Making your own homemade vegan buttermilk is beyond simple.
It’s literally two ingredients, roughly two minutes, and you’re done!
Now what would you be needing buttermilk for you might ask?
Well….. maybe it was just me who was asking this question!
You’ll use it for vegan baking that’s what!
It wasn’t until I was adapting a recipe to make a fabulous Red Velvet Cake that I realized the wonder of the homemade buttermilk!
You’ll be able to use this in any recipe calling for buttermilk, in an exact cup for cup replacement. Whoopee!
Alternatively you can also use vinegar, the exact same recipe, just using vinegar instead of lemon juice in the same ratio.
This makes a perfect buttermilk that you can use in any recipe – I honestly don’t think you would use it anywhere else other than in a recipe?
But maybe I’m wrong there. Let me know if I am!
If you prefer a different non-dairy milk instead of soy milk, well… it might work and it might not. Not all the non-dairy milks will curdle when lemon juice is added. Certain nut milks like coconut milk will not. So using soy milk for this is the safest bet, though almond milk also works fine.
So let me know how this recipe works out for you, rate it and leave a comment if you’ve made it. We’d love to hear from you!
Cheers!
How To Make Vegan Buttermilk
- Prep Time: 2 mins
- Total Time: 2 mins
- Yield: 1 Cup
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Easy step by step instructions to DIY vegan buttermilk. Perfect for use in cakes and baking.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp (15ml) Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- Soy Milk
Instructions
- Squeeze a half lemon, which will make roughly 1 Tbsp (15ml) of Lemon Juice (if it makes a little more that’s fine you can use it all)
- Pour the lemon juice into a measuring jug.
- Add soy milk up to the 1 cup line.
- Allow to sit for a minute.
- It will thicken and curdle.
- Voila!
- Your vegan buttermilk is ready to go!
Notes
*Not my original recipe, but a staple in vegan baking, adapted for my own purposes.
*You can also use vinegar in place of the lemon juice. So 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar in place of lemon juice will also make buttermilk.
- Category: Vegan, How To
- Cuisine: Vegan, Baking
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cup
- Calories: 105
- Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 9.5g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 7g
Keywords: vegan buttermilk
Denise says
March 3, 2016 at 5:24 pmHey! Thanks for sharing 🙂 wondering if I can use almond milk instead of soy milk.. 🙂
Alison Andrews says
March 3, 2016 at 7:13 pmHi Denise – it’s a pleasure! 🙂 And yes you totally can substitute it. 🙂
Chiara says
May 24, 2016 at 8:16 amIs the buttermilk the whole part, or only the part that curds? I never used normal buttermilk either.
★★★
Alison Andrews says
May 24, 2016 at 11:57 amIt’s the whole part, if you add lemon juice to the plant milk it all curdles, so it’s all buttermilk.
Tommica says
November 12, 2016 at 10:40 amThanks for sharing this recipe. I will definitely try it this weekend.
★★★★★
gigi says
November 15, 2016 at 5:49 pmhow long can yoou keep it in the fridge?
Alison Andrews says
November 16, 2016 at 1:10 pmI’m not sure, I always make it as needed and use it right away.
gigi says
November 16, 2016 at 4:10 pmI’ll have to try it, then! thx 🙂
Asha says
February 9, 2017 at 9:12 pmHave made this cake and must say that it turned out quite tasty. I tripled the ingredients…I wanted a bigger cake but it still only lasted one day.
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
February 12, 2017 at 11:15 amHi Asha, I’m guessing you mean the Red Velvet Cake. So glad to hear it came out well!
Cindy Moss says
July 20, 2017 at 5:46 pmI prefer Unsweetened Almond Coconut Milk. Wondering if Sweetened would be better or does it matter? My oldest will turn 23 this weekend and I’m thinking about making your blue velvet cupcakes. Can’t wait to try it thank you for sharing. He’s been vegan for about 2 years maybe more.
Alison Andrews says
July 20, 2017 at 6:58 pmHi Cindy! Unsweetened will be fine. 🙂
jennifer says
December 9, 2017 at 8:44 pmCan you sub soy milk for almond milk or cashew milk??
Alison Andrews says
December 10, 2017 at 5:51 pmAlmond milk yes, but not sure about cashew milk, it might not curdle.
Kalyani.acashok says
December 24, 2017 at 9:21 amHi, I am now trying to be vegan. The buttermilk that you have mentioned is superb. We drink buttermilk on hot days adding fresh coriander and a piece of green chillies. This was very refreshing. Thanks for the recipe.
Alison Andrews says
December 24, 2017 at 1:03 pmAwesome that you’re going the vegan route! Thanks for sharing how you enjoy buttermilk, that’s so interesting! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Tina McLees says
March 1, 2018 at 6:18 pmCan I use this as a substitute in my coleslaw recipe, which calls for buttermilk?
Alison Andrews says
March 2, 2018 at 7:27 amI honestly don’t know! That’s not a use I would ever have thought of for this! But if it calls for buttermilk, well…. this is buttermilk! 🙂
Tiffany says
March 9, 2018 at 3:36 amHi there! Would this extend the shelf life of the non dairy milk? I use my vegan buttermilk in salad dressing recipe and just wondering how long it will keep in the fridge.
Alison Andrews says
March 9, 2018 at 10:59 amHi Tiffany, I’m not really sure, it might do! I have used this (made with vinegar not lemon juice) in a homemade vegan butter and the butter lasts around 12 days, which is generally longer than the shelf life of non-dairy milk once it’s been opened, so it sort of makes sense that it might extend the shelf life a bit. However, I’ve not tested making it and then keeping it as is in the fridge to see how long it lasts, I’ve usually used it in something else right away.
Sue says
April 11, 2018 at 3:23 pmIn UK we don’t tend to use cups for recipes. What would the one cup line be in fl oz please?
Thanks for the recipes!
Alison Andrews says
April 12, 2018 at 7:58 am240ml.
Trisha says
September 17, 2018 at 10:38 pmSue, 1 cup is equal to 8 fluid ounces. ?
Dorothy says
May 15, 2018 at 8:20 amGood morning Alison
Thanks for the buttermilk recipe. I’ve just become a Vegan last year September.
I made the Buttermilk using Apple Cider Vinegar but the Soya milk did not curdle. I waited for 20 mins.
Is there any specific Soya Milk to use?
Even though the Soya milk did not curdle, I used the milk anyway.
The Vegan Lemon cake I made came out perfect.
Please is there any specific Soya milk to use? I want to try it again with the Red Velvet Cake.
Thank you
Alison Andrews says
May 15, 2018 at 8:52 amHi Dorothy, I don’t know why that would happen, I have used many different brands of soy milk as I have lived in a few places, I would just try with a different brand next time. It would happen immediately, you wouldn’t need to wait 20 minutes. You can give it a stir, sometimes it looks like it hasn’t curdled, but it actually has, it has just not curdled all the way through until you stir it. All the best!
Katy says
May 18, 2018 at 8:31 amHave you tried with oat milk? I’m intolerant to soya. Only non-dairy milk I can have is Oat Milk as intolerant to sunflower seeds so can’t have anything with sunfower oil in! Thanks
Alison Andrews says
May 18, 2018 at 9:37 amHi Katy, I haven’t tried it with oat milk, if you try it please let us know how it works out. All the best! 🙂
Lieta says
June 26, 2018 at 3:04 pmThanks for sharing the vegan buttermilk recipe. I wondering if I can use rice milk instead of soy milk.
Alison Andrews says
June 26, 2018 at 3:38 pmHi Lieta, I’m not sure about rice milk I haven’t tried it with that, it might work but I really don’t know, if you try it let us know how it turns out! 🙂
Sienna says
July 15, 2018 at 8:02 amHi, Alison, thanks for the recipe!
Can we use bottled lemon juice for this?
Alison Andrews says
July 15, 2018 at 8:53 amHi Sienna, I haven’t tried that but I don’t see any reason why not! 🙂
Akila Krishnan says
July 16, 2018 at 3:24 amHi, thank you for this recipe. I am trying this buttermilk for a vegan cake. What will be the shelf life of the cake? Should I refregirate the cake from day 1 it’s made?
Alison Andrews says
July 16, 2018 at 11:06 amIt probably depends on the cake, is it one of our recipes? Usually cakes are fine covered at room temperature for a few days or up to a week in the fridge. The buttermilk doesn’t have an effect on the life span of the cake, with or without buttermilk the above is usually the case.
Юлия Звягинцева says
December 5, 2018 at 4:58 pmHi, Alison
In which recipes can i use vegan buttermilk?
Alison Andrews says
December 6, 2018 at 12:11 pmWe use it in a lot of our cake recipes. Such as our vegan chocolate fudge cake recipe.
Kelly says
January 18, 2019 at 11:05 pmHi there! I’m wondering if pea protein milk will curdle? I just bought some Bolthouse Farms plant milk on sale, which is made from pea protein (like Ripple, if you’ve had that brand). Any experience with that? I’m worried now that my recipe will be ruined!
Alison Andrews says
January 19, 2019 at 9:32 amHi Kelly, I haven’t tried it with pea protein milk, it might and it might not. But don’t worry, if you are using vegan buttermilk in a recipe and it doesn’t curdle, it generally won’t ruin the recipe.
Amy says
January 30, 2019 at 11:42 pmI just tried Ripple (a different pea milk) and it did curdle!
Alison Andrews says
January 31, 2019 at 10:41 amAwesome! Thanks so much for sharing that! 🙂
Melissa says
April 10, 2019 at 10:38 amDoes using unsweetened vs sweetened plant milk make a difference?
Alison Andrews says
April 11, 2019 at 8:52 amHi Melissa, I don’t think it does. I usually use regular soy milk which is slightly sweetened, and it works great. So either/or should really be fine.
Yolandi Geldenhuys says
May 2, 2019 at 6:54 amHi, can I use citric acid instead of lemon juice or vinegar to curdle? I just like the tangy taste is give, better than the other options…
Aziza says
May 2, 2019 at 1:59 pmHi
Can I use coconut milk to make the buttermilk. Would that alter the taste of the red velvet cupcakes?
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
May 3, 2019 at 6:21 amCoconut milk doesn’t usually curdle into buttermilk but you can use it, I don’t think it would alter the taste too much.