Ayran substitute

Best substitute

Plain yogurt whisked with cold water and salt

1 cup plain yogurt : 1 cup cold water : ¼ to ½ tsp salt, used 1:1 for the ayran

Best for drinking with kebabs and pide

Close match

Not a substitute so much as the recipe: this is what ayran is, and it takes less time than finding a bottle.

Other ayran substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Cultured buttermilk, salted
Close match
Use the same amount plus a pinch of salt
Thin, cultured, sour dairy that already has the acidity and pouring consistency ayran needs.
What changes
Best for
marinades for chicken and lamb, batters, pancakes and flatbread doughs, cold soups, salad dressings, drinking, once diluted
In cooking this is an excellent swap and needs almost no adjustment. It is a little thicker and noticeably more sour than ayran, with a buttery note ayran does not have, so a marinade tastes tangier and a soup tastes richer. For drinking it is heavier than ayran, so dilute it with a third to a half as much cold water and salt it lightly. Do not use sweetened or buttermilk-flavoured drinks.
3Kefir, salted
Close match
Use the same amount plus a pinch of salt
Fermented milk drink with a thin body, sharp tang and a very slight natural fizz that echoes carbonated ayran.
What changes
Best for
drinking cold, marinades, cold soups, smoothies and savoury drinks
The closest drinking experience, particularly for the fizzy ayran sold in bottles, and it is genuinely refreshing salted. Kefir is tangier and slightly yeasty compared with ayran's clean lactic sourness, and it is thinner, so a soup made with it tastes sharper. It also splits more readily than yogurt when heated, so keep the pan below a simmer and temper it before adding.
4Salted lassi or chaas
Close match
Use the same amount
The Indian equivalent: yogurt thinned with water and salted, usually with cumin, mint or curry leaf.
What changes
Best for
drinking with spicy food, cooling a meal, cold soups, marinades
Structurally identical, which is why it works so well, but bottled chaas and salted lassi are usually seasoned with roasted cumin and sometimes ginger or green chilli, so a Turkish yogurt soup made with it tastes subtly Indian. That is not a disaster, just noticeable. Make sure you buy the salted kind and not sweet or mango lassi, which are a completely different drink.
5Greek yogurt or labneh, thinned
Different texture
1 part yogurt to 1.5 parts cold water, plus salt
For when the only yogurt you have is thick and strained.
What changes
Best for
drinking, soups, marinades, sauces that need body
Because the whey has been drained out, these are much thicker and more concentrated, so they need more water than plain yogurt and they still finish richer and creamier in the mouth than real ayran, which is deliberately thin and quenching. In a soup that richness is welcome; in a glass alongside a heavy kebab it can feel cloying, so add more water than you think you need.
6Unsweetened plant yogurt, thinned and salted
Different taste
1 part plant yogurt to 1 part cold water, plus salt and a squeeze of lemon
The dairy-free answer, using plain unsweetened coconut, soy, almond or oat yogurt.
What changes
Best for
dairy-free drinks, vegan marinades, cold soups, dressings
Plant yogurts are usually less acidic than dairy yogurt and sometimes carry a bean or coconut flavour, so the drink tastes flatter and less sharply refreshing; the lemon juice restores the missing tang. Coconut yogurt is the richest and reads as slightly sweet, soy the most neutral. In a marinade you also lose the lactic acid that helps tenderise meat, so lean on the lemon and a longer soak.
7What not to use: milk with lemon juice, or sweetened yogurt drinks
Taste and texture differ
Not recommended
The two swaps people reach for that genuinely do not work, worth stating plainly.
What changes
Best for
nothing here
Milk soured with lemon juice or vinegar gives you acidity but none of ayran's cultured tang, and it will curdle into grainy flecks the moment it meets a hot soup. Sweetened drinking yogurts, sweet lassi and flavoured kefir turn a savoury dish sugary in a way you cannot correct with salt. If none of the substitutes above are available, plain water with a squeeze of lemon in a marinade is more honest than either of these.

What is Ayran?

Ayran is Ayran is a chilled savoury Turkish drink of plain yogurt whisked with cold water and salt, sometimes lightly carbonated or finished with dried mint, and closely related to Persian doogh and Indian salted lassi.

Cooking tips

Whisk or blend it cold and serve it cold. Ayran separates as it stands, which is normal, so shake or stir it again before pouring. Warm yogurt whisked with warm water tastes flat and looks curdled.
Temper it before it meets heat. To use ayran or any yogurt drink in a hot soup, ladle a little of the hot broth into the ayran and whisk, repeat once, and only then pour the mixture back into the pan off the boil. Poured straight into simmering liquid it will split.
For a yogurt soup that never curdles, stabilise it: whisk one egg yolk or a teaspoon of flour or cornflour into the ayran before tempering. This is the traditional Turkish technique and it works reliably.
Salt last, and taste. Commercial ayran is quite salty, homemade rarely is, and yogurts differ hugely in tartness, so a recipe written for bottled ayran may need less salt elsewhere if you make your own, and more if you do not.
Dried mint, not fresh, is the traditional finish for ayran and for yogurt soups. A quarter teaspoon rubbed between your palms into a glass or a bowl gives the dusty, cooling aroma that fresh mint does not.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave ayran out?

As a drink alongside a meal, of course. As an ingredient, no, because it is usually the acid and the liquid at the same time: in a yogurt soup it is most of the soup, and in a marinade it is what tenderises and seasons the meat. Whisking plain yogurt with water and salt gives you a real replacement in under a minute, so there is rarely a reason to omit it.

Is ayran the same as doogh or lassi?

They are the same idea with regional differences. Ayran is Turkish yogurt, water and salt, sometimes fizzy. Persian doogh is very similar and often carbonated and scented with dried mint or rose. Indian salted lassi and chaas add roasted cumin and other spices. All three substitute for each other freely; the one to avoid is sweet lassi, which belongs to the dessert side of the family.

Can I use ayran instead of buttermilk in baking?

Yes, roughly 1:1. It brings the same lactic acidity that reacts with baking soda and the same tenderising effect on gluten, so pancakes, soda bread and fried chicken batter all work. Ayran is thinner and saltier than buttermilk, so reduce the recipe's salt slightly and expect a marginally looser batter; if the recipe is delicate, use a little less water when you mix your ayran.

Why does my yogurt soup curdle?

Because the yogurt proteins hit heat too fast. Fix it by tempering, which means whisking hot broth into the cold ayran a ladle at a time before combining, and by stabilising with an egg yolk or a teaspoon of flour whisked in first. Keep the soup just below a simmer once the yogurt is in, and never let it boil. Low-fat and kefir-based versions split more easily than full-fat yogurt.

Is ayran supposed to be fizzy?

Both versions are traditional. Plain whisked ayran is still, while some bottled Turkish ayran and most Persian doogh are lightly carbonated, which makes them taste sharper and more refreshing. For cooking it makes no difference; for drinking, salted kefir or a splash of sparkling water added to homemade ayran gets you the fizzy style.

Related substitutes

More beverages substitutes

Ayran substitute

Other ayran substitutes

2Cultured buttermilk, salted

3Kefir, salted

4Salted lassi or chaas

5Greek yogurt or labneh, thinned

6Unsweetened plant yogurt, thinned and salted

7What not to use: milk with lemon juice, or sweetened yogurt drinks