Have a favorite recipe that calls for buttermilk, but want to make it vegan or dairy-free? This recipe is the 2-ingredient, 5-minute solution.
How to Make Vegan Buttermilk
Simply stir together your favorite dairy-free milk (we like almond or oat milk) with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.
Let it sit for a few minutes, and the mixture should curdle slightly from the acidity. It won’t thicken quite like buttermilk, but it has a similar effect in recipes!
In a bowl, combine lemon juice with almond milk to make “vegan buttermilk.” Set aside for a few minutes — it should curdle slightly. It won’t thicken like buttermilk, but it has a similar effect in recipes.
Use in vegan ranch, biscuits (or gluten-free biscuits), or anywhere else that calls for buttermilk. Best when fresh, but it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 days and stirred before using.
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate and will depend on the type of dairy-free milk used. We calculated with fortified almond milk and lemon juice.
Yes, it should work. Flax milk can be a bit slimy, but if using it in baking (vs. in a dressing), that shouldn’t matter.
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Aieshasays
Love all your recipes and have been recommending your site to others for years! I’ve been wondering, should I be mixing the “mother” in the apple cider vinegar for this recipe or in general? Or should I let the mother sit at the bottom of the bottle?
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Support @ Minimalist Bakersays
Aw, we’re SO glad you enjoy our recipes, Aiesha! Thank you for letting us know and for sharing our site with others! We don’t typically add the mother, but it probably wouldn’t hurt it.
In a bowl, combine lemon juice with almond milk to make “vegan buttermilk.” Set aside for a few minutes — it should curdle slightly. It won't thicken like buttermilk, but it has a similar effect in recipes. Use in vegan ranch, biscuits (or gluten-free biscuits), or anywhere else that calls for buttermilk.
For every 1 cup of milk, stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar.Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes. You can scale the recipe up or down depending on how much you need.
Combine almond milk and apple cider vinegar, and whisk together. Let sit for 5-7 minutes to “curdle”. Use as a substitute to buttermilk in a variety of recipes!
Mill It's vegan buttermilk is low in sugar, priced between $4.99 and $5.99 for a 32-ounce bottle and can be used in recipes such as baked goods, pancakes, and smoothies, along with more savory applications such as coleslaw, corn bread, and curry.
If your vegan buttermilk recipe isn't curdling, it's likely because the milk was too cold or there wasn't enough protein in the non dairy milk. Just let it sit out a little longer, and it should curdle when it warms!
Yogurt. Plain yogurt is a great 1:1 substitute for buttermilk. If you're using a thicker Greek-style yogurt, you'll need to thin it out: Whisk 3/4 cup Greek yogurt with 1/4 cup water or milk.
While the quantity of acid could be fine-tuned, the consistency of milk-based substitutions will be unavoidably thin. Compared to cultured buttermilk, plain milk is watery, making the dough so heavy and wet that it oozes into a puddle, turning the biscuits flat and dense.
Yes, you can swap them in a recipe, but it's not as simple as switching buttermilk for heavy cream/heavy cream for buttermilk. For example, if you're replacing buttermilk with heavy cream you'll probably need to switch out your baking soda for baking powder.
Store-bought buttermilk is thicker, tangier, and more acidic than traditional or homemade buttermilk. If you're preparing a recipe that calls for buttermilk, it's best to stick with store-bought, especially in baked goods that depend on precise leavening.
I recommend sticking to soy milk as the base, as oat milk yields much thinner "buttermilk" and just generally doesn't work as well or as consistently as soy milk due to its lower protein content.
This quick and easy buttermilk substitute is incredibly simple, and my hope is that you have what you need at home already. Here's what you need: Lemon juice OR vinegar. Fresh or bottled lemon juice OR distilled white vinegar will work equally well.
The simplest way to substitute buttermilk is to pour 1 Tbs. of vinegar into a 1 cup measurer and then fill the rest of the measuring cup with milk.Then gently stir the mixture and let it sit for about 5 minutes. If you don't have vinegar, lemon juice and cream of tarter also work as great buttermilk substitutions.
The short version: To make one cup of vegan buttermilk, add one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a measuring cup. Next, pour in enough soy milk to reach the one-cup mark.Stir a bit.Wait a couple of minutes.
Buttermilk is made up of a variety of acids – the results of the fermentation process, which give baked goods a couple of benefits. First, the acidity provides tangy flavor to balance all kinds of sweet baked treats. Second, it activates baking soda, producing the gas that makes dough or batter rise.
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