Fermented Foods Recipes: 50+ to Get You Started (2024)

In case you’ve yet to delve into fermenting, these tips and easy fermentation recipes for beginners will get you started! These fermenting recipes are an easy way to extend the life of fresh produce while adding flavor and probiotics to the food.

Originally published in August 2015; this post has been updated.

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We Love Fermented Foods

And we’ve expanded our repertoire: No longer limited to fermenting vegetables, we’ve tried our hands at fermenting fruit, sauces, and seeds, too! The beneficial bacteria in fermented foods is easy to encourage in a wide variety of foods.

Why Ferment?

  • Naturally fermented foods recipes are host to natural probiotics and promote a healthy digestive system.
  • It’s a great way to preserve your garden goodness.
  • Fermented foods are delicious.
  • Getting started is easy.
  • Read this to find out more about the difference between pickling and fermenting.

Municipal tap water contains chlorine, which can inhibit fermentation, so be sure to use filtered water or distilled water instead. A Berkey water filter provides clean water that’s free of toxins. Great for making your drinking water free of chemicals, but perfect for fermentation, too.

Fermented Foods Recipes: 50+ to Get You Started (2)

Lacto-fermentationis the process used when we make fermented vegetables, fruits, and even kombucha.Lactobacillusbacteria converts sugars into lactic acid. This good bacteriainhibits the growth of harmful bacteria. The lactobacillus organisms that develop when we ferment food preserves it, but it’s also a boon to our digestive tract. Foods fermented in this way develop the probiotics that we’ve heard so much about in recent years.

The fermentation process calls for combining fresh produce with salt or covering it in a brine and letting it sit at room temperature for several days or weeks.

Not quite ready to dive into the recipes? Head over here for a complete guide to home fermentation.

Getting Started with Fermented Foods:

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50+ Fermented Food Recipes to Try

The toughest part of fermenting? Taking the first step to try something different. Once you clear that (mental) hurdle, it’s easy. These recipes for fermented foods bring together garden fresh veggies and probiotics for your digestive system.

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Fermented Vegetable Recipes

Vegetables are probably the most well-known of the fermented food recipes. Everybody knows about sauerkraut, right?

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Fermented Condiments

Spread on the fermented food goodness with these easy recipes.

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Fermented Fruit

Adding fermented foods to your diet — like these fruit ferments — offers up a whole new way to preserve the harvest in jars.

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Fermented Drinks

Drink up with these delicious recipes for making liquid fermented foods.

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Fermented Dairy Products

Yep, dairy can be fermented, too! Check out these recipes.

  • Creme Fraiche [Attainable Sustainable]
  • Sour Cream [Attainable Sustainable]
  • Milk Kefir [Attainable Sustainable]
  • No-Measure Yogurt[Attainable Sustainable]
Fermented Foods Recipes: 50+ to Get You Started (2024)

FAQs

What is the easiest fermented food to make at home? ›

Sauerkraut is one of the simplest fermented foods to make. It only contains two ingredients – cabbage and salt – although sometimes caraway seeds are added too. To make sauerkraut, all you have to do is shred your cabbage, cover it with salt, and mix around.

What happens if you eat fermented foods everyday? ›

Consistently eating fermented foods has been associated with weight loss, reduced obesity, and maintaining a healthy weight. However, these effects are only present with fermented foods as part of an overall health plan that includes movement and stress reduction.

Which fermented food has the most probiotics? ›

Foods With the Highest Probiotic Content
Fermented FoodLiving CellsServing Size
Water kefir500 billion250 ml
Kimchi250 billion250 ml
Sauerkraut25 billion250 ml
Miso25 billion3 tbsp.
6 more rows

Can you give me a list of fermented foods? ›

Top fermented foods you can add to your diet
  • Kefir.
  • Kimchi.
  • Kombucha.
  • Sauerkraut.
  • Yogurt.
  • Miso.
  • Cheese.
  • Sourdough.
Mar 18, 2024

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 is the best fermentation starter? ›

Here's a list of fermentation starter options worth looking into:
  • Whey from kefir, clabbered raw milk or straining yogurt.
  • Brine from fermented vegetables (sauerkraut, sour pickles, etc.)
  • Jun Tea or Kombucha.
  • Water Kefir.
  • A high-quality probiotic supplement.
  • Packed commercial starter culture.

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

How long does it take to see benefits from fermented foods? ›

One small study of 36 participants showed that when people eat a diet rich in fermented foods, they have increased diversity of gut microbes and decreased signs of inflammation in just 10 weeks. “Fermented foods can support a healthy gut microbiome and may improve inflammation,” Mallik says.

What happens when you first start eating fermented foods? ›

The most common reaction to fermented foods is a temporary increase in gas and bloating. This is the result of excess gas being produced after probiotics kill harmful gut bacteria and fungi. Probiotics secrete antimicrobial peptides that kill harmful pathogenic organisms like Salmonella and E. Coli.

What is the #1 probiotic? ›

Summary: Compare the Best Probiotic Supplements of 2024
ProductForbes Health RatingsView More
Culturelle Pro Strength Daily Probiotics4.6Shop Now
Jarrow Formulas Jarro-Dophilus EPS4.5Shop Now
Jarrow Formulas Fem-Dophilus4.4Shop Now
BetterLife PrePro+3.6View More
3 more rows

Is apple cider vinegar a fermented probiotic? ›

Apple cider vinegar is a fermented food, so it does contain bacteria. But there isn't adequate research yet to show whether these bacteria survive digestion. Therefore, although many consider apple cider vinegar is a probiotic food, it is technically not a probiotic.

What is the number one probiotic food? ›

1. Yogurt. Made from milk fermented by friendly bacteria (mainly lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria), yogurt is one of the best sources of probiotics. Widely available in shops, yogurt is also super easy to make at home.

Is apple cider vinegar fermented food? ›

Apple cider vinegar is made through a process called fermentation. The process has two steps. First, the apples are crushed and yeast is added to speed up the fermentation process, so the sugar converts into alcohol after a few weeks.

What fermented foods are in grocery stores? ›

  • Kefir. Kefir is a type of cultured dairy product. ...
  • Tempeh. Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans that have been pressed into a compact cake. ...
  • Natto. Natto is a staple probiotic food in traditional Japanese cuisine. ...
  • Kombucha. ...
  • Miso. ...
  • Kimchi. ...
  • Sauerkraut. ...
  • Probiotic yogurt.

What foods ferment in the colon? ›

Vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic-containing spices, onions, mushrooms, lentils, and other legumes. Milk and milk products. Foods containing wheat and rye, which contain little absorbed, short-chain carbohydrates that are ideal for bacterial fermentation.

What are the simplest fermented foods? ›

Cabbage, salt and caraway seeds; sauerkraut is one of the easiest fermented foods to make. Basically you pack all the ingredients into a clean jar and ferment for 3 to 10 days. Since it's a fermented food, it will then keep for several months. Check out this basic sauerkraut recipe to get started.

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 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.

References

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