Are you wondering what to make with leftover buttermilk in your fridge? You’re not alone! If you are like me, you love adding it to your pancakes to make them flavorful and fluffy. But what do you do with the rest of the carton of buttermilk?
Don’t go and pour it down the drain. There are plenty of ways to use up leftover buttermilk in delicious recipes. Buttermilk might have once been seen as an ingredient reserved for baking Southern-style buttermilk pound cakes and biscuits, but there is so much more that you can do with the creamy, tart liquid.
Over 60 Delicious and Creative Recipes using Leftover Buttermilk
In this recipe round up, we will explore creative, delicious recipes perfect for using up all that extra buttermilk from pancakes and waffles to savory dinners and classic desserts.
So, grab a glass of buttermilk (or two) and get ready to find out how you can transform your favorite dairy product into amazing meals sure to please everyone at the table with this tangy flavor.
Buttermilk Biscuit and Breakfast Recipes
Cinnamon Roll Pancake Bake
This recipe took it a whole new level of awesome, combining their love of cinnamon rolls and buttermilk pancakes into one incredibly tasty Cinnamon Roll Pancake Bake.
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Homemade Ham and Cheese Buttermilk Biscuits
Combine some simple ingredients and pop them in a hot oven for less than fifteen minutes, and the aroma will make you swoon.
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Easy Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe
Not only is it easy to prepare and cook homemade pancakes in just minutes, but it also satisfies all your cravings with its fluffy texture, scrumptious flavor, and hearty ingredients. All you’ll need are a few simple pantry staples like flour, baking powder, buttermilk (or even yogurt), eggs and some sweet toppings.
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Flaky Buttermilk Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
This recipe will help you can make these ultra flaky, cheesy, skillet biscuits from scratch with little effort.
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Buttermilk Crepes (Ukrainian Blini)
Making crepes isn’t any more complicated than making pancakes. Some prefer making crepes because they cook so quickly. The batter for these crepes is whipped up in the blender for easy prep and clean up.
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Sheet Pan Pancakes
These Sheet Pan Pancakes are the best way to make pancakes for a crowd. With a few simple ingredients you can have a delicious breakfast ready in no time, all without having to stand over the stove.
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Easy Buttermilk Drop Biscuits in 20 Minutes
You can serve them in the morning with butter and jam or at dinner time with gravy. These biscuits use only 6 ingredients are ready in just 20 minutes.
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Bread Recipes using Buttermilk
Apple Fritter Pull Apart Bread Recipe
These fluffy biscuits really seal in the apple cinnamon flavor, especially when basted with the cinnamon butter mixture with the apple mixture and buttermilk pastry dough. Those buttery crisp edges, So good.
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Vintage Recipe for Easy Bread
No yeast bread dates back nearly a century. But it’s so surprisingly delicious and nutritious. It’s still a perfect homemade bread to whip up today.
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Gluten-free Banana Nut Bread
Make this easy healthy banana bread while your kids are in school. It makes a great after school snack.
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This Irish Soda Bread recipe is a good side for corned beef and cabbage or Shepherd’s Pie. And you don’t have to wait until St. Patrick’s Day to make it.
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Make-Ahead Cornbread Mix
It’s light, it’s fluffy, it more like a cake than a bread, but not too sweet that it overpowers a meal. Just measure out the dry ingredients and mix with butter, eggs, and buttermilk for a delicious cornbread.
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Parmesan Herb Quick Bread
Quick bread is easy to make using fresh herbs and shredded parmesan. This savory quick bread recipe is a keeper.
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Buttermilk and Honey Banana Bread
This bread smells amazing while baking. The addition of buttermilk and honey is a wonderful twist on a classic favorite.
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Honey Cornbread
Made with buttermilk, this honey cornbread is fairly moist and not too sweet or crumbly, making it a perfect pairing for chili or for enjoying by itself.
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Best Crispy Southern Cornbread Recipe
This crispy southern cornbread recipe is passed down 5 generations, so it’s tried and tested to say the least. It’s gluten free and simple to make, too. Quick, classic, mouthwatering comfort food you’ll make over and over again.
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Old Fashioned Banana Bread
Banana bread is always a good idea, especially this old fashioned banana bread with buttermilk and white sugar.
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Amish Cinnamon Bread
Made with buttermilk, a few pantry staples, and plenty of cinnamon sugar, this sweet cinnamon bread is ready to enjoy in just over 1 hour. No starter or yeast necessary.
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Amish Cinnamon Bread (Easy Cinnamon Bread)
Quick bread requires no yeast or needing and has only a 10 minute prep time. It’s delicious for breakfast or brunch. Served with lots of butter of course, or as an easy snack.
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Cakes, Muffins, and Other Desserts Made with Buttermilk
Roasted Peach Shortcake with Brown Butter Biscuits
This roasted peach shortcake has brown butter cream biscuits sandwiched with homemade whipped cream, bourbon roasted peaches, and fresh thyme for a light, summery dessert.
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Scones Recipe
These scones are soft, fluffy, delicious and comforting. Obviously they are best served with a wedge of clotted cream and jam.
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Delicious Cracker Barrel Buttermilk Pie
Buttermilk pie is a delicious, old-fashioned dessert that is perfect for any occasion. This wonderful recipe is made with just a few simple ingredients and is so easy to prepare.
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Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are the best for breakfast or brunch. These are soft, tender, and gooey. There is nothing better then throwing some Cinnamon Rolls in the oven and 30 minutes later a life altering event will occur to your taste buds.
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Magleby’s Fresh Buttermilk Syrup Copycat Recipe
This delicious copycat recipe of Magleby’s fresh buttermilk syrup is the perfect addition to your breakfast. Put it on pancakes or waffles for the perfect brunch.
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Old Fashioned Buttermilk Cake
This cake is moist, tender, sweet and delicious. Make it in a sheet pan for a crowd. Buttermilk is a great way to add flavor to baked goods.
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Blue Velvet Cake
This cake will not disappoint. It has fluffy layers, delicious cream cheese frosting and a wonderful taste and texture.
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Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Zest
These fluffy, moist lemon blueberry buttermilk muffins are perfect for a quick breakfast in the mornings, but also great as an afternoon snack or even a less sweet dessert.
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Red Velvet Cake Recipe
The best red velvet cake recipe is made with real buttermilk and tangy cream cheese frosting. When I make this dessert, people are in awe of how pretty this is. Then they fall in love with the taste.
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Jumbo Blueberry Muffins with Buttermilk
Super easy to make these like the bakery style muffins you love.
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Healthy Red Velvet Cake
Moist layers, delicious frosting and all that made with nutritious ingredients. Last but not least, it is also quite easy to prepare.
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Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This recipe is perfect for a holiday, a birthday celebration, a special occasion, or any day you want a treat. It’s also a good recipe for beginner bakers. Buttermilk is the secret ingredient for a moist, tender cake.
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Original Coca-Cola Cake Recipe
This is the original Coca-Cola Cake recipe that was published over a century ago in ladies magazines. It’s a moist, yet dense, chocolate cake that’s made with Coke and topped with a chocolate buttercream frosting.
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Multigrain Buttermilk Pancake Muffins
These muffins allow you to have pancakes as a make ahead breakfast by baking pancake batter into muffin form. Spread with peanut butter, or topped with a bit of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup.
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Strawberry White Chocolate Muffins
These muffins are so fluffy and moist. Filled with juicy strawberries and lots of white chocolate chips. On top of the muffins is a buttery, crispy streusel crumb.
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Fluffy Buttermilk Fried Donuts
These fried donuts are made with buttermilk for extra flavor. They’re super fluffy, coated generously in cinnamon-sugar, or with a sweet vanilla glaze.
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Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Glaze
Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Glaze is a perfect snack cake. The tangy-sweet buttermilk glaze forms an ultra-thin coating over the melt-in-your-mouth cake.
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Buttermilk Chocolate Cake
Moist, rich, and super chocolatey. If you are looking for a homemade, from scratch chocolate cake, this is the one to make.
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Homemade Chocolate Cake Recipe
Moist, rich, chocolate cake is topped with a luscious chocolate buttercream icing that will have you swooning.
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Easy Chocolate Orange Cake
This cake takes under an hour to prepare, is baked in a sheet cake pan. No layers to deal with, and, best of all, results in a delectable, rich, and moist cake you’ll want to gobble whole.
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Healthy Buttermilk Drinks
Peach Buttermilk Chai Smoothie
This peach buttermilk chai smoothie is packed with probiotics from buttermilk and antioxidants from chai tea.
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Berry Buttermilk Smoothie
This vibrant Buttermilk Smoothie is super easy to make with just 3 ingredients. It is a quick and easy breakfast or snack, and is loaded with healthy nutrients, antioxidants, and probiotics.
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Salad Dressing Recipes using Leftover Buttermilk
Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing
Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing is made completely from scratch. Just a few simple ingredients are blended until smooth for the most perfect salad topper or wing dip you could ever imagine.
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Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe
Unlike traditional Caesar salad dressing, ours uses no oil and no eggs in the dressing. Instead, it relies on tangy buttermilk and mayonnaise along with a few other ingredients to make amazing. It just might become your new favorite recipe.
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Restaurant Style Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
This restaurant style buttermilk ranch dressing is so fresh and delicious with just the right amount of creamy, tangy, and fresh herb taste. You will think you are eating at a fine dining restaurant right at home.
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Summer Garden Pasta Salad
Summer Garden Pasta Salad has tender bow-tie pasta, summer vegetables with a lemon buttermilk dressing. Perfect for picnics and barbecues.
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Buttermilk Honey Mustard Dressing
For this flavorful salad dressing, buttermilk is combined with sour cream, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper to make a homemade dressing. This multi-use dressing can be used for salads, to dip chicken tenders or nuggets into, or even as a marinade for chicken.
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Easy Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe
Simple ingredients and easy to whip up. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk and Worcestershire in a bowl. Add in blue cheese. Salt and Pepper to taste.
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Dinner Recipes and More
Fried Cheese Curds
Fried Cheese Curds are little morsels of deep fried heaven! They are perfect for serving as appetizers, for game day, or just for snacking on the everyday.
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Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe
If you love delicious crispy chicken sandwiches like those you get from fast food places like Popeye’s, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-a, KFC, McDonald’s or Burger King then you are going LOVE this delicious Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich recipe.
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Pretzel Crusted Chicken Recipe
Yummy Pretzel Crusted Chicken is a hit with everyone. Juicy on the inside and extra crunchy on the outside makes this a perfect meal every time.
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Cornflake-Crusted Buttermilk Chicken
Chicken thighs are marinated in buttermilk, then coated in a spiced cornflake crust and oven-baked until super crispy. You can drizzle with honey before serving, if you’d like.
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Buttermilk Chicken Tenders Recipe
It’s really easy to make homemade chicken tenders and totally worth it. They come out so crispy and delicious.
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Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Bacon Cheddar Waffle Sandwich Recipe
The waffles themselves are delicious on their own. The texture is crispy yet moist because of the cheese inside. The green onion adds some sweetness and add bacon to anything is a winner. Complimented with the crunch of the buttermilk fried chicken and the zing from the aioli, you’ve got one amazing sandwich.
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Oven Fried Chicken
Buttermilk adds a sweet flavor to this oven-fried chicken, but more importantly, its acids and enzymes break down the fibers of the chicken, which makes it more tender and flavorful.
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Parmesan Zucchini Fries Recipe
Coated in Panko breadcrumbs, parmesan and buttermilk then lightly pan fried, you’ll never eat regular fries again. So amazingly addictive.
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Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes Without a Masher
Make these flavorful buttermilk mashed potatoes easily. No masher needed. Perfect for your holiday table or a Sunday afternoon meal.
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Buttermilk Roasted Chicken
Take your whole roasted chicken to another level with this simple and delicious recipe. Buttermilk roasted chicken is an effortless way to guarantee tender and juicy chicken every single time.
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Classic Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe
This incredible buttermilk fried chicken recipe will be the only fried chicken recipe you use. Season to perfection and end up with the best fried chicken recipe you will ever have.
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Spicy Buttermilk Chicken Nuggets
Super easy to make. Coat with panko breadcrumbs and a mixture of herbs and spices, then baked in the oven until perfectly golden brown and crispy. The chicken is marinated in buttermilk and is wonderfully tender and flavorful.
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Buttermilk Chicken Drumsticks
Juicy, flavorful, and so easy to make with simple ingredients. If you’re looking for a new go-to chicken marinade, this is it.
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Buttermilk Roast Chicken
Think golden crispy skin and juicy perfectly seasoned meat throughout. The buttermilk brine makes all the difference.
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Can You Substitute Buttermilk for Heavy Cream?
Yes, you can. It is a great substitute because it is lower in fat than whole milk. The thick consistency makes it a great substitute for heavy cream in your cooking and baked goods.
How Long Does Buttermilk Last?
An unopened container of buttermilk will be marked with the expiration date. However, if it is in the refrigerator unopened, it will actually last up to 14 days after the expiration date.
Better yet, if you can’t use it up in time, freeze it in 1 cup airtight containers for up to 4 months. When you need to use, just thaw and add to your recipe.
Buttermilk vs Milk in Cake
Buttermilk is a great substitute for milk in baking as it adds so much for moisture and flavor. However, make sure to adjust the baking powder and baking soda due to the acidity in the buttermilk. If the recipe calls for one type of liquid and you choose another type, you essentially change the way the fats and acidity levels interact with one another.
When substituting buttermilk for milk in recipes, make the following adjustments.
- 2 teaspoons less baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon more baking soda
Can You Freeze Buttermilk?
Yes, freezing buttermilk is a great option. Unlike most dairy products that separate when frozen and develop a grainy texture, buttermilk does not. Sometimes, there may be a slight separation; however, this is easily fixed by giving is a good stir or a whisk.
Freezing buttermilk allows you to purchase it in bulk, possibly when it is on sale and preserve it for future use.
Best Practices in Freezing Buttermilk.
Freeze the buttermilk in smaller containers rather than a large one. This allows you to thaw just what you need for recipes. Generally, I place 1/2 cup to 1 cup in a freezer-safe container, which is perfect for many recipes.
Pro Tip. Use an ice cube tray to freeze in small quantities for easy storage and quick thawing.
Buttermilk is a liquid and when frozen, it will expand. Therefore, make sure there is 1 to 2 inches of space between the liquid and the cover. This is also safe to store in freezer-safe storage bags.
When freezing buttermilk, always make sure the label with the contents and the date.
