How to Make DIY Baking Powder (Just 3 Ingredients!)

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure.

Are you currently in the middle of a recipe and just realized you don’t have baking powder? Or are you concerned about the ingredients in store-bought baking powder? If this is you, look no further! In this DIY baking powder tutorial, I’ll show you how to make a simple, effective baking powder with a couple of basic kitchen ingredients.

This post was updated in July 2024.

Welcome, bakers! This is a guest post from Amelia of Home is for Simple. She’s sharing with us her quick recipe for DIY baking powder. You can whip it together in just a few seconds! Missing an ingredient? No worries! Keep scrolling to find alternatives to ensure your bake goes off perfectly!

Like many people, I stumbled upon DIY baking powder out of desperation. I was in the middle of whipping up a batch of fluffy chocolate chip cookies when I hit the line item “baking powder.”

I suddenly remembered that I was completely out of this important baking staple. So, as any chef would do, I turned to Google. I was pleasantly surprised to find that making your own baking powder is incredibly easy!

The baking powder came together quickly and my cookies did not disappoint.

Is baking powder the same as baking soda?

No. Baking powder includes baking soda, but they are not the same thing.

Baking soda is a single-ingredient raising agent, also known as sodium bicarbonate. It must be activated by an acidic ingredient, like buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, etc. This is great for some recipes, but if your recipe does not include an acid, it won’t trigger the reaction.

That’s where baking powder comes in. It has everything you need for that crucial chemical reaction in one spot.

Baking powder contains baking soda with a dry acid (usually cream of tartar) and some sort of starch (usually cornstarch).

With this combination, you can get a nice rise without having to add a liquid acid to your recipes.

However, you’ll also notice that many recipes call for both baking powder and soda. This gives you twice as much leavening for the lightest, fluffiest pancakes, muffins, and more.

Baking Powder Ingredients

You’ll need these three simple ingredients to make homemade baking powder.

• Cream of tartar – Cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) is a common pantry staple that can be found at most stores. It acts as the acid in your baking powder! 
• Baking soda – Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) is an alkaline substance that fizzes and produces carbon dioxide bubbles when exposed to acid. It’s a very cheap, everyday ingredient that many of us have on hand for cleaning projects and more.
• Corn or arrowroot starch (optional, but recommended for storage) –  If you’re planning to store your baking powder for any length of time, you’ll need to add starch. This extends the shelf life of baking powder by preventing caking and reacting. Non-GMO cornstarch and arrowroot starch are great options. 

Storing Suggestions

For longer storage, be sure to include either cornstarch or arrowroot powder as described above and store in an airtight container or jar in a cool, dry place for about one month.

Substitutes for cream of tartar

The only downside to this recipe is that cream of tartar is quite possibly less common in your pantry than baking powder. You’ve probably used it for making snickerdoodles or meringues, but not much else.

So, if you don’t have time to pick up this key ingredient from the store, here are some effective substitutes.

The principle is that you’ll need to use something acidic in order to get the desired leavening effect. I’ll list them in order of how common they are.

Vinegar or lemon juice

First off, let’s look at a few acidic ingredients that you likely have in your kitchen: vinegar or lemon juice.

This will be a 1:1 substitute. So, use ½ tsp vinegar or lemon juice in place of the ½ tsp cream of tartar.

For most recipes, this small amount of acid should not affect the flavor. However, if you’d rather not throw these tangy juices into your sweet baking, you have other options.

Yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk

Another great substitute for cream of tartar in homemade baking powder is yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk. These fermented dairy products are acidic and will create the desired reaction with your baking soda.

For yogurt or sour cream, replace the ½ tsp cream of tartar with ½ cup yogurt or sour cream, thinned out with milk if necessary. Plain yogurt works best. Also, be sure to decrease the other liquid in your recipe accordingly.

If you are using buttermilk, simply replace the ½ tsp cream of tartar with ½ cup buttermilk. Again, decrease the other liquid in your recipe by ½ cup.

Soured milk

Another good substitute option is to use soured milk. If you have raw milk on hand, you could leave it out at room temperature for about 24 hours. Wait until it is a bit sour, but not separated into curds and whey.

However, if you’re reading this post in a pinch, you likely don’t have 24 hours to spare.

So if you’d like to use soured milk, but you don’t have raw milk OR don’t you want to wait till tomorrow to bake, here’s how you can make a quick version:

• Mix 1 cup milk (pasteurized or raw) with 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice
• Let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes

That’s it! Then use it in the same way as buttermilk or yogurt in this recipe. Replace the ½ tsp cream of tartar with ½ cup soured milk, and decrease the other liquid in your recipe by ½ cup.

Leave it out

Now, I include this option as an honest recommendation from experience. Though this is not proper baking advice, I’ve done it in a pinch.

For simple things like pancakes, I have used ⅓ tsp baking soda as a replacement for 1 tsp baking powder. With things like pancakes, I haven’t noticed much of a difference.

For recipes like cake or fluffy cookies, you would certainly notice a difference, though.

Related Posts

• Setting Up a Homesteading Kitchen
• My Favorite Homemade Extract Recipes
• Baking Essentials for Beginners
• Printable Pantry Staples List

Pin this recipe for later!