5 Best Buttermilk Substitutes That Actually Work

Buttermilk is one of those ingredients that recipes call for just often enough to be annoying. You buy a carton, use a cup, and the rest sits in the fridge until it expires. The good news is that buttermilk is one of the easiest ingredients to substitute with things you already have at home.

You can also use our ingredient substitution calculator for instant swaps on any ingredient.

Quick reference — buttermilk substitutes

Here are the five best swaps with exact measurements in both cups and grams. Use whichever you already have in the fridge — all of them work.

Need to convert any other ingredient between cups and grams? Use our free ingredient converter for instant accurate results, or read our complete guide to cooking measurements for the full breakdown of volume vs weight.

For the most accurate results when measuring substitutes by weight, a digital kitchen scale removes the guesswork entirely. See our recommended scales in the Kitchen Essentials section.

Which substitute should I use?

Pancakes & waffles → Milk + lemon juice or milk + vinegar

Cakes & muffins → Plain yogurt or sour cream

Quick breads → Any option works; yogurt adds the most moisture

No milk on hand → Kefir, used 1:1, no mixing needed

Want to find substitutes for other ingredients? Our substitution finder covers dozens of common baking and cooking ingredients instantly.

Now that you have your substitute ready, try it in our fluffy buttermilk pancakes recipe.