Making fermented beets is a simple way to preserve fresh beets while boosting flavor and natural probiotics. This easy method uses a simple salt brine to create tangy, earthy fermented beets that are perfect for salads, bowls, and gut-friendly side dishes!
Quick Recipe Overview: Fermented Beets
🕒 Ready In: ~7–14 days (15–20 minutes hands-on prep + fermentation)
👪 Serves: 1 quart
🥣 Main Ingredients: Fresh beets, salt, water (optional add-ins: garlic, dill, bay leaf, peppercorns, ginger)
📖 Dietary Info: Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, naturally probiotic
⭐ Why You’ll Love It: These fermented beets are crisp, tangy, and beginner-friendly, made with a simple 2% brine and just a few ingredients. Customize with spices or sip the leftover brine as beet kvass for an extra probiotic boost.
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Beets aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but they sure are mine! I buy huge bags of beets for making smoothies and borscht – fermenting beets is the perfect way to preserve my leftovers and make them even healthier! – Steph
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: Made with just beets, salt, and water—no starter cultures or special equipment needed.
- Easy to Customize: Keep it classic or spice it up with add-ins like garlic, dill, ginger, peppercorns, or bay leaves.
- Bonus Beet Kvass: The fermented liquid is rich in flavor and probiotics—sip it straight or use it as a tangy tonic for smoothies.
- Beginner-Friendly: A great first ferment with straightforward steps and forgiving fermentation timing.
Fermented beets are an easy and delicious way to get started with vegetable fermentation. If you’ve already tried lacto fermented carrots or made a batch of homemade sauerkraut, you’ll find the process very familiar—simple ingredients, a salt brine, and a little patience. Fermented beets add a slightly sweet, earthy flavor and are a great way to round out your rotation of gut-friendly fermented vegetables.
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Key Ingredients
Precise measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Beets: Use fresh, raw beets—peeled and diced or sliced into 1/4″ pieces.
- Salt:Use non-iodized sea or kosher salt for proper fermentation. I use Redmond Real Salt for fermenting as it’s an unrefined mineral salt with no caking agents or additives.
- Water: Filtered, chlorine-free water to support beneficial bacteria is best.
What Does “Lacto-Fermented” Mean?
- Natural Fermentation Process: Lacto-fermentation is a method where beneficial bacteria naturally present on vegetables convert sugars into lactic acid.
- No Dairy Involved: The term “lacto” refers to lactic acid, not milk—lacto-fermented foods are completely dairy-free.
- Preserves & Protects: Lactic acid lowers the pH, helping preserve vegetables while preventing harmful bacteria from growing.
- Rich in Probiotics: This process creates live beneficial bacteria that support gut health, digestion, and nutrient absorption (source).
Step-By-Step Instructions for Fermenting Beets
Step 1 – Prep the beets: Peel (optional) and cut into sticks, slices, or ¼-inch cubes
Using a vegetable chopper is quick and ensures uniform pieces.
Step 2 – Pack the jar: Add beets to a clean quart jar, leaving 1–2 inches of headspace.
Step 3: Add optional flavorings (garlic, dill, peppercorns, bay leaf).
Step 4 – Make 2% brine: Dissolve 2 teaspoons salt in 2 cups warm water and pour into jar to submerge beets.
Step 5 – Add weight: Add a fermentation weight or clean, small stone to the jar to weigh down the beets.
Step 6 – Seal & ferment: Cover with an airlock lid or a loose lid. Ferment at room temp (65–75°F) for 7–14 days, “burping” daily if using a tight lid.
Fermented Beets FAQs
No, a fermentation weight is not required for fermented beets, but it is highly recommended. A weight helps keep the beets fully submerged in brine, which reduces the risk of mold and leads to more consistent fermentation results. You can use a small, clean stone if you don’t have a weight.
Fermented beets typically take 7–14 days at room temperature (65–75°F). You can start tasting after one week and refrigerate once they reach your preferred level of tanginess.
Fermented beets are best made with a 2% brine, which equals 20 grams of salt per 1 liter of water, or 1 teaspoon salt per cup of water. This ratio creates the ideal environment for safe lacto-fermentation.
Yes, fermented beets must stay completely submerged under the brine to prevent mold and unwanted bacteria. Using a fermentation weight or similar method helps keep them below the surface.
Yes, the liquid from fermented beets can be consumed as beet kvass. It is tangy, flavorful, and contains beneficial fermentation byproducts.
Expert Tips
- 🧂 Use the Right Brine: A 2% salt brine (20 g salt per 1 liter water) creates the safest environment for fermenting beets.
- 🔪 Cut for Crunch: Slice or cube beets evenly, but avoid cutting them too small—larger pieces stay firmer during fermentation.
- 🌊 Submerge Completely: Keep beets fully under the brine at all times to prevent mold and surface yeast.
- ⚖️ Weights Make It Easier: A fermentation weight isn’t required, but it greatly reduces the risk of floating pieces and spoilage.
- 🌿 Flavor Strategically: Add garlic, dill, bay leaf, ginger, or peppercorns for flavor without overpowering the beets.
- 👀 Watch the Ferment: Bubbles and cloudy brine are normal; fuzzy or colorful mold is not—discard if it smells rotten.
- ❄️ Slow It Down: Once the beets are tangy enough (usually 7–14 days), refrigerate to slow fermentation and preserve texture.
Storage
When to Refrigerate: After fermenting for 7–14 days (or once the beets are tangy to your liking), transfer to the refrigerator to slow fermentation.
Keep Submerged: Always keep beets fully covered by brine to maintain quality and prevent spoilage.
Shelf Life: Properly stored in the fridge, fermented beets will keep well for several months.
Serving Tip: Use clean utensils when serving to avoid introducing unwanted bacteria.
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐ 5-star ⭐ rating below! If you have questions or suggestions – drop a comment!
Fermented Beets
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Prep beets: Wash, peel (optional), and cut into slices, sticks, or ¼-inch cubes.
- Pack jar: Add beets and any optional add-ins to a clean quart jar, leaving 1–2 inches of headspace.
- Make brine: Dissolve 2 teaspoons salt in 2 cups water (2% brine).
- Pour & submerge: Cover beets completely with brine. Add a weight to keep everything submerged.
- Ferment: Cover loosely and ferment at room temperature for 7–14 days, burping daily if needed.
- Store: When tangy to your liking, refrigerate with beets fully submerged.
Nutrition
Notes
- Salt Ratio: Use a 2% brine (20 g salt per 1 liter water). For this recipe, that equals 2 tsp salt per 2 cups water.
- Submersion Matters: Keep beets fully submerged under brine at all times to prevent mold.
- Fermentation Time: Ferment at room temperature (65–75°F) for 7–14 days. Start tasting after 1 week.
- What’s Normal: Bubbles, cloudy brine, and a tangy aroma are signs of healthy fermentation; mold is not.
- Storage: Once fermented to your liking, refrigerate with beets submerged in brine. Keeps for several months.
- Flavor Add-Ins: Garlic, dill, bay leaf, peppercorns, mustard seed, or ginger may be added before fermenting.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!About the Author
Welcome to Hopewell Heights, I’m Steph – seasoned sourdough baker, homesteader, homemaker, homeschooling mom of 5, and creator behind this Heritage American food blog. I hope you enjoy my family’s favorite, from-scratch recipes!
Beets aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but they sure are mine! I buy huge bags of beets for making smoothies and borscht – fermenting beets is the perfect way to preserve my leftovers and make them even healthier!