How To Make Buttermilk
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Feb 23, 2025 
How To Make Buttermilk (Recipe) – This tangy, creamy homemade buttermilk is quick and easy to make with just two ingredients: milk and lemon juice. In just 10 minutes, you’ll have fresh buttermilk ready to use in pancakes, cakes, or any recipe that calls for it!
Why We Love This Homemade Buttermilk Recipe
We’ve all been there: you’re about to make a recipe that calls for buttermilk, only to realize you only need a small amount—yet you end up with a whole carton sitting in the fridge, taunting you every time you open the door. It’s such a waste, and we all know it’s headed for the trash. But don’t worry, there’s an easy solution! Instead of buying buttermilk, you can make your own at home with just two ingredients and 10 minutes of wait time.
This simple homemade buttermilk recipe is a game changer. It gives you the tangy flavor of store-bought buttermilk without the hassle of having extra leftover. Perfect for making pancakes, waffles, muffins, or any recipe that calls for buttermilk, you can always have this DIY substitute ready when you need it. So skip the store-bought version and make your own with ingredients you already have at home!
Ingredients You Need
- Lemon juice: or white vinegar
- Milk: the base of the buttermilk
How To Make Buttermilk
This Homemade Buttermilk Substitute is so handy, you will wonder why you haven’t tried this before.
- Simply mix milk and lemon juice together. Use the ratio of 1 cup of milk to 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Allow the mixture to rest and curdle. It only takes a few minutes.
- Then stir and use!
Get the Full Printable How to Make Buttermilk (Easy Recipe + VIDEO) Below. Enjoy!
Ways to Use Homemade Buttermilk
Ready to start cooking and baking with this substitute? Try one (or all) of these amazing recipes!
- Roasted Shrimp Salad with Dressing Recipe
- Best Lemon Cake Recipe
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Frosting Recipe
- Cherry Cupcakes Recipe
- Homemade Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
- Homemade Air Fryer Onion Rings Recipe
- Blueberry Bundt Cake Recipe
- Southern Cathead Biscuits Recipe
- Grilled Romaine Salad with Dressing Recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course! I usually suggest using the full-fat “whole milk” version in recipes, because it offers a creamier texture and richer taste.
However, you can make this substitute with any kind of milk, including fat-free and 1% milk.
Just follow the same procedure, remembering that thinner milk will produce thinner liquid.
Absolutely! Believe it or not, most non-dairy milks, like almond milk, soy milk, and coconut milk will curdle with a little splash of lemon juice as well. You can follow the exact same instructions to make buttermilk vegan.
This is a great option when baking for friends and family with food allergies!
Yes and no.
Yes, you can use buttermilk in place of standard milk in most recipes. And visa-versa.
However, this substitute is thicker and contains less moisture than milk. Therefore, you always need to add 1-2 tablespoons more buttermilk in recipes that call for 1 cup plain milk.
Consequently, if a recipe calls for 1 cup buttermilk, and you want to use regular milk, you will need to reduce the buttermilk by 1-2 tablespoons.
This Homemade Substitute will last as long as regular milk. Usually 2-4 weeks.
Check the expiration date on your milk carton. Then once the substitute is made, store it in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, up to the expiration date.
If the mixture has been sitting for quite a while, you will need to shake the container to re-mix before using it. Otherwise, the liquid will have little bits of curd in it.
Looking for More Kitchen Hack Recipes? Be Sure to Try:
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- Brown Sugar Syrup
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- Herb-Infused Honey
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Get the Full Printable How to Make Buttermilk (Easy Recipe + VIDEO) Below. Enjoy!
How To Make Buttermilk
Video
Instructions
- Pour milk into a one-cup measuring pitcher, stopping just shy of one full cup.
- Add one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to the milk. If you need to add another splash of milk to the pitcher, do so to make sure you have one full cup of liquid.
- Stir the milk and lemon juice to mix well.
- Allow the mixture to sit and curdle for 10 minutes. Then stir again and use as needed.
its so easy thanks for this.
Love buttermilk, raised in the south we always had buttermilk in the refrigerator, being stationed in Spain I was always missing the arrival of it to the PX, I complained to my neighbor, who just happened to be a American and a doctor. The next day he was at my door with a quart of buttermilk and told me a way to always have buttermilk in my refrigerator again. I will pass it it on , when your carton gets down to about a quarter of a cup, fill the empty carton
up with a carton of fresh milk, put in a warm area, I put in a open window in summer and in a warm area of the house over night In the winter, and you get another quart without having to run to the market. Usually you can do the one carton a couple of times .
Love buttermilk, raised in the south we always had buttermilk in the refrigerator, being stationed in Spain I was always missing the arrival of it to the PX, I complained to my neighbor, who just happened to be a American and a doctor. The next day he was at my door with a quart of buttermilk and told me a way to always have buttermilk in my refrigerator again.
your food All verity is amazing and quality so good
Love buttermilk, raised in the south we always had buttermilk in the refrigerator, being stationed in Spain I was always missing the arrival of it to the PX, I complained to my neighbor, who just happened to be a American and a doctor. The next day he was at my door with a quart of buttermilk and told me a way to always have buttermilk in my refrigerator again. I will pass it it on , when your carton gets down to about a quarter of a cup, fill the empty carton
up with a carton of fresh milk, put in a warm area, I put in a open window in summer and in a warm area of the house over night In the winter, and you get another quart without having to run to the market. Usually you can do the one carton a couple of times .
Does it have to be fresh lemon juice?
Hi Nicole,
Fresh is definitely best, but if you have a store-bought version you like, feel free to give it a try. :)
I never knew how easy it was to make this! Looking forward to whipping up some this weekend!
I always make buttermilk too! It’s just so easy!
Thank you for this! I always find myself only needing a little bit of buttermilk versus a whole gallon. This is wonderful that I can just make it myself!
You don’t know how many times I’ve needed buttermilk & didn’t have it on hand. I am keeping these ingredients on hand, so that I can always have buttermilk!
My favorite banana bread recipe uses buttermilk and I never have the storebought on hand, so I love using this because I always seem to have milk and lemon juice on hand! Thank you!
If you warm the milk in the microwave for a quick 10-15 seconds, then add the lemon juice, you get a thicker buttermilk. But … if you add the lemon juice first, and then nuke it for 30+ seconds, it will curd up into paste.
So for someone that buys buttermilk because I like the taste… how does the taste of this compare?
Hi Steve!
Honestly, it tastes almost exactly the same. If anything, I think the homemade buttermilk version might taste a little fresher, especially when made with lemon juice.