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
Description
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
How long to let the mixture sit before it starts thickening and curdling. I just put together a mixture of cold bottled lemon juice and Silk Vanilla Soy Milk from the refrigerator and it has not thickened or curdled after 15 – 20 minutes. What is wrong? Throw it out? Heat it up? Wait longer?
You could try adding more lemon juice, but it sounds like that is just a dud. That is weird though as I have used that brand (Silk) successfully before, but I think sometimes there can just be a dud.
My recipe calls for one and three fourths cup of buttermilk. Do I just measure that amount and add the TSP of buttermilk to that amount? I see the recipe said fill milk to the one cup line. Would you use the same amount if a recipe calls for 2 cups of buttermilk?
Hi Carla, I would increase the amount of lemon juice in that case. I would likely just use 2 Tbsp lemon juice and then just add soy milk up to the 1 and 3/4 cup (420ml) line.
Thank you. I really enjoyed and appreciated your down to earth style.
I will try this butter milk recipe. I am sure it will work.
I grew up in Yemen and butter milk is used for hot soups for breakfast and for an appetizer called Shafoot where you blend all your favorite green herbs
And add ginger cumin salt and and hot peppers or Tabasco for a wonderful refreshing drink.
OR, you can pour over crumbed pita bread cool and serve as and an appetizer. Decorate with pomegranate or red grapes. Better yet search it on U U tube. Thanks
★★★★★
Nah, this can’t work, I thought. Way too simple. But let’s give it a try…
I put +/- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice into a 1-pint mason jar, added a little over a cup of Westsoy unsweetened soy milk (which I use because it has only two ingredients: soy beans; and water), gave it a good shake, popped it into the fridge.
Half an hour later, I took it out, gave it another shake, opened it up, and gave it a taste.
*MAGIC*
I never would have thought lemon juice would have such an effect on a plant-based milk.
Thank you for posting!
PS: I love Indian food…so now I can go back to having lassis, raita, etc., without all the cholesterol.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for the great review Thomas!
Will oat milk work for vegan buttermilk in this recipe?
You can try it but I’m not sure if it will curdle.
Yes oatmeal works too tried
★★★★★
Does it need to be fresh lemon juice or can I use lemon juice from a shop bought refrigerated bottle?
It can be either/or.
Thanks so much for this! I used soy milk as per your recipe and my scones came out perfect ❤️
Awesome, thanks for sharing Racheal!
Are you able to make this in a bulk amount and save it or is it best to just measure out and do prior to each recipe? I’ve just been doing it as I go but with the amount of baking I do it if it’s able to be refrigerated and saved and stay the same consistency that would be great, has anyone tried it?
Hi Megan, yes you can keep it in the fridge for up to a week. So if you are doing a lot of baking, you can definitely make up a big batch in advance.
Are the measurements American or English cups?
American, so a cup is 240ml.
Has anyone tried using nut milks to make buttermilk?
if you allow the oat milk to warm to room temperature it allows for the oat milk to curdle, if not it could be an ingredient in the brand.
Is it okay to use vanilla soy milk or must you use soymilk made with only water and soybeans?
Vanilla soy milk will work fine.