Easy step by step instructions to make your own homemade vegan buttermilk substitute. Perfect for use in cakes and baking.
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 a homemade vegan buttermilk substitute.
You’ll be able to use this in any recipe calling for buttermilk, in an exact cup for cup replacement.
This recipe comes in so handy when making vegan buttermilk pancakes, vegan chocolate cake and even savory recipes like vegan ranch dressing.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes:
- Lemon juice – or distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar all work great. I tend to use lemon juice most often, but those other options work perfectly too.
- Soy milk – is the best option to use for a creamy buttermilk that really works wonderfully in recipes. Almond milk also works but the consistency is much thinner (see this demonstrated in the video). Coconut milk tends not to work at all as it doesn’t curdle. Not all the non-dairy milks will curdle when lemon juice is added. So using soy milk for this is the safest bet and the second choice would be almond milk.
How To Make Dairy Free Buttermilk – Step By Step
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add lemon juice to a measuring jug.
- Add soy milk up to the 1 cup line.
- Leave it for a minute to curdle.
- Give it a stir and it’s ready for use!
Recipe Q&A
It’s not a good idea to use regular non-dairy milk in a recipe that calls for vegan buttermilk. Vegan buttermilk is acidic so it reacts with the leavening agent (usually baking soda) in the recipe. So if you use regular non-dairy milk in a recipe calling for vegan buttermilk then your baked goods might not rise, or they may be dense. It could also make your baked goods not as moist or rich as they were intended to be.
You can store homemade vegan buttermilk in the fridge for up to a week. However, it’s so quick and easy to make it that it’s best to just make it up as you need it.
It is freezer friendly. It’s most ideal to pour it into ice cube trays and let it freeze that way. When you’re ready to use it in baking, you can pop the cubes into a measuring jug and let them thaw in the fridge.
More Easy Vegan Dairy Substitutes
- Vegan Whipped Cream
- Homemade Vegan Butter
- Vegan Heavy Cream Substitute
- Vegan Condensed Milk
- Vegan Mascarpone
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
How To Make Vegan Buttermilk
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (15ml)
- 1 scant cup Soy Milk (225ml)
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug.
- Add soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line.
- Allow to sit for a minute. It will thicken and curdle.
- Voila! Your vegan buttermilk is ready to use!
Video
Notes
- Lemon juice – or distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar all work great. I tend to use lemon juice most often, but those other options work perfectly too.
- Soy milk – is the best option to use for a creamy buttermilk that really works wonderfully in recipes. Almond milk also works but the consistency is much thinner (see this demonstrated in the video). Coconut milk tends not to work at all as it doesn’t curdle. Not all the non-dairy milks will curdle when lemon juice is added. So using soy milk for this is the safest bet and the second choice would be almond milk.
- Storing: You can store homemade vegan buttermilk in the fridge for up to a week. However, it’s so quick and easy to make it that it’s best to just make it up as you need it.
- Freezing: It is freezer friendly. It’s most ideal to pour it into ice cube trays and let it freeze that way. When you’re ready to use it in baking, you can pop the cubes into a measuring jug and let them thaw in the fridge.
Hi, 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?
It 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.
Hi, Alison, thanks for the recipe!
Can we use bottled lemon juice for this?
Hi Sienna, I haven’t tried that but I don’t see any reason why not! 🙂
Have 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
Hi Katy, I haven’t tried it with oat milk, if you try it please let us know how it works out. All the best! 🙂
Thanks for sharing the vegan buttermilk recipe. I wondering if I can use rice milk instead of soy milk.
Hi 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! 🙂
Good 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
Hi 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!
In 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!
240ml.
Sue, 1 cup is equal to 8 fluid ounces. ?
Hi 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.
Hi 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.
Can I use this as a substitute in my coleslaw recipe, which calls for buttermilk?
I 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! 🙂
Hi, 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.
Awesome that you’re going the vegan route! Thanks for sharing how you enjoy buttermilk, that’s so interesting! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Can you sub soy milk for almond milk or cashew milk??
Almond milk yes, but not sure about cashew milk, it might not curdle.
I 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.
Hi Cindy! Unsweetened will be fine. 🙂
Have 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.
Hi Asha, I’m guessing you mean the Red Velvet Cake. So glad to hear it came out well!
how long can yoou keep it in the fridge?
I’m not sure, I always make it as needed and use it right away.
I’ll have to try it, then! thx 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will definitely try it this weekend.
Is the buttermilk the whole part, or only the part that curds? I never used normal buttermilk either.
It’s the whole part, if you add lemon juice to the plant milk it all curdles, so it’s all buttermilk.
Hey! Thanks for sharing 🙂 wondering if I can use almond milk instead of soy milk.. 🙂
Hi Denise – it’s a pleasure! 🙂 And yes you totally can substitute it. 🙂