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Top your favorite sweet breakfast recipe with liquid gold, aka buttermilk syrup, the best syrup on earth!
It is the best topping for pancakes, waffles, french toast and just about anything else you can imagine. It’s thick, sweet, buttery and totally divine. It tastes like you are pouring buttery caramel all over your breakfast. Think Kneaders or Magleby’s syrup for all my Utah readers.
This is one of those recipes that I grew up with and I don’t know why, but it took me years to remember it and bring it back with my family. It’s absolutely the best syrup around and trust me, you have to try it yourself to understand. It’s not at all buttermilk-y in taste, but creamy, light, sweet, and oh so amazing. It tastes like a caramel sauce but lighter. I can barely stand to not lick my plate when breakfast is over just to get ever last bit. Ok, I do…I lick my plate clean and I am not ashamed!
Table of Contents
- Ingredients Needed for Buttermilk Syrup
- How to Make Buttermilk Syrup
- Tips and Variations
- Is Buttermilk Sour Milk?
- What is a Buttermilk Substitute?
- How Long Will Buttermilk Syrup Last?
- All our AMAZING SYRUP recipes:
- Buttermilk Syrup Recipe
- Creamy Marionbery Syrup
- Chocolate Syrup
- Meyer Lemon Syrup
- Strawberry Syrup
Ingredients Needed for Buttermilk Syrup
All you need is 6 ingredients to make this homemade buttermilk syrup and most of them are pantry staples. Here is what you will need…
- Butter: unsalted is preferred and it creates the base for the syrup
- White Sugar: just regular granulated sugar
- Buttermilk: makes the syrup extra creamy
- Vanilla: adds flavor
- Corn Syrup: enhances the caramel flavor
- Baking Soda: The secret ingredient that may seem odd but trust me! It can’t be skipped!
The measurement for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to Make Buttermilk Syrup
Making this buttermilk syrup recipe at home takes less than 10 minutes and can totally be done simultaneously while you are cooking pancakes or waffles. Here are the basic steps…
- Melt: Get the butter melting in a large saucepan on the stove top over medium heat. Add the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla and corn syrup and stir everything to combine.
- Boil: Allow the mixture to come to a rolling bowl and then remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda stirring it in to combine.
- NOTE: The syrup will foam up quite a bit (see picture below to see the amount of foam, this is totally normal) so make sure your pot is big with plenty of room. I will sometimes hold my pan over the sink when I add the baking soda just in case it foams over. We don’t want a sugary mess all over the stove top! There’s nothing worse!
- Simmer: Place the pan back over the heat and whisk for about 30 seconds to allow everything to incorporate. Then it is ready to serve!
The complete instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
Tips and Variations
This recipe is quite flexible and can be customized to your liking. Experiment with the flavors your family loves best! It can also be used in a variety of ways too…not just on top of pancakes or waffles.
One way to change things up is to try different extracts. Rather than vanilla, add coconut extract (hello syrup of the gods!! Try our Coconut Buttermilk Syrup Recipe) or do half vanilla and half coconut. You can also try almond extract, orange extract, etc.
Spices can also be added to it. Add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon for an extra layer of flavor. A little cloves or nutmeg would also be so delicious!
Swap the white sugar for brown sugar for an extra deep caramel/molasses flavor.
Finally, buttermilk syrup can also be used as a topping over ice cream, apple pie, oatmeal, crepes, cinnamon rolls or apple crisp. It also makes a fabulous dip for sausage dunkers or french toast sticks.
Is Buttermilk Sour Milk?
Sour milk and buttermilk are different.
Buttermilk is made by adding a lactic acid bacteria to regular pasteurized milk.
Sour milk is made by adding vinegar and lemon juice to regular milk to make it sour. Either one will work for this recipe
What is a Buttermilk Substitute?
You can substitute sour milk for buttermilk in most recipes. So making sour milk is your best substitute for buttermilk, though it won’t be quite the same as if you use real buttermilk.
Make sour milk by adding 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk and stir. Let it sit for a 5 minutes or more.
How Long Will Buttermilk Syrup Last?
Store it in a jar or airtight container, and place in the fridge.
Buttermilk syrup will stay good, for about 1-2 weeks in the fridge.
Reheat buttermilk syrup in the microwave or on the stove top.
If someone made me pick my favorite recipes for breakfast, this easy homemade syrup would have to be on the list! It tastes like heaven on anything! Homemade buttermilk syrup is a breakfast staple in the Cheney house!
All our AMAZING SYRUP recipes:
- Coconut Buttermilk
- Meyer Lemon Syrup
- Buttermilk Maple Syrup
- Peanut Butter Maple Syrup
- Milky Way Syrup
- Creamy Marionberry Syrup
- Creamy Chocolate Syrup
- Strawberry Syrup
- Reese’s Syrup
Buttermilk Syrup
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Butter, unsalted
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon Corn Syrup, light
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Instructions
- In a large pot or saucepan over medium heat add the butter, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla and corn syrup.1/2 Cup Butter, 1 Cup Sugar, 1 Cup Buttermilk, 2 teaspoons Vanilla, 1 Tablespoon Corn Syrup
- Heat until everything is well combined and bring to a boil.
- Quickly remove the pot from the heat and add the baking soda, place back over the heat, stirring constantly. The syrup will grow large and threaten to boil over which is why a large pot is essential. If it gets too close to the edge remove from the burner and continue stirring to bring it down.1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- Stir for 30 seconds over the heat (I often just take mine off so I don’t risk boiling over) and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Creamy Marionbery Syrup
Chocolate Syrup
Meyer Lemon Syrup
Strawberry Syrup
Carrion,
I made this syrup yesterday because it sounded unusual and I love buttermilk in any glaze on cakes. Well, I have to tell you that we all LOVED it! This syrup has a wonder full flavor. Amazing. In addition, I sampled spoonful after spoonful, and more. All by it self. Like I do with lemon curd. I am anxious to try it on bread pudding to contrast with the puddings usual sweetness. Thank you for this forever recipe!
LOL!! You sound exactly like me! I made lemon curd yesterday and I keep snitching in it!
In the pix of the Buttermilk Syrup, it looks like it does some settling. When it’s reheated do we shake, stir, or leave it? Sounds awesome !!
It has a foamy top at first but it will go away. No need to shake. 🙂
Your buttermilk pancake and syrup recipe are fabulous. I made then this morning for my daughter and her friend and – they said that the were the best ever. I don’t usually like pancakes and I tried them and thought that it was all delicious. Thank you for posting and sharing and adding loviness and happiness to the world.
Leslie, What a sweet comment to leave me today. Thank you so much for the reminder that what we are trying to do with this blog matters and there are real people out there trying our recipes and caring about the blog. Sometimes I wish I could meet everyone. Seriously, your comment made my day. Thank you.
I’ve seen a few of these syrup recipes posted on blogs that come out as this pale, thin syrup. Buttermilk syrup should be thicker and amber in color. I think what cooks are doing wrong is not cooking it long enough for the sugar to caramelize.
I take it back…after doing some research, it appears that, when cooked longer, it essentially turns into caramel sauce. If you cook it for a shorter period, finishing while it’s still pale in color, then it is a buttery syrup that’s popular on pancakes. So it’s preference/usage that should affect length of cooking.
It’s true, but I tend to like it this way instead of the caramel version. It’s just so light this way.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I hadn’t even heard of Buttermilk Syrup before. It was surprisingly light and not overly sweet. It was a great addition to your Buttermilk Pancakes recipe. To quote my husband, “amazing”.
I love it! Your husband is far too kind, but feel free to come back and say that any time 😉 haha
How long can you keep syrup. I imagine refrigeration is neccessary after use.
Yes, definitely refrigerate and we’ve never liked it after 1 week.
I love this recipe, been making it for years. It’s so good on German Pancakes. Have you ever tried to can it? I didn’t know if it was possible to can or not.
I love it on German pancakes too but I have yet to can it. I worry it wouldn’t hold up very well so we make it fresh every time.
Best syrup ever. We love your buttermilk pancakes and after having tried the buttermilk syrup on them there is no going back. If I don’t have enough buttermilk on hand to make both recipes, we simply don’t have pancakes.
Have been making this for awhile. Decided to get creative and replace the Karo with MAPLE SYRUP!
AWESOMENESS!
Lisa, We do that too and in fact I have a post coming up in a while about it!
I haven’t made this but would like to use my raw honey from my hives in place of the corn syrup. I bet it would be so delish with the honey! I am gonna give it a try! Oh, I just subbed to you, too!
Oh my goodness. I’d never heard of buttermilk syrup and just happened on this via Pinterest. I guess it’s waffles for dinner tonight!
I made this with waffles and fresh berries for dinner tonight. Who’s a rockstar mom? ME! Thank you, this is going in my recipe book. What a delicious change of pace.
Just a note – I used powdered buttermilk mixed with water and it was excellent.
You have no idea how lovely that sounds right now. I love waffles with fresh berries and that syrup!
Have you ever tried substituting sour milk?
Hi Beth, I haven’t, but I have used regular milk and it was fine.