Fermented cabbage, beet and carrots (rainbow sauerkraut recipe) (2024)

I love playing around with different ferments. My family thinks it’s weird but that’s okay. I have a slaw recipe that I learned from a friend from Kenya and I wondered what it would taste like as lacto-fermented sauerkraut. It’s tastes great.

My family isn’t big slaw or sauerkraut. When I make this slaw I have to be careful to only make what I can eat in a few days. But since it ferments just fine I can make a bigger batch and keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. It might last longer than that but I go through the batch in just a couple of weeks.

We call it rainbow kraut since it’s not really sauerkraut. It’s fermented cabbage, both green and red cabbage, with shredded carrots and beets with a bit of chopped apple. Be careful not to put a lot of apple since the sugar in the apple can ferment faster than the vegetables.

I’m not going to give exact measurements because I don’t want you having to grate two and a half carrots to the get measurement that I got from two carrots. Your sauerkraut will turn out just fine without the exact measurements. It’s how people cooked for thousands of years.

I like to shred the cabbages first

Then chop them. This really helps to get pretty small pieces.

I put everything in a large bowl and salt it. I weigh the bowl first and adjust the scale back to zero (with the bowl on it) then I weigh the bowl when it is full. I use 2 tsp salt for every pound of sauerkraut.

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Then I use my hands to mix it all together, crushing some of the vegetables as I mix. I cover it with a towel and let it sit for a couple of hours.

After a couple of hours, I put it in wide mouth canning jars, press it down to make sure there is liquid coming up over the kraut, put the fermenting lids on and set them in a cool dark place for 5-7 days. I really like the Easy Fermenter lids, but also have the Fermentools lids and they also work well as long as no one bumps the airlock.

When they’re done fermenting, I store replace the lids with plastic mason jar lids and store them in the refrigerator.

If you’re new to making and eating fermented foods you’ll want to just eat a few spoonfuls a day at first. The bacteria in homemade fermented sauerkraut is very good for your gut, but too much at once can lead to some temporary tummy issues.

The Herbal Academy has a fantastic fermentation course available. You can learn how to make mead, herbal beer and wine, water kefir, and fermented foods.

I have a set of worksheets I print each year to keep track of what I’ve preserved. You can get the worksheets emailed to you by filling out the form below.

Here are some other sauerkraut recipes and ways to incorporate sauerkraut into your meals.

Sauerkraut with Fennel and Caraway Seeds from Nitty Gritty Life

Eat Sauerkraut With Pork from Learning and Yearning

10 Ways to Use Sauerkraut from Homespun Seasonal Living

How to Store and Care for Vegetable Ferments by Homestead Honey

The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables

If you you’re looking for more preserving inspiration, I know you’ll love The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables. In this book I share how to can, dehydrate, freeze and ferment almost every vegetable. I also share 100 favorite recipes for preserving the vegetables in fun way that will save you time and money later. Get your copy here. Get your copy here.

What have you been fermenting?