can Affect Browning and Texture
Changing the acidity, fat, protein, and water content of a recipe can affect browning and the texture of the finished bake.
That’s why the best buttermilk substitute isn’t necessarily whichever liquid happens to be closest to you.
1. Plain or Greek Yogurt With Milk
Additionally, this buttermilk substitute is the best overall option for many baking recipes.
Plain yogurt is one of the closest practical replacements for cultured buttermilk because it already provides acidity and a fermented dairy flavor.
The main difference is thickness.
Regular yogurt may need only a little thinning. Greek yogurt usually needs more.
For Greek yogurt, a useful starting point is:
1 part Greek yogurt + 2 parts milk
Mix until the consistency is reasonably close to buttermilk.
This works particularly well for:
- Pancakes
- Biscuits
- Cakes
- Muffins
- Quick breads
King Arthur Baking tested several common buttermilk substitutes in pancakes, biscuits, and cake. Thinned Greek yogurt was one of the strongest performers and came particularly close to real buttermilk in some of those tests.
Kitchen Answers Tip
Use plain, unsweetened yogurt. Vanilla or sweetened yogurt can add unwanted sugar and flavor to your recipe.
2. Milk With Lemon Juice
Best easy substitute using everyday ingredients
This is probably the homemade buttermilk substitute you’ve seen most often.
For 1 cup of buttermilk:
- Put 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a measuring cup.
- Add enough milk to reach the 1-cup line.
- Stir.
- Let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes before using.
The mixture may look slightly curdled. That’s normal.
It won’t become as thick as cultured buttermilk, but the added acid makes it much more suitable than plain milk for recipes that rely on baking soda.
Will It Make My Baking Taste Like Lemon?
Usually not.
One tablespoon spread throughout an entire batch of cake, muffins, or pancakes provides acidity without normally producing a strong lemon flavor.
3. Milk With White Vinegar
White vinegar works on the same principle as lemon juice.
For 1 cup of buttermilk, use:
1 tablespoon white vinegar + enough milk to make 1 cup
Let the mixture stand for about 10 to 15 minutes before adding it to your recipe.
Use ordinary white vinegar rather than a strongly flavored vinegar.
This is particularly useful when you need acidity without introducing another noticeable flavor.
4. Sour Cream With Milk or Water
Sour cream provides acidity, dairy flavor, and richness, but it’s considerably thicker than buttermilk.
A practical starting point for replacing 1 cup of buttermilk is:
3/4 cup sour cream + 1/4 cup milk or water
Mix until smooth.
This works particularly well in:
- Cakes
- Muffins
- Quick breads
- Rich pancakes
Because sour cream generally contains more fat than cultured buttermilk, the finished baked good may be a little richer.
5. Plain Kefir
If you happen to have plain kefir in the refrigerator, you have one of the easiest buttermilk substitutes.
Plain, unsweetened kefir provides acidity and fermented dairy flavor, making it suitable for replacing buttermilk in many baked goods.
Use approximately 1 cup kefir for 1 cup buttermilk unless your particular kefir is substantially thicker.
Avoid flavored or sweetened varieties unless the additional sugar and flavor work with your recipe.
6. Buttermilk Powder
If you bake frequently but rarely finish a carton of fresh buttermilk, powdered buttermilk can be a convenient alternative.
Follow the manufacturer’s directions because products can differ.
Some products instruct you to mix the buttermilk powder into the dry ingredients and add the required water with the wet ingredients.
This can be particularly useful if buttermilk appears regularly in your baking but isn’t something you normally keep in the refrigerator.
7. Dairy-Free Buttermilk Substitute
You can use a similar acidification method with plant-based milk.
For 1 cup of dairy-free buttermilk substitute:
Put 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup and add enough plain, unsweetened plant milk to make 1 cup.
Let it stand briefly before using.
Soy milk can work particularly well because its protein content allows it to react more noticeably with the acid, although other unsweetened plant milks can also work depending on the recipe.
Choose plain and unsweetened plant milk unless additional sweetness or flavor is appropriate.
What’s the Best Buttermilk Substitute for Cake?
Good choices for cake include:
- Thinned plain or Greek yogurt
- Milk with lemon juice
- Milk with white vinegar
- Thinned sour cream
Cakes often contain enough other ingredients that the subtle flavor difference between genuine buttermilk and a good substitute isn’t dramatic.
Acidity becomes particularly important when the recipe relies on baking soda.
If that’s the case, don’t casually replace the buttermilk with plain milk.
What’s the Best Buttermilk Substitute for Pancakes?
Thinned plain or Greek yogurt is an excellent choice for pancakes.
It provides both the tang and acidity associated with buttermilk pancakes and can produce results closer to genuine buttermilk than plain milk.
Milk with lemon juice or white vinegar remains a good quick option when that’s what you have available.
What’s the Best Buttermilk Substitute for Biscuits?
For biscuits, I’d start with thinned yogurt, followed by milk with lemon juice or white vinegar.
Biscuits contain relatively few ingredients, so changes in the flavor and consistency of the liquid can be more noticeable than they are in a heavily flavored cake.
Can You Just Use Regular Milk Instead of Buttermilk?
Sometimes, but I wouldn’t make it the default substitution.
If a recipe uses baking soda and depends on buttermilk for acidity, ordinary milk changes the chemistry of the recipe.
The result may not rise or brown the same way.
If a recipe calls for only a small amount of buttermilk and contains other acidic ingredients or leavening, plain milk may sometimes work. But adding lemon juice or vinegar takes only a minute and generally provides a more appropriate substitute.
Kitchen Answers Tip
Before replacing buttermilk, check the ingredient list for baking soda. If baking soda is present, maintaining acidity in your substitute is especially important.
Can You Use Heavy Cream Instead of Buttermilk?
Not as a direct 1:1 replacement.
Heavy cream contains substantially more fat and isn’t acidic like cultured buttermilk. Replacing buttermilk directly with heavy cream can change the richness, consistency, and leavening chemistry of the recipe.
If heavy cream is all you have, one of the other substitutions above is usually a better option.
Can You Freeze Leftover Buttermilk?
Yes.
If you occasionally buy buttermilk but never finish the carton, freeze the extra in portions you commonly use, such as 1/2 cup or 1 cup.
Buttermilk may separate after freezing and thawing, so stir or shake it well before measuring. The texture change makes thawed buttermilk less appealing as a beverage, but it can still be useful for baking.
Which Buttermilk Substitute Should You Choose?
Here’s the simplest way to decide:
Closest all-around baking substitute:
Thinned plain or Greek yogurt.
Easiest substitute from everyday ingredients:
Milk with lemon juice or white vinegar.
For richer cakes and muffins:
Thinned sour cream.
If you already have it:
Plain kefir.
For dairy-free baking:
Unsweetened plant milk with lemon juice or vinegar.
If you regularly bake with buttermilk:
Buttermilk powder.
The goal isn’t simply to replace one cup of liquid with another. A good substitute should replace as much of buttermilk’s acidity, moisture, flavor, and consistency as practical.
Need a Substitute for Something Else?
Try the Kitchen Answers Ingredient Substitute Finder.
Tell it what ingredient you’re replacing, what you’re making, and your dietary needs, and it can help you choose an appropriate substitute for your recipe.
Related Kitchen Answers
- Best Egg Substitutes for Baking
- Best Butter Substitutes for Cookies
- Best Milk Substitutes for Baking (add when published)
- Best Sour Cream Substitutes (add when published)
Sources & Further Reading
- King Arthur Baking — How to Substitute for Buttermilk
- King Arthur Baking — Dried Buttermilk in Baking
- King Arthur Baking — Dairy-Free Baking Substitutions