Best Substitutes for Whole Milk (Exact Ratios for Every Recipe)

Pick your swap by what’s in the bowl, not by what’s in the fridge. That’s the rule that saves most recipes when the milk carton turns out to be empty. A cake batter forgives almost anything. A pastry cream doesn’t.

The best substitutes for whole milk, for most cooking and baking, are half-and-half or evaporated milk thinned with water, because they give back the fat and protein that plain water can’t, at the same or slightly richer level. Reconstituted dry milk is the next best thing. If you need dairy-free, unsweetened soy milk comes closest. Here are the ratios that work for 1 cup of whole milk:

Substitute	To replace 1 cup whole milk	Best for
Half-and-half	3/4 cup + 1/4 cup water	Almost everything
Evaporated milk	1/2 cup + 1/2 cup water	Baking, mac and cheese, soups
Heavy cream	1/2 cup + 1/2 cup water	Baking, sauces
Dry whole milk (King Arthur)	1/4 cup powder + 1 cup water	Bread, baking, pantry backup
Instant nonfat dry milk	1/3 cup powder + 1 cup minus 1 Tbsp water	Baking, cooking
2% milk	1 cup (add 1 tsp melted butter if you like)	Anything
Plain yogurt or sour cream	1 cup (thin Greek yogurt with water)	Muffins, quick breads, pancakes
Unsweetened soy milk	1 cup	Dairy-free baking, custards, bread
Water + butter	1 cup water + 1 Tbsp melted butter	Emergencies, bread, pancakes

The ratios for cream, half-and-half and evaporated milk come from Wilton and Taste of Home, the dry milk ratios from King Arthur Baking and Utah State University Extension, and the water and butter trick from Taste of Home.

What Whole Milk Brings to a Recipe

Knowing what you’re replacing makes it much easier to pick a good stand-in.

Whole milk is 3.25% milkfat. According to the US dairy industry’s nutrition summary, one cup has about 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 8 grams of protein and 12 grams of carbohydrate, all of it natural milk sugar (lactose). Each of those does a job:

• Fat makes baked goods tender and sauces silky, and it carries flavor.
• Protein helps custards set, gives bread structure, and helps crusts brown.
• Lactose adds a little sweetness and helps with browning too.
• Water hydrates flour and dissolves sugar and salt. Whole milk is mostly water.

A good substitute replaces the water and gets you close on fat and protein. That’s why “richer dairy plus water” works so well, and why thin, low-protein plant milks struggle in some recipes but not others.

Dairy Swaps When You Just Ran Out

These are the fixes for the most common situation: there’s no whole milk, but you have some other dairy product.

Half-and-half

Half-and-half is a mix of milk and cream, with at least 10.5% milkfat under the federal standard, roughly three times as rich as whole milk. Taste of Home says you can use it one for one, which gives a slightly richer result. For a closer match, Wilton suggests 3/4 cup half-and-half plus 1/4 cup water per cup of milk. This is the easiest swap to get right and works in baking, sauces, oatmeal, scrambled eggs and coffee.

Heavy cream

Heavy cream is much fattier, so it needs more water: 1/2 cup cream plus 1/2 cup water. It’s excellent in sauces and savory baking. Measure the ratio instead of eyeballing it, since a heavy pour of cream makes a noticeably richer batter.

Evaporated milk

Evaporated milk is milk that’s been cooked down until much of its water is gone, then canned. Dilute it one to one with water. It has a faint caramel note that tastes great in pumpkin pie, mac and cheese, chowder and bread pudding. Because it’s shelf-stable, a can in the cupboard is a smart backup if you rarely buy fresh milk, or if you cook for one and hate pouring spoiled milk down the drain.

Don’t mix it up with sweetened condensed milk. That can is thick and very sweet. If it’s truly all you have, Taste of Home suggests diluting it half and half with water and cutting several tablespoons of sugar from the recipe. Only do this in desserts.

Powdered milk

Dry milk is the most useful pantry stand-in there is. It lasts for months, takes up very little space, and makes exactly as much milk as you need.

• Dry whole milk: King Arthur says to use 1 cup of water and add 1/4 cup of its Dried Whole Milk to the dry ingredients. Because it’s a non-instant powder, dissolve it in a little hot water first if you’re using it in something liquid.
• Instant nonfat dry milk: Utah State University Extension lists 1/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk plus 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon water per cup of milk. That gives you skim milk, so stir in about 2 teaspoons of melted butter if you want whole milk richness.

In bread recipes you can skip mixing entirely. Whisk the powder into the flour and use water for the liquid. You’ll find a bag of dry whole milk or nonfat dry milk in most grocery baking aisles. Keep it in a sealed container once opened; our list of airtight food storage containers has good options for bulk dry goods.

2%, 1% or skim milk

Lower-fat milk is still milk, and for most recipes it works fine one for one. You’ll notice the difference most in custards, puddings and rich sauces. To get closer to whole milk, add melted butter:

Milk you have	Approx. fat per cup	Add per cup to match whole milk (~8 g fat)
2% milk	About 5 g	About 1 tsp melted butter
1% milk	About 2.5 g	About 1 1/2 tsp melted butter
Skim milk	Close to 0 g	About 2 tsp melted butter

These amounts are simple math, not a recipe: butter is at least 80% fat by federal standard, so a teaspoon adds roughly 3 to 4 grams. Whisk the butter into slightly warm milk so it doesn’t solidify into flecks.

Yogurt and sour cream

Both add tang and moisture, and both work beautifully in muffins, quick breads, pancakes and coffee cake. Use plain yogurt or sour cream one for one. Greek yogurt is much thicker, so Taste of Home suggests thinning it with an equal amount of water. Avoid flavored or sweetened yogurt.

Because they’re acidic, yogurt and sour cream react with baking soda and can make batters rise a little more. In recipes leavened only with baking powder, expect a slightly denser, tangier result.

Choosing a Plant Milk

If you’re cooking for someone who avoids dairy, or you just keep a carton of oat milk around, plant milks can replace whole milk in plenty of recipes. They just aren’t all alike. The biggest difference is protein.

Per 1 cup (brand label)	Calories	Fat	Protein	Sugars
Whole milk (dairy)	About 150	8 g	8 g	12 g (natural)
Silk Original Soymilk	110	4.5 g	8 g	5 g (4 g added)
Oatly Original (USDA data)	139	7 g	3 g	7 g
Silk Unsweet Almondmilk	30	3 g	1 g	0 g

Recipes vary between brands and even between versions of the same brand, so check your own carton, especially for added sugar and flavorings.

In 2024, King Arthur Baking compared soy, pea protein (Ripple), almond, oat, coconut and cashew milks against dairy in several recipes and published the results. The short version is that soy was the most versatile and oat was a strong second, while thin milks like almond did fine in simple batters but couldn’t handle anything that needed to thicken.

Soy milk is the closest all-around match. It’s the only common plant milk with the same protein as dairy milk, and King Arthur found it gave the most dairy-like rise and texture in yeast bread and nearly matched milk in pastry cream.

Oat milk has a creamier body and a mild, slightly sweet flavor. King Arthur found it browned a little more in cake and was a worthy second choice for cream fillings: it held its shape but wasn’t sliceable. Wilton points out that oat milk has more starch than regular milk and may change the texture.

Almond and cashew milk are thin and low in protein. They work well in muffins, pancakes, cookies and quick breads. Don’t count on them for custards or puddings.

Coconut milk comes in two very different forms. The carton “beverage” is thin and low in protein, like almond milk. Canned coconut milk is thick and rich, and Taste of Home suggests using it one for one after shaking or whisking it smooth. It adds a noticeable coconut flavor. If you run out of that too, here’s our guide to the best coconut milk substitutes, and if you’re making it from scratch, how to crack open a coconut.

Lactose-free milk is real cow’s milk with the lactose broken down, so it behaves just like regular milk in recipes. It tastes a touch sweeter. If lactose, not dairy itself, is the problem, this is the easiest answer.

Whatever you choose, buy the unsweetened, unflavored version for cooking. Vanilla almond milk in a cheese sauce is not a good surprise.

Which Substitute for Which Recipe

This is where the rule from the top comes in. The recipe decides the swap.

Cakes, muffins, quick breads and cookies

These are the most forgiving. King Arthur found that in quick breads, muffins and popovers, every non-dairy milk performed the same as dairy for rise, texture, flavor and browning. In cake, all milks produced similar results, with pea and soy giving a marginally finer texture.

• First choice: half-and-half or evaporated milk, diluted.
• Dairy-free: any unsweetened plant milk, one for one.
• Tang welcome: yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk.

If you bake often in a cramped space, keeping a can of evaporated milk and a bag of dry milk means one fewer trip to the store. These space-saving baking tools and tips on baking in a small kitchen without extra counter space help with the rest. And if your cookies come out uneven after swapping ingredients, the oven might be the culprit; see how to bake cookies in a convection oven or our picks for the best small ovens and toaster ovens for baking in small kitchens. A decent pan matters too, and our guide to bakeware sets for beginners covers the basics.

Yeast bread and rolls

Milk makes bread softer and helps the crust brown. Here, protein matters. King Arthur found soy milk gave the rise and texture most similar to dairy, while the other plant milks rose higher but turned out crumbly, since they lacked the protein to hold the structure.

• Best: dry milk powder whisked into the flour, with water as the liquid.
• Dairy-free: unsweetened soy milk.
• In a pinch: water plus 1 tablespoon of melted butter per cup.

For bakers who proof dough in a banneton, our roundup of bread proofing baskets covers what to look for.

Custards, puddings and pastry cream

This is the hardest category. Custards rely on milk protein and fat to set smoothly, and the wrong swap gives you a runny mess.

• Best: whole milk made from 2% plus butter, or half-and-half thinned with water.
• Dairy-free: soy milk first, oat milk second. King Arthur found almond and coconut milk either failed to thicken or fell apart as they cooled.
• Avoid: water, almond milk, carton coconut milk.

A double boiler gives you gentler heat and makes custards less likely to curdle, which helps when you’re working with an unfamiliar milk.

White sauce, mac and cheese and creamy soups

Savory sauces are forgiving because flour or cornstarch does the thickening. Evaporated milk is a standout here, rich and slightly caramel-sweet. Diluted heavy cream and half-and-half work too.

For dairy-free sauces, choose unsweetened soy or oat milk and taste as you go, since plant milks can taste faintly sweet. If your sauce comes out thin, our guide on what to use instead of cornstarch lists other thickeners you probably have. An immersion blender will smooth out a grainy sauce or soup in seconds.

Pancakes and waffles

Any milk works, and so does buttermilk, yogurt thinned with water, or even water plus melted butter. If you’re making buttermilk pancakes without buttermilk, Utah State University Extension suggests 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice plus enough milk to make 1 cup, left to stand for 5 minutes. One lemon usually covers it, as our note on how much juice is in one lemon explains. King Arthur’s comparison notes that non-dairy milks can be soured the same way when a recipe calls for buttermilk. Our guides to the best griddle pan for pancakes and waffle makers with removable plates cover the gear.

Coffee and drinking

For coffee, half-and-half on its own is the classic richer option. Among plant milks, oat milk is popular because it’s creamy, and many brands sell “barista” versions made to steam and foam. If you pull shots at home, our guide to home espresso machines covers models with steam wands, and our picks for the best coffee maker with a grinder suit drip drinkers.

For drinking straight or pouring over cereal, it’s all about taste. Soy is closest nutritionally. Almond is lightest. Oat is creamiest. Our walkthrough of bulletproof coffee without a blender is another way to get creaminess from fat instead of milk.

For protein shakes and smoothies, soy milk keeps the protein up. A good blender for protein shakes handles thicker plant milks without trouble, and our roundup of blenders for smoothies covers fruit-heavy blends.

Swaps That Tend to Disappoint

A few substitutes come up a lot online but rarely give good results:

• Juice. It’s acidic and sweet and brings its own strong flavor. Save it for recipes built around it.
• Sweetened condensed milk, undiluted. Far too sweet and thick unless the recipe calls for it.
• Flavored plant milks. Vanilla and chocolate versions carry sugar and flavor into places you don’t want them.
• Plain water in custards. No fat, no protein, no set.
• Rice milk in bread or custard. It’s thin and low in protein, so it does little more than water would.

Keep One Backup in the Pantry

The easiest fix is to never be fully out. A single can of evaporated milk or a bag of dry milk sits on the shelf for months and covers almost every recipe on this page. If you’re short on space, it fits in a drawer or door rack. Our ideas for organizing a small kitchen with no pantry show where to tuck shelf-stable staples, and if you tend to freeze dairy leftovers, see whether you can freeze cream cheese before your next big grocery run. Scaling a recipe up? Here’s how many ounces are in a quart so the math stays easy.

Related Guides

• Best Coconut Milk Substitute
• What to Use Instead of Cornstarch
• Can You Freeze Cream Cheese?
• Best Bakeware for Small Kitchens
• How to Use a Double Boiler
• Best Hand Mixers
• How to Stock a Small Kitchen for Solo Cooking

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best substitute for whole milk in baking?

Mix 3/4 cup half-and-half with 1/4 cup water, or 1/2 cup evaporated milk with 1/2 cup water, for each cup of whole milk. Both give the same or slightly richer results. If you have no dairy at all, unsweetened soy milk is the closest plant option, because it has about the same protein as cow's milk. King Arthur Baking found most non-dairy milks work fine in muffins and quick breads.

Can I use water instead of milk?

In many recipes, yes, but add fat back in. Taste of Home suggests 1 cup of water plus 1 tablespoon of melted butter for each cup of milk. The result will be a little less tender and brown a little less, because milk also brings protein and sugar. Water works best in bread, pancakes and boxed mixes, and worst in custards and cream sauces.

How do I turn 2% or skim milk into whole milk?

Add a little melted butter. Butter is at least 80% fat, so about 1 teaspoon of melted butter stirred into 1 cup of 2% milk brings it close to whole milk's roughly 8 grams of fat. For skim milk, use about 2 teaspoons. In most baking, though, you can use 2% milk straight across with little difference.

Can you use almond milk instead of whole milk?

Yes, one for one in muffins, pancakes, quick breads and cakes. Choose unsweetened, unflavored almond milk. It's very low in protein and fat, about 1 gram of protein per cup for Silk Unsweet, so it won't thicken puddings or pastry cream well. King Arthur Baking found almond milk failed to set a cream filling, while soy and oat milk did much better.

What is the best non-dairy milk substitute for whole milk?

Unsweetened soy milk is the closest overall. Silk Original has 8 grams of protein per cup, the same as dairy milk, so it thickens custards and helps bread keep its structure. Oat milk is a good second choice with a creamier body. Canned coconut milk works when you want richness, but it's much higher in fat and tastes of coconut.

Can I use evaporated milk instead of whole milk?

Yes. Evaporated milk is milk with much of the water cooked off, so dilute it with an equal amount of water: 1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water replaces 1 cup of whole milk. It has a slightly cooked, caramel-like flavor that works well in baking, mac and cheese, and creamy soups. Don't confuse it with sweetened condensed milk, which is loaded with sugar.