9 Surprising Substitutes for Buttermilk You Can Use

Read on to know about 9 great ways to substitute buttermilk.

Buttermilk is a whitish liquid that is thicker in consistency than regular milk and is used for various purposes, particularly in cooking.

Buttermilk can be easily substituted with various other dairy or non-dairy based ingredients. With the correct acidity and liquid texture, you can make up for the absence of this dairy-based product.

Milk and vinegar. A mixture of 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar can help you to create a product that is of similar acidity to that of buttermilk. To create this, you can use either apple cider or white vinegar with any kind of milk.

Milk and lemon juice. Use lemon juice (instead of vinegar) and milk in the same proportion as mentioned in the previous mixture. For this, it is best to use freshly squeezed lemon juice as the bottled variety may contain sodium benzoate and sodium sulfite that may trigger asthma in some people.

Milk and cream of tartar. Cream of tartar or potassium bitartrate is a fine powder that is a byproduct of white wine. To prepare the buttermilk substitute, add 5g of this neutral flavored cream of tartar to a cup of milk. Stir it well so that no lumps are present in the milk or dilute the cream of tartar with little milk and then pour this mixture into the rest of the milk to avoid clumping of milk.

Lactose-free milk based substitute. Buttermilk is also low in lactose than regular milk. So, to have a lactose free milk variant of the buttermilk substitute add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to 1 cup of any lactose free milk. Stir it well and use as required.

Sour cream variant. Mix ¾ cups of sour cream with ¼ cup of water or milk. Whisk it into a smooth mixture to prepare a buttermilk substitute with the similar tangy flavor.

Plain yogurt variant. Combine ¾ cup of plain yogurt with ¼ cup of milk or water. Stir this mixture until smooth to get a buttermilk alternative with similar acidic and tangy flavors.

Kefir substitute. You can simply replace 1 cup of buttermilk with 1 cup of plain kefir as this fermented milk beverage tastes and looks similar to the regular buttermilk. Plus, kefir is also rich in some health beneficial bacteria and microbes.

Powdered buttermilk substitute. Add 1 cup of water to ¼ cup of powdered buttermilk to yield a cup equivalent of buttermilk substitute.

Tofu buttermilk substitute. Puree ¼ cup of silken tofu with ¾ cup of water and a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to get the buttermilk alternative.