What Is a Substitute for Buttermilk?

What's the best buttermilk substitute?

The standard DIY buttermilk: combine 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Stir briefly and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. The mixture will look slightly curdled, which is the right consistency for buttermilk substitution.

This DIY version substitutes 1-to-1 for commercial buttermilk in any recipe. The acidity matches; the slight curdling matches; the behavior in baking matches. For most cooking applications, the substitute is indistinguishable from real buttermilk.

Can you use yogurt or sour cream instead?

Yes. Greek yogurt thinned with milk works as a 1-to-1 substitute: mix 3/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt with 1/4 cup of milk to make 1 cup of buttermilk substitute. The flavor is closer to commercial buttermilk than the vinegar method, with similar tang and slight thickness.

Sour cream thinned with milk works the same way (3/4 cup sour cream plus 1/4 cup milk). For dairy-free needs, plant-based yogurt or sour cream substitutes (1-to-1 in either method) work; combine with plant milk for the thinning. Use the same 3-to-1 ratio of yogurt or sour cream to milk for the right consistency.

What about milk and cream of tartar?

For another quick method: mix 1 cup of milk with 1 3/4 teaspoons of cream of tartar. The cream of tartar provides the acidity that buttermilk needs. This method takes less than 30 seconds and produces results similar to the vinegar method.

For vegan substitutes: combine 1 cup of plant milk (soy, oat, or almond) with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for 5 minutes like the dairy version. The result works for any recipe that needs buttermilk's acidity, though the flavor and texture won't quite match real buttermilk.

When does the buttermilk substitute fail?

For drinking buttermilk and similar fresh dairy applications, the substitute lacks commercial buttermilk's specific cultured flavor. The DIY versions taste tangy but not quite as complex. For Indian raita, Indian lassi, and similar drinks where buttermilk's flavor matters most, real buttermilk produces noticeably different results.

For Southern fried chicken brine, commercial buttermilk's cultured flavor adds depth that the DIY substitute lacks. The fried chicken still works well with the substitute, but is slightly less complex. For pancakes, biscuits, and baking applications where buttermilk's main role is providing acidity for reacting with baking soda, the substitute works as well as the original.