Fermented Foods: 50+ Recipes to Get You Started

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.

swing top jar of fermented purple cabbage.

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?

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.
 
variety of fermented foods recipes on display in glass jars
Lacto-fermentation is the process used when we make fermented vegetables, fruits, and even kombucha. Lactobacillus bacteria converts sugars into lactic acid. This good bacteria inhibits 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:

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.

The Handcrafted Pantry

Ready to DIY your pantry with more wholesome ingredients? Check out my ebook, The Handcrafted Pantry! Filled with delicious recipes for some of your favorite condiments, snacks, and toppings, it’s the guide you need to start skipping packaged products and embrace homemade.

Fermented Vegetable Recipes

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

banana pepper puree in measuring cup

Fermented Condiments

Spread on the fermented food goodness with these easy recipes.

bowl of pineapple salsa with halved lime.

Fermented Fruit

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

strawberry mead in a glass bottle.

Fermented Drinks

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

fermented veggies in glass jars

Fermented Dairy Products

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

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About the author: Kris Bordessa is an award-winning National Geographic author and a certified Master Food Preserver. Read more about Kris and how she got started with this site here. If you want to send Kris a quick message, you can get in touch here.

10 comments… add one
  • Maryis Jan 14, 2022 @ 12:02

    I love fermented foods but am always hesitant to make them at home because of my fear of botulism.

    • AttainableSustainable Jan 18, 2022 @ 8:23

      The risk of botulism in lacto-fermented foods is usually very low to none. Often times you can check the acidity levels with a ph strip, you could look into that to ease your mind and make sure you are at the right levels of acidity to prevent botulism risk.

  • Rachelle MacDonald Sep 16, 2020 @ 1:33

    Healthy ideas thanks

    • Attainable Sustainable Feb 21, 2021 @ 11:24

      Thank you for joining in!

  • Cheryl Garrison Feb 16, 2018 @ 7:40

    Please add me to your email list. Love your ideas

  • Patrick Bair May 24, 2016 @ 6:25

    Man, what a fantastic list! Thank you so much for adding me to it! Anybody that needs to know anything about fermenting has found it here!! 😀

  • Chris Aug 25, 2015 @ 6:30

    Thanks so much for including my recipes, Kris. I’m sharing this. And I’m going back into the posts and linking back to this great resources, too. My readers are going to love this virtual recipe book.

  • Amber, Head Pixie (@PixiesPocket) Aug 24, 2015 @ 5:42

    Thanks for including Pixie’s Pocket in your list – I wish I’d had a list like this to go off of when I first began fermenting. 🙂

    • Kris Bordessa Aug 24, 2015 @ 8:19

      Me too!

  • Cris Aug 21, 2015 @ 15:54

    Thanks for including me! 🙂 Great post! I will be sharing this tomorrow!

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