Spring is in the air! And this Lacto-Fermented Salsa recipe will surely get you in the mood for fresh flavors and warm get-togethers. This recipe is one of my favorites, as it requires very little prep work and it’s packed with a probiotic-kick to keep your gut healthy. Put on top of your favorite Mexican and Spanish dishes, add to scrambled eggs, dip veggies or chips into it – whatever any other salsa can do, this salsa can do better.
Did I mention you can whip this together quickly, ferment it (find out what that means here), and then store in the fridge or freezer for 3 to 4 months? Plus, you only need a few ingredients and I promise you won’t be chopping until your wrists hurt. Let’s make some delicious fermented salsa!
Lacto-Fermented Rustic Salsa
Equipment
Food Processor (here’s what I use)
Large Glass Bowl
Mason Jars or Ferment Jars
The Players
6 medium organic tomatoes, halved
1 large organic onion, peeled and halved
4 organic sweet bell peppers; stem, pith, and seeds removed
4 organic cloves of organic garlic, peeled
1 (to 2) small organic jalapenos (depending on how hot you like it), stem and seeds removed (optional)
2 teaspoons sea salt (where to buy sea salt)
4 tablespoons liquid whey or Veggie Starter Culture (where to buy starters)
filtered water, if needed (see what water purifiers I recommend)
The How-To
1. Get your food processor ready with the regular blade attachment. Process the tomatoes first, blending until the juices release and the tomato chunks are at your desired size (I love small bits, but you can always go bigger). Transfer to the glass bowl.
2. Repeat the same process as with the tomatoes with the onion, bell peppers, garlic, and jalapenos. Transfer all ingredients to the glass bowl, add the sea salt and liquid whey. Mix well until everything is evenly distributed.
3. Distribute the prepped salsa equally between two one-quart mason jars. Be sure that the salsa is covered with the salsa liquid by at least 1 inch, if it is not and there is not enough liquid, add filtered water as needed. Allow to ferment on the counter for 2 to 3 days and then transfer to your refrigerator. Now your lacto-fermented salsa is ready to eat. Enjoy!
Need an Easy Guide to Get Started Fermenting Foods?
I’ve created a nifty, print-friendly, easy-to-follow collection of 7 naturally probiotic recipes your kids (and you!) will love.
Where to Buy Fermentation Airlocks & Vessels
If you want to find wide mouth jars with airlocks already installed for fermentation, fermentation airlock lids you can use to top your own wide mouth mason jars, and fermentation crocks, check out the listings here.
 |
We make our own saur kraut. Can we use juice from this instead of the whey?
Absolutely! You can also use commercially available vegetable starter cultures, like the ones I recommend here: https://www.foodrenegade.com/real-food-resources/#starters
Awesome – we’ll try it and report back. One more question: kraut takes longer than two days (even a small jar ferments for a couple of weeks) – why is the time so short for this Salsa recipe?
Ashley Bourke
How does it taste compared to non-fermented salsa? I love the idea of fermented foods- I make kombucha, jun, my own yogurts and such. I’d like to incorporate more ferments into my diet, but I’m ridiculously picky about veggie textures and flavors and I’m afraid to make a batch of fermenty veg and be disgusted.
It tastes the same, maybe it has a bit more bite. Basically, you’re fermenting it to get the sour zing that you’d otherwise get from lemon/lime juice.
Thank you for the great recipe! Can’t wait to try it out. My family loves salsa and fermented is even better.
Fermented
Just curious what the impact of freezing is on the beneficial bacteria? Are they destroyed by the process, or do they just go dormant?
Lactic-acid producing bacteria will just go dormant.
I have some frozen tomatoes & peppers in my freezer from last year’s harvest. Think they would be OK to use in a recipe like this or would I be better off doing a cooked salsa recipe? And if I do a cooked salsa recipe, do you think I can then lacto-ferment it?
Do you cover mason jars with the lids or open ferment with a piece of cloth or coffee filter and rubber band?
Thank you for the recipe. Iam going to try it. One question. Does it have to be stored in the fridge or can I store in my cool basement.
I am delighted with my first lacto-fermented salsa, it is delicious! I used less sweet peppers and added some spices. it was so easy and much healthier than store bought. Thanks for posting,
So good to learn something new and healthy every day! Thanks.
I tried to ferment salsa, it was awful and I ferment a lot of things.
Brooke
samantha stanton
Hi I am doing Gerson therapy. No sodium ! Looking for probiotic foods no salt. Any ideas?
May have worms candida or both. Any remedies?
Thank you. Rama
I have a question about why people keep recomending whey for a vegitable starter. Whey is definitely a good starter but contains milk type cultures. Vegetable Cultures are a completly diferent strain.
Now when it comes to using a little juice from a 4 week old culture, this is a different strain then a 3 day old ferment. While it will work the outcome might even taste close, it will play havoc on the natural fermentation cycle.
I make fermented hot sauce, and dill pickles. would a longer fermentation time be better? I would think that the only downside would be the salsa would all become uniform so it would be more of a paste instead of having crunchy bits of peppers and onion.
I like this recipe and want to try it. It’ simple enough for even me. Just one question: what about Cilantro? I’ve always used it in regular salsa and nothing compares with the flavor, or the health benefits. What do you think?
can you just use salt to ferment? have no access to fresh whey and no time to order any
Just stopped by for the first time. Will be trying the Lacto-fermented Rustic Salsa first. Many other recipes look awesome.