How to make your own vegan buttermilk at home with just 2 ingredients, a plant-based milk and vinegar or lemon juice. Use it as a substitute for traditional buttermilk for vegan pancakes, muffins, cakes, or any other recipe that calls for buttermilk. Just like the dairy version, vegan buttermilk adds extra lift to any recipe that uses baking soda.
It's also a great way to preserve milk that's about to spoil for a few days longer. For some more vegan staple recipes, learn how to make a chia egg or flax egg, or make your own gluten-free sourdough starter.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Plant milk: choose unsweetened and unflavoured, and pick one that works for the recipe. I prefer oat milk for almost everything but you can use almond, cashew, soy, coconut, and so on.
- Acid: I recommend either apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. In a pinch you can use plain white vinegar (half the amount).
How to Make Vegan Buttermilk
Step 1: mix the vinegar and milk in a container.
Step 2: set aside for about 10 minutes to sour, then use as called for.
Top Tips
- Use unsweetened: check the ingredient list on the milk (or make your own at home: see oat milk) to make sure there's no added sugar or other flavours like vanilla in the milk you're using.
- Think about context: if you're making biscuits to serve with gravy, choose a more neutral milk like soy or oat rather than coconut to avoid adding a noticeable flavour.
- Shake before use: if the buttermilk has been in the fridge for a few days, it might look a little lumpy or separated. Give it a good shake before use and it'll be fine.
How to Store
Storage: keep in a sealed container, like a lidded glass jar, for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Freezing: transfer to an airtight container and freeze up to a month. Thaw in the fridge before use, and shake well first.
FAQ
Why is my vegan buttermilk not curdling?
Vegan buttermilk won't curdle in the same way that dairy milk does when acid is added, and it doesn't need to. The acid is what will react with baking soda in a recipe, not whether there are visible lumps or not.
Can you use apple cider vinegar to make buttermilk?
Apple cider vinegar is an ideal ingredient for buttermilk, and works just as well as lemon juice.
Can I use buttermilk in place of other milk?
Generally, yes, but for some recipes it can actually interfere with the rise. In a recipe that calls for only baking powder, buttermilk can result in denser bakes.
If you make this Non-Dairy Buttermilk recipe or any other vegan staples on Wholehearted Eats, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more WHE, follow along on Instagram or subscribe for new posts via email.
Recipe
Vegan Buttermilk
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk such as almond, soy, coconut, or oat milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Measure out 1 cup of your preferred plant-based milk.1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- Add the apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to the milk. Alternatively, you can use lemon juice as a substitute for vinegar.2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- Stir the mixture well.
- Let the mixture sit at room temperature for about 5-10 minutes. During this time, the acid in the vinegar or lemon juice will curdle the milk slightly, creating a buttermilk-like consistency.
- After the mixture has sat for a few minutes, give it another good stir.
- Mixture can be a bit chunky, just shake. will last in the fridge for x days.
- Your vegan buttermilk is now ready to be used in your favourite recipes. Use it as a substitute for traditional buttermilk in vegan pancakes, muffins, cakes, or any other recipe that calls for buttermilk.