Food

Recipes with Buttermilk

March 20, 2013

Buttermilk is a tangy, versatile addition to all kinds of recipes—biscuits and pancakes, of course, but also salad dressings, pasta sauces, and more.

Buttermilk Cookie Salad — The addition of buttermilk in this ultra-retro dessert keeps it from being too cloying and renders cookie salad totally appropriate for the adult palate.Matt Taylor-Gross

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich with Jalapeño Slaw — The chicken in this sandwich, from Alison Barakat of Bakesale Betty in Oakland, gets dredged once in buttermilk and twice in flour, which ensures a crisp coating. Add the crunchy, spicy jalapeño slaw right before serving.Joseph De Leo

Vanilla Cake — This vanilla cake is anything but basic—the tang of buttermilk adds interest, while brown sugar bumps the earthy vanilla notes. Christina Tosi uses it as the base for her towering, masterful Strawberry Lemon Layer Cake.Matt Taylor-Gross

Nashville Hot Chicken — The secret to Nashville’s famous hot chicken is in the layering: The bird is marinated in a spicy buttermilk brine, then dredged with more flour and spice, double-fried, and finally slathered with a fiery butter paste to create a crunchy, peppery coating. One bite into its burnished orange crust reveals first a tangy crunch, and then a deeper, complex spice that leaves a lingering fire behind. Adjust the heat by adding as much—or as little—cayenne as you like.Landon Nordeman

Sour-Milk Griddle Cakes — Rustic sour-milk pancakes make for a delicious breakfast, especially when topped stewed blueberries and maple syrup.Tim Mazurek

Homemade Ricotta — This recipe comes courtesy of Jenn Louis, chef-owner of Lincoln and Sunshine Tavern in Portland, Oregon. We featured Louis' ricotta gnocchi in our April 2015 issue, and we can't stop making this super-creamy ricotta—to add to gnocchi and everything else—because it's so easy and so darn good.Farideh Sadeghin

Glazed Grapefruit Cake — Broiled, sugared grapefruit slices and a citrus glaze top this moist cake scented with zest.Ingalls Photography

Biscuits with Sawmill Gravy — One of the pillars of the Southern breakfast table, buttery biscuits smothered in a sausage-studded white gravy makes a hearty meal any time of day. A hint of cayenne brightens the gravy's richness, but it's even better with a dash or two of hot sauce.Maxime Iattoni

Honey Buttermilk Biscuits — The famous biscuits from the Island Creek Oyster Bar in Boston are sweet, buttery, flaky, and pillowy soft.Todd Coleman

Hush Puppies — These crisp-fried cornmeal balls are traditionally served alongside fried fish and tartar sauce in the Deep South.Landon Nordeman

Boston Cream Pie — There's an unwavering appeal to two layers of golden sponge cake sandwiching thick custard, all topped with a glossy layer of chocolate.Penny De Los Santos

Banana-Oatmeal Muffins — Classic banana-nut muffins get a tangy boost from buttermilk and a hearty dose of oatmeal for a nutritionally-packed lunchbox (or breakfast) treat.Maxime Iattoni

Devil's Food Donuts — These donuts puff up visibly when they are ready to be removed from the frying oil.Todd Coleman

Gluten-Free Chocolate Donuts with Zebra Glaze — With a dense, moist interior and slight crunch of an old-fashioned cake donut on the outside, you won't miss the flour in these rich chocolate donuts.Todd Coleman

Seeded Buttermilk Bread (Filmjölkslimpa) — This rustic whole wheat brown bread is sweetened with molasses and loaded with almonds and diverse seeds. Dense and nutty, it's delicious smeared with sweet butter or as the basis for an open-face sandwich topped with sharp cheese, cucumber, and a juicy slice of tomato.Ingalls Photography

Thomas Keller's coconut cake — Thick Italian meringue is sandwiched between moist layers of cake, which is topped off with sweetened shredded coconut in this recipe from chef Thomas Keller.Helen Rosner

Cornbread Dressing — This dressing is the perfect accompaniment to Thanksgiving Roast Turkey. Rather than cooking it in the bird, cook it in a cast iron skillet and serve it on the side.Helen Rosner

Pecan Cream Cake — Packed with coconut and pecans and covered in cream cheese frosting, this cake is a specialty of Georgia home cook Cile Ellis.Landon Nordeman

Cranberry Farro Quick Bread — Grains of cooked farro add substance and nuttiness to this moist, honey and brown sugar-sweetened quick bread.Anna Stockwell

Tagliatelle with Poppy Seeds and Prosciutto — Poppy seeds lend their toasty aroma to a creamy pasta dish based on one served by chef Matthew Accarrino at SPQR in San Francisco.Maxime Iattoni

Persimmon Pudding — Eva Powell, a former elementary-school librarian in Mitchell, Indiana, has won the town's pudding contest five times with her recipe for persimmon pudding with a crispy, cake-like crust.Helen Rosner

Chicken and Dumplings — This dish from Andrea Reusing of the restaurant Lantern, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, highlights the flavor of heritage chicken.Laura Sant

Fried Chicken Livers — Former deputy editor Beth Kracklauer traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, with her father for her survey of the best bar foods in that city. These fried chicken livers topped the list and make a stellar accompaniment to an ice-cold beer.André Baranowski

German Chocolate Cake — This decadent triple-layer dessert takes its name from German's Sweet Chocolate, a product that's not German at all: the versatile baking chocolate was created by an American baker named Samuel German in 1852.André Baranowski

Buttermilk Cluster — These soft dinner rolls are based on a popular recipe on the baking website TheFreshLoaf.comAndré Baranowski

Blue Cheese Dip — This tart, cooling dip is a classic for good reason—it's a perfect match for fiery Buffalo wings.Todd Coleman

Winter Salad with Buttermilk Dressing — Walnuts, apple, and sliced beet add crunch and flavor to this wintertime salad.André Baranowski

Mom's Banana Bread, banana bread recipe — Bananas and pecans come together in an exceptionally moist quick-bread from food editor Ben Mim's mom—it's irresistible at any time of day.Todd Coleman

Classic Carrot Cake — This version of the cake is a potluck and bake sale favorite; the addition of crushed pineapple helps to keep it sweet and moist.Todd Coleman

King Cake — This traditional cake, made here with a rich brioche dough and stuffed with a decadent cream cheese filling, is drizzled with a buttermilk glaze and sprinkled with crunchy green, gold, and purple sanding sugars.Helen Rosner

Carolina Cornbread — In some parts of the South, cooks prefer corn bread that's slightly sweet, to counterbalance the salty, smoky flavors of vegetables stewed with pork.Todd Coleman

Piquant Corn Bread — Jalapeños and cilantro punch up classic cornbread.Todd Coleman

Honey and Herb Biscuits — Instead of plain dinner rolls, we like to serve these fluffy biscuits, fragrant with rosemary and thyme.Todd Coleman

Chicken-Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy — Inexpensive cube steaks, tenderized by the butcher, work best for this heartland breakfast staple.James Oseland

Spiced Buttermilk Oatmeal — Spices including cardamom, star anise, and ginger jazz up a morning oatmeal. Mix the dry ingredients ahead of time for an easier camp-side breakfast.Andre Baranowski

Fried Oysters with Spicy Rémoulade — Oyster shells act as a natural serving platter for these crispy fried oysters with a creamy, spicy sauce.Todd Coleman

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake — This recipe comes from the chief of the Arcata Fire Department in Humboldt County, California, and is considered an all-time favorite among the firemen.Helen Rosner

Red Leaf Salad with Ranch Dressing — Light, tangy yogurt replaces rich mayonnaise in the herb-laced dressing for this salad.André Baranowski

Chocolate Zucchini Cake — A North Fork Valley favorite in zucchini season, this moist chocolate cake gets its moistness from buttermilk.Farideh Sadeghin

Blueberry Quinoa Pancakes with Lemon Crema, Breakfast — Granola and quinoa lend a sneaky earthy-crunchy vibe to these substantial, fluffy pancakes from Dennis Bernard, chef de cuisine of Chicago's Dove's Luncheonette.Joseph De Leo

Biscuits with Pancetta, Collard Greens, Marbleized Eggs, and Espresso Aïoli — Alvin Cailan of Los Angeles' cultish Eggslut goes pancetta-crazy in this sandwich, using eight slices on top of his gorgeously marbleized egg and cooking the collard greens in pancetta fat.Joseph De Leo

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