Substitutes for Dairy Products: Milk, Whipping Cream, Heavy Cream, Buttermilk, and more

Have you ever had that moment? You’re gathering ingredients at the beginning of  baking something…walk to the cupboard…look in…and then exclaim “I can’t believe I’m out of that. I was SURE I had that!”

In a pinch, substitutes can be life-savers (well, meal-savers). Today I’m going to cover what to do when out of a specific type of dairy product, whether it be milk, cream, buttermilk, whipped cream, etc.

Be aware that substitutions are going to have an effect on the final product. As you may see, there are a lot of substitutes for dairy products…because the basic difference between many dairy products is simply fat content. With the substitutes below, take into account what you are cooking or baking. While yogurt might be a good substitute for cream in baking something, it won’t work so well in a hot soup.

(Note: this is part of an ongoing series of posts covering the fundamentals of baking. For more information, check out the ‘Ingredients,’ ‘Substitutes,’ ‘Cooking 101,’ and ‘Cooking 201’ pages.)

Buttermilk:
1 C. buttermilk= 1 C. yogurt
1 C. buttermilk= 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar plus 1 C. milk
1 C. buttermilk= 1 C. water, 2/3 C. powdered milk, and 1 tsp. vinegar
1 C. buttermilk= 1 C. milk plus 1 & 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 C. buttermilk= 1 C. sour cream

Clotted Cream (contains minimum fat content of 55%, ranges up to 64%):
1 C. clotted cream= 1 C. cream fraiche
1 C. clotted cream= 1 C. heavy whipping cream, whipped

Creams: 
• Half & Half (blend of whole milk and cream. Contains between 10.5% and 18% milk fat.)
1 C. half & half= 7/8 C. whole milk plus 1 & 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 C. half & half= 1/2 C. coffee cream plus 1/2 C. milk
1 C. half & half= 1 C. evaporated milk, undiluted
1 C. half & half= 1/2 C. light cream plus 1/2 C. whole milk
1 C. half & half= 1/2 C. 1% or 2% milk plus 1/2 C. heavy whipping cream
• Light cream (contains between 18% and 30% milk fat; usually in the range of 20%)
1 C. light cream= 1 C. evaporated milk
1 C. light cream= 3/4 C. whole milk plus 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 C. light cream= 1/2 C. evaporated milk plus 1/2 C. milk
1 C. light cream= 1/2 C. heavy cream plus 1/2 C. milk
• Light whipping cream: (contains between 30% and 36% milk fat)
1 C. light whipping cream= 3/4 C. whole milk plus 1/4 C. unsalted butter (for baking; will not whip)
• Heavy whipping cream (heavy cream): (contains between 36% and 49% milk fat)
1 C. heavy cream= 1 C. evaporated milk
1 C. heavy cream= 3/4 C. milk plus 1/3 C. unsalted butter (for baking; will not whip)
• Double cream: contains 42-48% milk fat. Only available in Europe.

Cream Cheese: 
1 C. cream cheese= 1 C. pureed cottage cheese

Creme fraiche (English/American definition):
1 C. creme fraiche= 1 C. heavy cream plus 1 Tbsp. plain yogurt (or buttermilk), stand at room temperature for 6 hrs.
1 C. creme fraiche= 1 C. sour cream
1 C. creme fraiche= 1/2 C. whipping cream plus 1/2 C. sour cream

Evaporated milk: 
1 C. evaporated milk= 1 C. light cream
1 C. evaporated milk= 1 C. light whipping or heavy cream

Milks:
• Whole milk (3.5% milk fat)
1 C. whole milk= 1 C. soy, almond, or rice milk
1 C. whole milk= 1 C. skim, 1%, or 2% milk plus 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 C. whole milk= 1 C. water plus 1/4 C. dry milk powder
1 C. whole milk= 2/3 C. evaporated milk plus 1/3 C. water
1 C. whole milk= 1 C. fruit juice (in baking)
1 C. whole milk= 1 C. water plus 1 & 1/2 tsp. butter (in baking)
1 C. whole milk= 1 C. buttermilk plus 1/2 tsp. baking soda (decrease baking powder by 2 tsp. in recipe)
1 C. whole milk= 1/2 C. condensed milk plus 1/2 C. water
• 2% milk
• 1% milk
• Skim milk (.1% to .5% milk fat)
1 C. skim milk= 1/3 C. instant nonfat dry milk plus 7/8 C. water
1 C. skim milk= 1/2 C. evaporated skim milk plus 1/2 C. water

Sour Cream: 
1 C. sour cream= 1 C. plain yogurt
1 C. sour cream= 1 C. cream plus 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (or vinegar)
1 C. sour cream= 3/4 C. buttermilk combined with 1/3 C. unsalted butter
1 C. sour cream= 7/8 C. milk, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, & 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 C. sour cream= 1 & 1/8 C. powdered nonfat dry milk, 1/2 C. warm water, & 1 Tbsp. vinegar (put in refrigerator for 2-3 hrs).
1 C. sour cream= 1 C. evaporated milk plus 1 Tbsp. vinegar (allow to stand 5 min. before use)
1 C. sour cream= 1/3 C. buttermilk, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 C. cottage cheese; blend in blender
1 C. sour cream= 1 C. creme fraiche
1 C. sour cream= 1 C. whole milk plus 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (or vinegar) (allow to stand 5 min. before use)

Sweetened Condensed Milk:
14 oz. can= 3/4 C. white sugar, 1/2 C. warm water, and 1 & 1/8 C. dry powdered milk: Bring to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 20 minutes  (another site says to simply set pan of combined ingredients in a bowl of hot water until sugar dissolved)
14 oz. can= 1 C. instant nonfat dry milk, 2/3 C. white sugar, 1/2 C. boiling water, and 3 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter (process in blender or food processor until smooth)

Whipped cream:
1 C. whipped cream= 1 C. frozen whipped topping, thawed (such as Cool Whip)
2 C. whipped cream= 1 C. chilled evaporated milk plus 1/2 tsp. lemon juice; whip until thick

Yogurt: 
1 C. yogurt= 1 C. sour cream
1 C. yogurt= 1 C. buttermilk
1 C. yogurt= 1 C. sour milk
1 C. yogurt= 1 C. cottage cheese, blended until smooth
1 C. yogurt= 1 C. creme fraiche
1 C. yogurt= 1 C. heavy whipping cream plus 1 Tbsp. lemon juice