52 Easy Fermented Food Recipes (No Whey Required!) (2024)

This is a list of 52 easy fermented food recipes that do not require whey. I chose 52 recipes so that you (and I) can try a different fermented food recipe each week for an entire year. Join me in a Fermenting Challenge to eat more fermented foods!

52 Easy Fermented Food Recipes (No Whey Required!) (1)

52 Easy Fermented Food Recipes (No Whey Required!)

I’ve written before about the amazing benefits of fermented foods, and now I’m going to share a year’s worth of easy no-whey-needed fermented food recipes that you (and I) can make, one every week, to nourish our bodies and boost our health.

Last year, I wanted to start eating fermented foods. I got this awesome fermented food airlock kit and I thought that I was ready to go. My goal was to try 52 fermented food recipes, one recipe each week for an entire year.

Guess how many times I tried fermented food last year? Not once. Sigh….I came up against a few mini-road-blocks in my desire to try fermented food. The first and main problem?So many fermented food recipes need to use whey. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got zero access to whey in my life. I think if I started making homemade cheese, I would be able to fix this problem. However, I don’t make cheese so I’ve got no whey.

I’m sure there’s a bunch of fermented food experts who are now screaming at their computer screen that whey is easy to make or buy or substitute…or something. The truth is, however, that every time I wanted to make a fermented food recipe and saw whey on the ingredient list, I didn’t think about what to substitute or how to make whey or buy it, etc…. I simply closed the recipe and lost interest in trying to make fermented foods for the week. Part laziness, part being busy, part character flaws. I have no problem being honest. 😉

So this is a list of 52 easy fermented food recipes that do not require whey. Some of them have whey in the ingredients but they also say what you can substitute, which I found very helpful. I’ve been gathering this list all throughout last year, so that I could make a post as a reference for both myself and for others.

Want to join me in a year of eating fermented foods? Let me know in the comments below!

Maybe if I get enough interest, I’ll start a support group on facebook or an email newsletter full of encouragement or something else fun. It’s always good to have accountability partners!

52 Easy Fermented Food Recipes (No Whey Required!) (2)What You Need to Make These Fermented Foods (and resources):

You can get pretty crazy into fermented food gadgets and items if you want. There are fermenting weights, various sized fermenting crocks, fancy bottles for fermented drinks, etc. I tried to keep it simple and managed to find recipes that just needed a few things.

In theory, you don’t even need the airlocks, because you can just cover the jars loosely and occasionally ‘burp’ them. However, you can have problems with mold, overflow, or failed fermenting, so I got the airlocks to make things easier.

Here’s what you need to make these fermented foods:

Awesome books on fermenting and nutrition:

52 Easy Fermented Food Recipes (No Whey Required!) (3)52 Easy Fermented Food Recipes

Ready to start trying one fermented food recipe each week for a year? Me too! Here we go! I tried very hard not to have recipe repeats, so each of these recipes uses different ingredients and/or brings something uniquely flavored to this list (example: there are a few carrot recipes, but they are each flavored differently).

Tip:Try to mix and match these recipes. For example, make a vegetable in week one, a sauerkraut in week two, etc. Otherwise, if you just go down the line, you will end up with a fridge FULL of various sauerkrauts at some point, and variety is the spice of life, so mix it up!

Vegetables:

1. Fermented Carrot Pickles from Healthy Aperture

2. Fermented Citrus Ginger Carrots from Delicious Obsessions

3. Easy Probiotic Fermented Carrots from Back to the Book Nutrition

4. Spicy Lacto-Fermented Carrots from With Food + Love

5. Ginger and Turmeric Fermented Carrot Sticks from The Wild Gut

6. Fermented Garlic Honey from Yogi Mami

7. Lact0-Fermented Radishes with Garlic and Dill from Fearless Eating

8. Spicy Fermented Sugar Snap Peas from Attainable Sustainable

9. Fermented Asparagus with Garlic from Grow Forage Cook Ferment

10. Ginger Beet Kvass from Mommypotamus

11. Fermented Beets with Cumin and Basil from Heartbeet Kitchen

12. Easy Lact0-Fermented Beets and Turnips from Chocolate & Zucchini

13.Lacto-Fermented Dilly Beansfrom Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking

14.Fermented Jalapenosfrom Mommypotamus

15. Indian Spiced Lacto-Fermented Cauliflower from Delicious Obsessions

16. Cauliflower Pickles with Turmeric and Black Pepper from Eat Beautiful

17.Lacto-Fermented Curried Squash and Zucchinifrom Delicious Obsessions

18. Fermented Pickles from Mind Body Oasis

19. Fermented Pickles with Garlic from The Prairie Homestead

20. Fermented Cherry Tomato Bombs from Grow Forage Cook Ferment

21. Fermented Carolina Coleslow from Oh Lardy

Fruits:

22. Fermented Plum Brandyfrom Fresh Bites Daily

23. Pickled Oranges and Onion from Fresh Bites Daily

24. Fermented Watermelon Rind from Real Food RN

52 Easy Fermented Food Recipes (No Whey Required!) (4)Sauerkraut and Kimchi:

25. Homemade Kimchi from The Prairie Homestead

26. Kimchi with Fish Sauce from Mommypotamus

27. Probiotic Beet and Cabbage Sauerkraut from DetoxDIY

28. Indian Sauerkraut from My Heart Beets

29. Beet Ginger Sauerkraut from Steph Gaudreau

30. Jalepeno Cilantro Sauerkraut from Fermented Food Lab

31. Pumpkin Cranberry Kraut from Mountain Feed & Farm Supply

32. Fennel Sauerkraut from Honest Food

33. Easy Ginger Carrot Sauerkraut from Savory Lotus

34. Purple Sauerkraut from Homemade Mommy

35. Apple Spice Sauerkraut from Fermented Food Labs

Salsas and Chutneys:

36. Fermented Mango Salsa from Fearless Eating

37. Fermented Pico de Gallo from Prepare & Nourish

38. Fermented Salsa from Deliciously Organic

39. Easy Apple Fermented Salsa from Kitchen Stewardship

40. Lacto-Fermented Green Tomato Salsa from Thank Your Body

41. Easy Fermented Salsa from Tasty Yummies

42. Fermented Hatch Chilies from It’s a Love/Love Thing

43. Fennel, Kohlrabi, & Green Apple Relish from And Here We Are

44. Lacto-Fermented Pear Chutney from Cultures for Health

45. Fermented Pear Chutney from Nourishing Time

46. Spicy Pineapple Cranberry Chutney from ecurry

47. Fermented Strawberry Chutney from Fermenter’s Club

Condiments:

48. Fermented Herbal Mustard from Ferment Tools

49. Spicy Horseradish Mustard from Better Hens and Gardens

50. Fermented Ketchup from Grow Forage Cook Ferment

51. Fermented Hot Sauce from Healing Harvest Homestead

52. Fermented Pineapple Vinegar from Om Nom Ally

Which fermented food recipe are you going to try first? Which fermented food is your favorite?

Please share in the comments below what you think about fermented foods! Also, let me know if you want to join me in a fermented food weekly challenge! I might make a facebook group for it!

More Healthy Food Recipes:

  • Ways to Use Up a Huge Jalapeno Harvest
  • 20 Healthy Radish Recipes to Enjoy This Spring
  • Healthy Arugula Recipes
  • 17 Perfect Pea Recipes
  • Delicious Ways to Eat Asparagus

52 Easy Fermented Food Recipes (No Whey Required!) (5)

52 Easy Fermented Food Recipes (No Whey Required!) (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest fermented food? ›

Fermented Foods for Gut Health
  • Kefir.
  • Plain Yogurt.
  • Dry Curd Cottage Cheese or Farmer's Cheese, or fermented cottage cheese.
  • Certain aged cheeses (check label for live and active cultures)
  • Fermented Vegetables.
  • Tempeh (choose gluten free)
  • Miso (refrigerated)
  • Pickles (in salt, not vinegar)
Jun 19, 2019

What is the quickest thing to ferment? ›

Vegetables are possibly the easiest and quickest fermentation: cut the vegetables, place in glass jars and submerge completely in the brine for 1-2 days until fermented (you'll know it's ready once the ferment has developed a ˜tangy' taste).

How to make simple fermented food? ›

Here's how to make fermented vegetables from scratch using the simple brine method:
  1. Begin by thoroughly sterilising your chosen jar. ...
  2. Prep your vegetables. ...
  3. Make a brine. ...
  4. Add your veg to the jar. ...
  5. Pour over the brine. ...
  6. Leave to ferment at room temperature. ...
  7. Pop it in the fridge to finish fermentation.
Apr 7, 2022

What fermented foods should I eat daily? ›

Here are the best fermented foods you should add to your diet.
  • Sauerkraut. Sauerkraut has been consumed across cultures for centuries. ...
  • Kombucha. juan antonio barrio miguel / Getty Images. ...
  • Kimchi. Fudio / Getty Images. ...
  • Tempeh. Kathleen Juanda Teo / Getty Images. ...
  • Kefir. ...
  • Yogurt. ...
  • Miso and Natto. ...
  • Apple Cider Vinegar.
Jan 9, 2024

What foods heal your gut? ›

Gut Health Foods - 15 Foods For Good Gut Health
  • Yoghurt. Live yoghurt is an excellent source of so-called friendly bacteria, also known as probiotics. ...
  • Kefir. ...
  • Miso. ...
  • Sauerkraut. ...
  • Kimchi. ...
  • Sourdough. ...
  • Almonds. ...
  • Olive oil.

Can I eat fermented foods everyday? ›

While there are currently no official guidelines regarding how often you should eat fermented foods, adding a few servings to your daily diet may be beneficial ( 44 ). For the best results, start by eating one or two servings per day, and then slowly work your way up.

What vegetables should not be fermented? ›

“There's no vegetable you can't ferment,” he said, but added that leafy greens such as kale — because of their chlorophyll content — aren't to most people's liking. During an NPR interview, Katz explained that pickling and fermentation are not the same, although they are “overlapping” categories.

What happens when you start eating fermented foods? ›

Boosts Your Immune System

The bacteria that live in your gut have a significant impact on your immune system. Due to their high probiotic content, fermented foods can give your immune system a boost and reduce your risk of infections like the common cold ( 12 , 13 , 14 ).

What food is highest in probiotics? ›

Here are seven foods high in probiotics:
  • Yogurt. Yogurt is made by culturing milk with bacteria that produce lactic acid, such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, although more strains can also be added. ...
  • Buttermilk. ...
  • Cottage Cheese. ...
  • Tempeh. ...
  • Sauerkraut. ...
  • Miso Soup.
Jan 17, 2024

When should you not eat sauerkraut? ›

If you're pregnant or immunocompromised, you should avoid eating unpasteurized sauerkraut. If you take MAOIs, have blood pressure concerns, or have food intolerances or allergies, speak to your doctor before eating sauerkraut. Otherwise, sauerkraut is likely to be a nutritious and healthy addition to your diet.

What are the disadvantages of fermented foods? ›

The downside of fermentation

Another disadvantage is the high sodium levels in many fermented foods. Under some conditions, harmful microbes may also cause undesirable effects from the ingestion of fermented foods in certain conditions, such as mycotoxicosis and botulinism.

What are the cons of fermented foods? ›

However, some people might experience severe side effects after consuming fermented foods.
  • Bloating. The most common reaction to fermented foods is a temporary increase in gas and bloating. ...
  • Headaches and migraines. ...
  • Histamine intolerance. ...
  • Food-borne illness. ...
  • Infection from probiotics. ...
  • Antibiotic resistance.
Nov 13, 2019

What are the top 5 fermented foods? ›

What are the healthiest fermented foods?
  1. Apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is made by crushing apples and allowing yeasts to ferment the natural sugars into acetic acid. ...
  2. Cheese (including aged cheddar, parmesan, gouda and mozzarella) ...
  3. Kefir. ...
  4. Kimchi. ...
  5. Kombucha. ...
  6. Miso. ...
  7. Natto. ...
  8. Olives.
Mar 1, 2023

What is the easiest vegetable to ferment? ›

Cabbage is a relatively inexpensive and easy vegetable to ferment, and there are many options for creating flavors you might like. Experiment with herbs and spices such as ginger, garlic, hot pepper, caraway seeds, curry powder, and turmeric.

What is fermented food simple? ›

Introduction. Fermented foods are defined as “foods or beverages produced through controlled microbial growth, and the conversion of food components through enzymatic action” [1]. Many foods have historically undergone fermentation, including meat and fish, dairy, vegetables, soybeans, other legumes, cereals and fruits ...

References

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