After five years, my family still aren’t fans of fermented foods. Boo. But they are fans of my homemade salsa, bean dip, and pesto — which are all lacto-fermented. What they don’t know won’t hurt ’em! Muahahahaha!!
My husband will happily dip blue corn chips into my lacto-fermented Tex-Mex salsa, claiming that his wife makes the best salsa he’s ever had (although he now knows it’s fermented). My children will dollop globs of my lacto-fermented, nut-free pesto on their gluten-free pasta and gobble it up.
It’s pretty awesome how sneaky we can get with ferments, and when people don’t know there are millions (maybe even billions!) of tiny, healing organisms living in their food, they somehow, magically, enjoy things they would otherwise think are gross.
As I put together this round-up of 50 amazingly healthy and colorful fermented salsas, dips, and spreads, my eyes were opened to all the ways I can add even more beneficial bacteria into our foods… and probably without anyone noticing. 😉
Salsas
Lacto-fermented Hot Sauce
You can make this hot sauce anywhere from mild to inferno depending on your choice of peppers. Via eatingfromthegroundup.com.
Lacto-fermented Peach and Mango Salsa
This is aneasy recipe for a lacto-fermented mango and peach salsa. Via kareniscooking.com.
Strawberry Mango Salsa
A perfect salsa for spooning atop fish. Via thefrickinchicken.blogspot.com.
Fermented Raw Salsa Verde
This is the perfect everyday salsa. Great on just about everything. Via happy-mothering.com.
Fermented Tex-Mex Salsa
A Texas tradition! Via TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
Lacto-fermented Garlicky Salsa
If you love garlic, you’ll love this salsa. If you are not a garlic lover, you can decrease the amount. Via divinehealthfromtheinsideout.com.
Lacto-fermented Green Tomato Salsa
Got green tomatoes? Put them to good use in this healthy, lacto-fermented green tomato salsa packed full of beneficial probiotics and enzymes. Via thankyourbody.com.
Fermented Garden Salsa
This fermented garden salsa was inspired by a recipe at Elawa Farms. It is delicious, nutritious and healing for your gut! Via ohlardy.com.
Yellow Cherry Tomato Salsa
Has your garden outdone itself producing cherry tomatoes? Here is a great way to preserve the harvest. Via littleowlcrunchymomma.blogspot.com.
Tobasco-style, Lacto-fermented Hot Sauce
Make your own Tobasco-style hot sauce with this lacto-fermented recipe. Via homestead-honey.com.
Lacto-fermented Vegetable Salsa
Tangy and refreshing with just a hint of spice — perfect for dipping, adding to salads, and topping tacos. Via blog.culturesforhealth.com.
Nikki’s Roma Fresca
Looking for a delicious recipe for a fresh tomato salsa? Make this lacto-fermented salsa with vegetables from from the garden or found at the farmers market. Dip in your chips or use it to top steaks, chicken, fish or more. Via TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
Lacto-fermented Pineapple Salsa
Lacto-fermented pineapple salsa is great for your gut (probiotics, baby!) and easy to make. Via attainable-sustainable.net.
Lacto-fermented Cherry Salsa
Got cherries? Make cherry salsa! Via nwedible.com.
Fermented Mango Salsa
Easy and delicious plus very versatile. Via fearlesseating.com.
Fermented Cilantro Salsa
Cilantro salsa is delicious and when fermented is a potent food for removing heavy metals from the body. Via thehealthyhomeeconomist.com.
Hot and Spicy Fermented Salsa
Hot and Spicy Fermented Salsa will add excitement to your party and make your guests say “WOW”. This method using a secret ingredient will get you hooked. Via fermentedfoodlab.com.
Rhubarb Salsa
This salsa is scrumptious.Tart, spicy, sweet, and addictive. Via TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
Fermented Hot Chili Sauce
Fermented hot chili sauce recipe featuring Scotch bonnets, garlic, and unrefined sea salt. Simple to make. Via nourishedkitchen.com.
Busy Moms’ Fabulous Fermented Salsa
This salsa is terrific with homemade tortilla chips and as a delicious addition to your favorite Mexican-inspired recipes. Via thenourishinghome.com.
Watermelon Salsa
This is a surprisingly refreshing salsa. You gotta try it! Via lisascounterculture.com.
Spreads
Pumpkin Seed Pate with Jalapeno Pickles
Is it a dip? A pate? It’s a spread made of pumpkin seeds, onion, fresh coriander and pickledjalapeños. Yum! Via kitchencounterculture121.wordpress.com.
Preserved Herbs + Mexican Cilantro Pesto
These fermented herbs have a wonderful fresh taste, much like using the herbs fresh from the garden themselves. Via picklemetoo.com.
Fermented Garlic Scape Paste
This fermented garlic scape paste recipe is a little sweet, a little sour, and very delicious. Via motherearthnews.com.
Nut-free Fermented Pesto
Ahhhh, pesto. It’s so simple, yet adds such complexity to hot or cold dishes. It has so few ingredients and takes so little time to make. In the case of this pesto, it’s nut-free and also packs a powerful probiotic punch. Via TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
Lacto-fermented Thai Basil Pesto
This fermented thai basil pesto recipe has a unique flavor. Easy to make and tastes wonderful on eggs, sandwiches, pasta and more. Via deliciousobsessions.com.
Cultured and Flavored Cream Cheese
Learn to make your own homemade flavored cream cheese, and you’ll never buy another tub again. Sure, the grocery store flavors taste good — but these taste fabulous (and are healthier). Via TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
5-Minute Cashew Cream Cheese
This cheese takes only 5 minutes to whip up. You do need to let it ferment for about 18 hours — but that’s no work for you. 🙂 Via thespunkycoconut.com.
Cultured Raspberry Preserves
This is about as easy as it gets. Try boysenberries or blackberries if you’re feeling adventurous. Mix in yogurt or serve over pancakes. Via mommypotamus.com.
Lacto-Fermented Blueberry Jam
A zesty change from traditional sweet berry jams. Via culturesforhealth.com.
Fermented Vegetable Pate
This raw vegetable pate is a great way to use up garden veggies. Via thefermentedfoody.com.
Fermented Berry Sauce
This fermented fruit sauce is different from the familiar applesauce because it is raw, never cooked, and imbued with a starter culture which adds enzymes and probiotics. Via healthimpactnews.com.
Cultured Butter
Culturing raw milk and turning it into butter means super, duper good butter. Via TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
Large Batch Cultured Butter
Make butter less often. Big batches equal less work. Via nourishingdays.com.
Chia Kombucha Blender Jam
Whip up a batch of fresh berry jam in minutes. Plus it’s healthy, organic, and probiotic — with very little sweetener and no sugar! Via realfoodrn.com.
Fermented Elderberry
You can use fresh or dried elderberries for this recipe. Raw honey is rich in yeast and bacteria that will get the ferment going. Via picklemetoo.com.
Cultured Coconut Cream Cheese
Optional add-ins allow you to customize this into whatever taste you’d like. Play around and have fun, give your cream cheese a little flavor, make it your own. Via paleoparents.com.
Blossom Cheese
Here you are: the easiest cheese to make, requiring little working time and effort. Via TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
Dips
Lacto-fermented Bean Dip
Pictures of bean dip just don’t adequately convey the full tangy, garlicky allure of this dip. One scoop of it on your favorite chip or veggie and you’ll quickly come back for more. Via cookiebakerlynn.blogspot.com.
Lacto-fermented Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Hummus is a beautiful food! It’s a favorite dip — because ofits delicious flavor and versatility. Via TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
Lacto-fermented Sprouted Hummus
Sprouted and fermented hummus. Free of grain, gluten, eggs, and refined sugar. Via raiasrecipes.com.
5-Minute Probiotic Hummus
This is such a simple dip to prepare, and can take on so many flavors. Via realfoodrn.com.
Homemade Horseradish
Homemade horseradish is potently rich and intensely flavored: a beautiful condiment that’s easy to prepare with vinegar or, in this horseradish recipe, fermentation. Via nourishedkitchen.com.
Probiotic Avocado Dip
Bring this tangy avocado dip to your next party and everyone will love you. Yogurt cheese for probiotics, healthy fats, super kid-friendly, and a perfect dip for veggies. Via kitchenstewardship.com.
Creamy Probiotic Vegetable Dip
This dip gets it’s creamy goodness from kefir, cream, and avocado.It’s good on all sorts of vegetables! Via thepolivkafamily.com.
Probiotic Walnut Dip
This is a hearty dip with flavors that are bright and sharp. Via freshbitesdaily.com.
Lacto-fermented Guacamole
Want to make your guacamole just that much better for you? Lacto-ferment it! Via TraditionalCookingSchool.com.
If you’re one of those people who can feed loads of cultured foods to your family without complaint, I want to be you when I grow up. If, until today, you haven’t made it past yogurt, maybe these yummy salsas, dips, and spreads will help you across the proverbial fermenting hurdles. (Also, check out these great fermematation vessels.) I’m looking forward to trying out a few myself!
What are your favorite fermented salsas, dips, and spreads? Does your family enjoy them?
This post was featured in 82 Ways To Heal Your Gut.
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