How to Make Easy Fermented Carrots
Making fermented carrots is incredibly easy! It takes a few simple ingredients and about five minutes to make.

What is Fermentation?
Fermentation happens when all the microorganisms on fruits and vegetables are used to extend and preserve the shelf life and nutrients of a food.
Fresh vegetables (and fruits) have good bacteria and bad bacteria on them. Most harmful bacteria require oxygen to survive.
Thankfully, lactic-acid bacteria, the beneficial bacteria, are anaerobic. This means they can survive without oxygen.
By covering fruits and vegetables in a liquid, either made of their own juices or a salt brine, the bad bacteria are all killed off and the good bacteria thrive. Any bad bacteria that isn’t taken out by lack of oxygen, the salt in the recipe will destroy it.
This recipe calls for a specific type of fermentation called “Brine Pickling”. This means we will be creating a brine of salt and water to cover our vegetables.
What is Lacto-Fermentation?
Even though it sounds like this involves dairy, it doesn’t at all. Lacto-fermentation is called that because of the lactic acid that is produced by a particular bacteria called lactobacillus. This bacteria is the hero of fermentation!
What is Salt Brining?
For fruits and vegetables that haven’t been shredded or smooshed up enough to create their own juices, we have to make a brine for them. This brine will drown out the bad bacteria.
The salt water will dehydrate the vegetables of their own water and replace it with itself. This helps the vegetables to stay crisp and not get mushy.
You want to use the right amount of salt. Not enough and you’ll get a mushy result. Too much salt and it will be slow to ferment, might hollow out, and might be too firm of a texture.
Why Do We Eat Fermented Foods?
Fermented foods are a great way to support a healthy immune system. All the beneficial bacteria that is preserved within the ferments helps to feed your own microbiome, improving gut health and providing nutritionally dense food.
They can be a great addition to your snack rotation, included on your charcuteuterie board, or added to your dinner plate.
Ingredients for Fermented Carrots
- 1, 1lb bag of Baby Carrots or 1 lb of whole carrots cut into sticks
- Kosher Salt or Sea Salt (do not use table salt)
- Sugar
- Water
Supplies to Make Lacto-Fermented Carrots
- 1 Quart Jar (Wide or regular mouth)
- Collander
- Pickle Pebble (Optional-I like these glass fermentation weights)
- Pickle Pipe (Optional)
- Small Plate for the jar to sit on
- Half gallon jar or mixing bowl to make the brine

How to Make Easy Fermented Carrots
Prep the Carrots
Start by rinsing the carrots in the sink. If you are using full sized carrots, after rinsing them you will want to slice them into carrot sticks. Trim off the top where the greens would have grown out. I’d also advise trimming the very end if it is particularly thin.
Fill a quart jar with water up to the bottom of the neck. Use room temperature, filtered water if you have it. Tap water will work fine, but you will get better results if it is free of cholorines and fluorides. This is equal to four cups of water.
Make the Brine
To this jar, add 2 Tablespoons salt and 1/2 Tablespoon sugar. Mix in the jar until all the sugar and salt is fully dissolved. This is your brine. The sugar is optional, but I find even this little amount really enhances the natural sugars and sweetness in the carrots.
Next, fill the jar with carrots. When using baby carrots I like to drop them in the jar with out much order. The one pound bag will fit in there perfectly.
If you are using sliced sticks, pack them into the jar tightly, going straight up and down. This can be in one layer only if the carrots reach to the shoulder of the jar. If the carrot sticks are shorter, you can pack them in two layers.

Pour the brine over the carrots. It should cover them completely.
If you packed them in tightly, you won’t need to weigh them down with anything.
If you tossed them in like I usually do, you’ll need to weigh the carrots down with something like a pickle pebble or another type of fermenting weight.
The liquid should cover the carrots but not come all the way to the top of the jar.
You will have a few cups of leftover brine. Cap the brine and store it in the fridge for up to one week.
Next, cover the ferment. This can be with a pickle pipe (a type of fermentation lid), a paper towel, etc. Then use a canning ring to secure the pickle pipe or paper towel.
Place your carrots on a small plate or baking sheet to catch any bubble over. Let them ferment somewhere out of direct sunlight but also somewhere you can easily keep an eye on them.
Ferment
Allow the carrots to ferment for seven to fourteen days. You will notice bubbles going up the side and the liquid will start to look a little cloudy. If the brine level starts to drop too low (remember, the carrots need to stay covered) you can add in some of the brine you have in the fridge.
After a week if the fermentation starts to slow, you can start to taste test the carrots. Pull one out and give it a try! If you’d like it to get tangier, let it go another day or two.
After you like the taste, place them in the fridge for a day with their fermentation top/pickle pipe still on. Leave it this way for one or two days until the cooling has helped to slow fermentation.
Store the carrots in the fridge for up to one year. Though I really doubt this delicious snack will last that long!
Troubleshooting
The only issue I’ve ever had with carrots is the occasional appearance of kahm yeast. This is sort of a white film that can appear on the top of liquid. Kahm yeast is harmless, and you can scoop it away with a spoon.
If you do see any dark mold, fuzzy mold, pink mold, or something that smells funky, toss the batch and start over. That is one of the nice things when you ferment carrots, it isn’t too expensive to scrap a batch and start over if you need to.
So long as you start with a clean jar you shouldn’t have any problems.
Variations on Fermented Carrots
You can have a lot of fun adding in different spices or even additional ingredients. For herbs, start with a teaspoon and see how you like the flavor.
- Daikon Radish Sticks
- Kohlrabi Sticks
- Fresh Dill (or dried)
- Coriander Seeds
- Mustard Seeds
- Rosemary Sprig
- Thyme Sprig
