16 Ways To Use Leftover Buttermilk In Your Recipes

Buttermilk is a curious and tangy dairy product that's full of flavor and curds. This unique milk is popular in a host of delicious recipes. The only problem is, most of these recipes call for one cup or less of this creamy liquid, meaning you will have most of the carton left in your fridge. Luckily, there are some creative and tasty ways to use up your leftover buttermilk.

To help use up your leftover buttermilk, make classic buttermilk biscuits, pancakes, and waffles. Buttermilk makes a great brine for roasted chicken and is great in fried chicken recipes. You can use it in cake batter and as well as in frosting. Try making buttermilk ranch dressing, or fold it into coleslaw. You can even make a buttermilk pie, or use it in some creamy pasta sauces to add flavor.

If the buttermilk you purchased for one recipe is wasting away in your fridge, then it’s time to start thinking of different ways to use what is left over. Whether you want to cook some classic recipes that call for buttermilk or try something brand new, the list of delicious suggestions below has everything you could hope for when using buttermilk.

16 Delicious And Creative Ways To Use Leftover Buttermilk

1. Buttermilk Biscuits

One of the most common and delicious recipe that uses buttermilk is classic southern biscuits. Buttermilk can turn plain biscuits into more flavorful and exciting ones.

In addition to boosting the flavor profile, buttermilk makes your biscuits fluffier and improves the texture. This is due to the high acid content of buttermilk and how it reacts to heat when baked.

2. Buttermilk Pancakes Or Waffles

Another classic use of buttermilk is to add it to your waffle or pancake batter. This is just one example of swapping out standard milk to improve the flavor of a classic baked good. Since pancakes and waffles are a weekend tradition in many households, it should be very easy to use up a carton of buttermilk by making pancakes or waffles for the family.

3. Brine Your Chicken In Buttermilk

Buttermilk can be used as an ingredient in a lot more than just breakfast foods. Did you know buttermilk can even be used as a brine? Not only does buttermilk make a great brine, but it’s also very simple to use.

You can mix together buttermilk and salt, and then soak all sorts of your favorite meats in it. Turkey, whole chickens, and even calamari end up juicy and moist after being brined overnight in salty buttermilk.

4. Cakes And Frosting

Cakes are another great way to use up all your leftover buttermilk. This is because you can incorporate it into the cake mix and even make a frosting with it. 

There are hundreds of cake recipes that call for buttermilk, and they tend to be quite tasty. In fact, red velvet cake is almost always made using buttermilk. If you incorporate it into the cake and the frosting, you should be able to use up most of the leftover buttermilk.

5. Banana Bread

If you have a carton of buttermilk and some overripe bananas, then you’re ready to make some yummy banana bread. Similar to biscuits, buttermilk makes banana bread tastier than when you use regular milk for two reasons.

For one, it adds flavor that normal milk doesn't have. Furthermore, the acidity interacts with the baking soda to make the bread fluffier and promotes a good rise. 

6. Buttermilk Pie

Instead of folding buttermilk into recipes you are already making, consider trying something new and making buttermilk the main event. Buttermilk pie is a fun and unique way to use up your leftover buttermilk.

Add a few ingredients, like butter, sugar, eggs, and buttermilk to a pie crust and you can bake a tangy custard-style pie that everyone will enjoy, all while using up your leftover buttermilk.

7. Make A Dip

If you are planning a gathering, or just love a good dip, then consider whipping up a great veggie or potato chip dip with your leftover buttermilk. You can make a zesty dip with herbs from your garden, or go the carmelized onion route. 

Either way, buttermilk will help make your dip creamy, acidic, and more flavorful than if you used other forms of dairy.

8. Creamy Pasta Sauce

If you love Italian food, you’ll be thrilled to know you can make creamy pasta sauce with buttermilk. You can use buttermilk instead of regular milk or heavy cream in many creamy pasta sauces, including alfredo. 

It tastes particularly great in creamy sauces with vegetables like peas, red peppers, and tomatoes.

9. Buttermilk Scones

Scones are a great baked good to make over the weekend. You can eat them fresh on a lazy morning, and then enjoy the rest of them with coffee on your morning work commute. There are many scone recipes, but some of the best involve buttermilk.

Buttermilk scones have more flavor and are much lighter than the rock-hard scones that many people loathe. 

10. A Tangy Cheesecake

You don’t need a reason to bake a cheesecake, but having some leftover buttermilk is a good enough reason. Cheesecake is always tasty, but when you fold buttermilk into the recipe, you are guaranteed an added flavor boost.

You can make a classic cheesecake or a no-bake version using buttermilk. Buttermilk has a much lower fat content than sour cream, so it may even give your cheesecake fewer calories per serving.

11. Homemade Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing is always delicious. It is one of the most popular salad dressings and a highly coveted condiment. The only thing better than ranch, some may argue, is homemade buttermilk ranch. Buttermilk ranch in the bottle may hit the spot, but nothing compares to freshly made ranch dressing with buttermilk.

12. Buttermilk Fried Chicken

If you’ve never made fried chicken from scratch, you’re missing out. You also may be unaware that buttermilk is commonly used when preparing this crispy southern delicacy.

Buttermilk is used to marinate chicken before you fry it. It makes the chicken more tender when you marinade it overnight, and it even helps make the skin crispier. 

13. Add It To Your Smoothies

It might sound strange to add buttermilk and its curds to your smoothies, but it’s actually quite delicious. Instead of using yogurt, use your leftover buttermilk. It will give your smoothies the same creamy tang as yogurt, while using up your carton of buttermilk. 

14. Creamy Coleslaw

If you are looking for a side dish to accompany your buttermilk fried chicken, why not make some creamy coleslaw using the last of your leftover buttermilk? Coleslaw is usually already tangy, thanks to apple cider vinegar, but adding buttermilk to the mix brings it to a whole new flavorful and creamy level. 

15. Skillet Cornbread

Another common southern recipe that utilizes buttermilk is crispy skillet cornbread. If your cornbread is crumbly or dense, it may benefit from buttermilk. In addition to adding flavor, it also helps make the cornbread fluffier. 

The fluffy texture combined with the crispy edges due to cooking it in a cast iron skillet, help make the texture and flavor of this treat simply divine.

16. Green Goddess Sauce

If you are looking for a healthier way to use up your leftover cornbread, try making a tangy and zesty green goddess sauce. Green goddess is a very flavorful dressing or sauce that uses tons of fresh herbs like parsley and chives, as well as lemon and anchovies.

Buttermilk green goddess is even more flavorful than other varieties. It is great on salads, grilled vegetables, poultry, and even meat and potatoes.

Summing Up How To Use Up Your Leftover Buttermilk

If you bought buttermilk for a specific recipe, as many do, you may be shocked at how much you have left over. Instead of letting this carton of delicious dairy go to waste, try incorporating it into tasty recipes. You can use buttermilk to make amazing biscuits, pancakes, scones, cakes, and banana bread. On the savory side, brine chicken in buttermilk, make creamy buttermilk pasta sauces, and make homemade ranch and green goddess dressings.

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