The Best Buttermilk Recipes

Have you ever bought buttermilk for one recipe, but then had no idea what to do with the rest of it?

And likely, you never did figure out what to do with it before it spoiled and you had to pitch it.

If that sounds familiar, or if you find yourself not even buying buttermilk for that one recipe, because you don’t think there’s anything else to make with it, these 25 recipes will keep you busy.

And lest you think buttermilk isn’t really all that special, it is. It’s magical. It keep cakes, muffins, rolls, donuts, and more so soft, springy, bouncy, and tender, with the perfect balance of density and fluffiness. The results are unparalleled.

Make sure to read to the end for three helpful buttermilk DIY tips.

Cakes

Blueberry Muffin and Buttermilk Pancakes Cake – A cake that tastes like  hybrid of muffins and pancakes. Can be made with frozen berries

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Bliss Cake – Like a Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar in cake form

Peanut Butter-Swirled Strawberry Jelly Cake (aka, PB & J Cake) – If you love PB & J, this is your cake

Peaches and Cream Fluffy Muffin Cake – If you don’t have fresh peaches, most any frozen fruit like mangoes, strawberries, or mixed berries may be used

Peanut Butter Honey Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Streusel – This is a one-bowl, easy cake, ready in about 30 minutes that’s so moist and soft, and everyone loves it at parties

Carrot Cake Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting – My favorite recipe for carrot cake, and it’s a one-bowl, easy cake baked as a loaf

Cream Cheese-Swirled Cherry and Mixed Berries Cake – Homemade version of an Entenmann’s cream cheese coffee cake

Strawberries and Cream Coffee Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze – One of the best coffee cakes ever. Use your favorite fresh, frozen, or seasonal fruit in this incredibly moist and soft cake

Blueberry and Jam Buttermilk Coffee Cake with Buttery Vanilla Glaze – One of the best coffee cakes or cakes I’ve ever made. Highly recommended – tied with the one above

Brown Sugar-Topped Cinnamon-Sugar Coffee Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze

Muffins, Donuts, and Pancakes

Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

Cinnamon Sugar Mini Donut Muffins – They taste like fried mini donuts, but they’re baked and healthy

Baked Vanilla Donuts with Vanilla Glaze – Yeast-free, easy, and if you don’t have a donut pan, try them as muffins. The closest I’ve come to a baked, at-home Krispy Kreme

Baked Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts with Vanilla Peanut Butter Glaze – The best baked chocolate-peanut butter donuts I’ve had, and I included this recipe in my cookbook

Baked Cinnamon Bun Donuts with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze – Like a Cinnabon, in donut form

Strawberry and Sprinkles Buttermilk Pancakes – Kids go nuts for these. So do parents

Chocolate Buttermilk Pancakes with Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce – Chocolate and salted caramel is the breakfast of champions

Easy Buttermilk Waffles with Mixed Berry and Lemon Preserves

Breads and Rolls

Nutella-Layered-and-Swirled Peanut Butter Bread {Peanut Butter Loaf Cake}

Cinnamon-Sugar Crust Cinnamon-Ribbon Bread – Even picky eaters who want the crust cut off will go nuts for this sweet, slightly crunchy crust. The bread interior is so soft & fluffy

Blueberry and Cream Cheese Muffin Top Bread – An entire loaf that tastes like muffin tops

Cinnamon and Spice Sweet Potato Bread – The sweet potatoes keep this bread so soft and moist and it’s richly spiced

Browned Butter Buttermilk Banana Bread with Strawberry Butter – Such a flavorful bread because of the browned butter and buttermilk and uses those ripe bananas

30-Minute Cheesy Avocado Pizza Skillet Bread (vegan and whole wheat) – No-knead, no-yeast, and so easy

30-Minute Honey Whole Wheat Skillet Bread – Fast and so easy to make, you’ll think you left something out

Fruit, Seed and Nut Crackers – Fancy artisan crackers that are actually crispy can be achieved by first baking a loaf of a bread, slicing thinly, then baking the slices as crackers. This recipe inspired the bread above

Buttermilk (DIY) Tips

1. You can make buttermilk by souring regular milk. Add about 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice to 1 about cup milk, wait for 10 minutes for it to curdle, then use as indicated.

2. You can thin out Greek yogurt or sour cream with milk, to approximate the consistency of buttermilk. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup buttermilk, I use about 2/3 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream to 1/3 cup milk, stir, and use as indicated. It’s not the exact same, but most recipes will still ‘work’.

3. I highly recommend this Powdered Buttermilk. If you don’t use buttermilk much, but you’ll see a recipe that needs a half cup, but because you feel you won’t use the rest of the jug before it goes bad, you opt of trying the recipe, then this powder is your new best friend. Shelf stable, keeps for ages.

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Are you prone to buying buttermilk but then not knowing what to do with it?

What do you make with buttermilk?