How to make buttermilk without milk. These milk & dairy free substitutions are easy to do and take less than 5 minutes. Perfect for all your baking recipes when you’re out of buttermilk!
Buttermilk is a great base for many baking recipes. But if you don’t want to purchase a half gallon to use a quarter cup, or you have dairy allergies or a dairy intolerance, don’t worry! Here are some of the best buttermilk without milk recipes.
The basic recipe is to combine your dairy (or non-dairy) with an acid and let it rest for 5 minutes. This gives the acid time to curdle the dairy (or non-dairy) which turns it into buttermilk.
Top tip! For a more authentic taste, you can also add a spoon of melted butter (or non-dairy butter) to get the full fat that traditional buttermilk would have!
What does buttermilk do for baking?
Buttermilk is a byproduct of making butter (hence the name!). It actually is not a combination of butter and milk, as I thought when I was a kid.
Buttermilk in baking helps to create lift and volume to your baked goods. The lactic acid also helps to neutralize the flavor of baking soda and baking powder.
Dairy Free Buttermilk Substitutions
Dairy free Milk of Choice and Vinegar
This is the BEST method for replacing buttermilk without milk!
Adding vinegar, especially apple cider vinegar, is one of the best ways to swap buttermilk in any recipe. You can use white vinegar as well, but I like the little extra tang that the apple cider vinegar brings to the party.
Any type of milk will work for this. Some of my favorites are: Soy milk, rice milk, oat milk, and almond milk.
If you’d like to up the fat in your milk, you can melt 1 tablespoon of plant-based butter to add in addition to the apple cider vinegar.
Recipe: To make one cup of buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a measuring up. Fill the cup with milk of your choice up to the 1 cup line. Give it a stir and let it rest for 5 minutes before using.
Dairy free milk and lemon juice
Similar to vinegar, lemon can also be used to make buttermilk. Grapefruit juice, orange juice, and lime juice can also work.
Fresh lemon juice is best as bottled lemon juice is filled with preservatives that doesn’t let the milk curdle as much as fresh. However, don’t let this stop you from using bottled lemon juice in a pinch!
Recipe: To make one cup of buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to a measuring up. Fill the cup with plant-based milk up to the 1 cup line. Give it a stir and let it rest for 5 minutes before using.
Dairy free sour cream with water
Sour cream, even dairy free sour cream, is made with the same lactic acid and bacteria as buttermilk, making this a perfect swap! Use your favorite plant-based sour cream and then whisk with a bit of water or milk of your choice.
Some of my favorite dairy-free sour creams are Forager and Tofutti!
Recipe: To make 1 cup of buttermilk, whisk ¾ cup of plant-based sour cream with ¼ cup water or milk of choice. Whisk until smooth.
Dairy free yogurt and water
Just like sour cream, dairy free yogurt is made with thickened plant-based milks and bacteria. The same tang that you get in your yogurt is perfect for replacing buttermilk!
Depending on the recipe, I would make sure that you use plain yogurt, or at least vanilla so that the flavors don’t compete.
Some of my favorite dairy-free yogurts are Silk, So Delicious, and Nancy’s.
Recipe: To make 1 cup of buttermilk, whisk ¾ cup of plant-based yogurt with ¼ cup water or milk of choice. Whisk until smooth.
Tofu with lemon juice and water
Using silken tofu is a great way to add some extra protein into any recipe that you’re making. You have to make sure that it is silken, soft tofu or else you will end up with something lumpy and nothing like buttermilk!
Recipe: To make 1 cup of buttermilk, combine ¼ cup tofu in a blender with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and ¾ cup water. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Coconut cream and lemon juice
Unsweetened coconut cream has a texture that is almost identical to buttermilk! The same principles apply here as with other milks. You need an acid to slightly curdle the milk. I recommend lemon juice here as vinegar and coconut cream don’t always mix well.
Recipe: Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring cup. Fill to the 1 cup line with coconut cream. Let rest for 5 minutes before using.
Here are some recipes that use buttermilk!
Dairy Based Buttermilk Substitutions
Milk with Apple Cider Vinegar
Any type of milk fat will work. I find a fuller fat milk will resemble buttermilk more closely, however, you don’t need to worry about it if you only have 2% or fat free.
If you’d like to up the fat in your milk, you can melt 1 tablespoon of butter to add in addition to the apple cider vinegar.
Recipe: To make one cup of buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a measuring up. Fill the cup with milk up to the 1 cup line. Give it a stir and let it rest for 5 minutes before using.
Milk with Lemon
Similar to vinegar, lemon can also be used to make buttermilk. Grapefruit juice, orange juice, and lime juice can also work.
Fresh lemon juice is best as bottled lemon juice is filled with preservatives that doesn’t let the milk curdle as much as fresh. However, don’t let this stop you from using bottled lemon juice in a pinch!
Recipe: To make one cup of buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to a measuring up. Fill the cup with milk up to the 1 cup line. Give it a stir and let it rest for 5 minutes before using.
Sour Cream and Milk
Sour cream is made with the same lactic acid and bacteria as buttermilk, making this a perfect swap! Use your favorite sour cream and then whisk with a bit of water or milk of your choice.
Recipe: To make 1 cup of buttermilk, whisk ¾ cup of sour cream with ¼ cup water or milk of choice. Whisk until smooth.
Greek Yogurt and Milk
Just like sour cream, yogurt is made with thickened milks and bacteria. The same tang that you get in your yogurt is perfect for replacing buttermilk!
Depending on the recipe, I would make sure that you use plain yogurt, or at least vanilla so that the flavors don’t compete.
Recipe: To make 1 cup of buttermilk, whisk ¾ cup of yogurt with ¼ cup water or milk of choice. Whisk until smooth.
Milk with Cream of Tartar
Finally, this is the buttermilk swap that you should only do in a total pinch and you don’t have much of anything else on hand.
Cream of tartar is an acidic byproduct of winemaking and helps to keep baked goods soft and prevents the sugar from browning too quickly.
When used as a buttermilk substitute, it provides the same acidic effect in the milk.
Recipe: Mix 1 ½ teaspoons of cream of tartar into 2 tablespoons of milk. Mix this really well so that it doesn’t clump up! Now add those 2 tablespoons into a measuring cup and fill the remaining way with milk up to the one cup line.
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