How to Make Lacto Fermented Grated Zucchini Recipe

Fermented grated zucchini kraut gives a delicious, tangy flavour plus it’s such an easy recipe! It’s the perfect gut healthy way to use up a lot of zucchini of any size up from the garden, plus it will keep for a while in the fridge this way.

Lacto fermented grated zucchini kraut is a mouthwatering, tangy way to enjoy this summer squash as a relish-like ferment on burgers, hot dogs or sandwiches and simply as a side! Find out how to make this easy lacto fermented zucchii kraut!

Can you ferment zucchini & is it good?

Yes! And it’s absolutely delicious with a tangy, sour, relish like flavour, using up tons of zucchini from the garden!

*In a hurry? Pin for later!

What to do with zucchini from the garden, that uses up lots of zucchini!

Zucchini is such a great producing summer squash, which leaves gardeners all wondering the same question. What to do with all this zucchini from the garden?! Especially those zucchini that got to big…?

I’ve tried many amazing zucchini recipes over the years, however they never used up quite enough zucchini to keep up. This summer at a friend’s we discovered fermented zucchini kraut! Not only does this recipe use up piles of zucchini of any size, like other gut healthy ferments it stores in the fridge into the winter, (if you can manage to not eat it up by then).

Another mouthwatering discovery we made about lacto fermented grated zucchini this summer is that paired with the right herbs it tastes like a tangy almost like a relish ferment. We thoroughly enjoyed them on out favourite garden veggie burgers this summer!

It’s such a quick and easy recipe that uses so much zucchini that I plan to make this tangy grated zucchini ferment kraut recipe every summer!

Ingredients for fermented zucchini

• zucchini (any colour or size will work, yellow is our favouite)
• fresh dill
• fresh garlic cloves
• Salt – Himalayan salt or Celtic or Redmonds

Tools You May Need for Fermented Zucchini

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

• food processor or grater
• large bowl
• mesh strainer
• favourite knife
• cutting board
• measuring spoons
• wide mouth mason jar
• fermenting weight or cabbage leaf
• fermenting lid or plastic mason jar lid
• spoon for scooping out zucchini seeds if you’re using a very large zucchini
• glass dish to catch any overflow
• pounder/tamper (the Vitamix tamper stick works quite well or you can simply use your hands)

Zucchini – Summer Squash

Have you ever wondered what to do with zucchini, especially those big zucchini that got away on you? You’re searing to find out what recipe uses lots of zucchini? Fermented grated zucchini is absolutely the answer!

Not only is shredded zucchini ferments taste tangy and delicious, they also add that probiotic boost you need for proper digestion.

Fermented foods, such as zucchini kraut, sauerkraut, fermented pickles, even sourdough bread and many more are so gut healthy because the process of making them naturally produces probiotics, the beneficial bacteria that also preserves your fermented foods longer. It’s a win win, longer food storage at fridge temperatures as well as a natural food probiotic!

These probiotics, like lactobacilli bacteria, help to improve the delicate gut microbiome balance, which leads to better digestion and overall gut health.

Lactobacillus bacteria can even help with digestion, prevent infections, and regulate the immune system. Most people don’t know, but up to 70% of your immunity is in your gut! So what we eat does matter for better immunity and overall health.

Instructions: How to make Fermented Grated Zucchini

Make fermented grated zucchini kraut is really quite easy and very similar to fermenting cabbage to make sauerkraut.

First rinse off any dirt on the zucchini. Cut the ends off and slice it into pieces that will fit through your food processor.

Using the shredding feature on the food processor, grate the zucchini until it is full. If you’re grating the zucchini by hand make sure to use the largest grating option.

Dump the grated zucchini into a mixing bowl.

Then measure out the Himalayan salt and pour on top of the grated zucchini. About 1 Tablespoon of salt per medium-large zucchini. Similar to sauerkraut where for one pound of cabbage (one medium-large cabbage) needs 1 Tablespoon of salt.

Make sure you use real salt, as table salt is stripped of it’s minerals and doesn’t work as well. Find out the reasons not all salt is created equal in this post.

Using a cabbage pounder (I used my Vitamix tamper stick) or your hands begin massaging the salt into the zucchini, squeezing and pushing on the zucchini to work the salt in. This may take several minutes.

After the zucchini has begun to sweat and you see liquid forming at the bottom of the bowl, then let it rest while you prepare your jar.

Prepare your jar by taking a clean wide mouth quart mason jar fill it with a couple sprigs of fresh dill and a couple cloves of freshly pealed garlic. This is our favourite combination of flavours however don’t be afraid to experiment with flavours in pint jars.

You can also use a two quart (gallon) mason jar, just remember to at least double the amount of fresh dill and garlic.

Begin squeezing out the extra brine as zucchini has a lot of liquid in it. Take a mesh strainer, place it on top of the bowl, scoop grated zucchini into it and using your hand squeeze out excess brine. Start packing this squeezed zucchini into your prepared jar.

Pack zucchini tightly into a jar, pushing down with hand or a stomper – the tighter the better, and fill the jar completely. Press down vigorously, you don’t want air gaps as that can lead to mold.

Add a weight to the top of the zucchini, making sure that the liquid created by the zucchini is covering the top of the vegetable. If you have a cabbage leaf on hand you can put this down first and then the fermenting weight. This helps avoid any of the zucchini from coming in contact with the air by floating on top as this can cause mold.

If the brine is not covering the zucchini, add enough extra brine to barely cover the zucchini. Cover with a fermenting lid, or loose storage lid, (a plastic lid is nice as no rust will form).

Set your fermenting jar into a casserole dish or Pyrex container to catch any runoff.

Ferment at 60-70°F (15-21°C) temperature in a dark place for about 2-7 days, or until the zucchini flavour is pleasantly sour and not salty or only slightly. Make sure to check daily for leakage and burp unless you are using a specialty lid.

Now you can transfer the fermented zucchini to the refrigerator for long-term storage to enjoy whenever you’d like! Alternatively, if you have a root cellar or a cold room you could store it there for a couple months.

Variations of Fermented Grated Zucchini Flavours

Something to keep in mind is that zucchini really takes on the flavours it’s paired with, so it’s up to you to come up with your favourite punch of flavours. You may want to experiment with making smaller batches in pint jars to see what your family’s favourites are.

You can use different kinds of smooth zucchini, like green, however we like yellow zucchini the best. It just looks more appealing and seems to have a slightly better flavour.

Switch up the herbs: use fresh oregano, thyme, or rosemary all taste lovely.

Add a veggie: use fresh veggies like sliced sweet peppers, slivered onions or go spicy with cayenne pepper or horseradish.

Ferments are fun because you can experiment with the flavours by using what you have on hand or in your garden! You’ll come up with some smashing flavours I’m sure.

Tips: Grated Zucchini Ferment

Did you make this recipe AND LOVE IT…?

I would be grateful if you could come back and give it 5 stars, let others know what you’ve discovered!

Continue to Content

Fermented Grated Zucchini

Yield: 1 Quart

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Fermented grated zucchini kraut gives a delicious, tangy flavour plus it's such an easy recipe! It's the perfect gut healthy way to use up a lot of zucchini of any size up from the garden, plus it will keep for a while in the fridge this way.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 medium Zucchini (yellow or green)
• 1 TBSP Himalayan salt
• 1 sprig of fresh dill
• 2 cloves fresh garlic

Instructions

1. Rinse off any dirt on the zucchini, cut the ends off and slice it into pieces that will fit through your food processor.
2. Using the shredding feature on the food processor, grate the zucchini until it is full.
3. Dump the grated zucchini into a mixing bowl. Then measure out the Himalayan salt and pour on top of the grated zucchini. About 1 Tablespoon of salt per medium-large zucchini.
4. Using a cabbage pounder or your hands begin massaging the salt into the zucchini, squeezing and pushing on the zucchini to work the salt in. This may take several minutes.
5. After the zucchini has begun to sweat and you see liquid forming at the bottom of the bowl, then let it rest while you prepare your jar.
6. Prepare your jar by taking a clean wide mouth quart mason jar fill it with a couple sprigs of fresh dill and a couple cloves of freshly pealed garlic.
7. Take a mesh strainer, place it on top of the bowl, scoop grated zucchini into it and using your hand squeeze out excess brine. Start packing this squeezed zucchini into your prepared jar.
8. Pack zucchini tightly into a jar, pushing down with hand or a stomper - the tighter the better, and fill the jar completely. Press down vigorously.
9. Add a weight to the top of the zucchini, making sure that the liquid brine created by the zucchini is covering the top of the vegetable.
10. If the brine is not covering the zucchini, add enough extra brine to barely cover the zucchini.
11. Cover with a fermenting lid or loose storage lid.
12. Set your fermenting jar into a casserole dish or Pyrex container to catch any runoff.
13. Ferment at 60-70°F (15-21°C) temperature in a dark place for about 2-7 days, or until the zucchini flavour is pleasantly sour and not salty or only slightly. Make sure to check daily for leakage and burp unless you are using a specialty lid.
14. Now you can transfer the fermented zucchini to the refrigerator for long-term storage to enjoy whenever you'd like!

Notes

• If you're grating the zucchini by hand make sure to use the largest grating option.
• About 1 Tablespoon of salt per medium-large zucchini. Similar to sauerkraut where for one pound of cabbage (one medium-large cabbage) needs 1 Tablespoon of salt.
• Make sure you use real salt, as table salt is stripped of it's minerals and doesn't work as well.
• You can also use a two quart (gallon) mason jar, just remember to at least double the amount of fresh dill and garlic. This is our favourite combination of flavours however don't be afraid to experiment with flavours in pint jars.
• Zucchini has a lot of liquid in it compared to cabbage, that is why it's best to squeeze out the excess brine.

• Avoid air gaps and make sure the jar is full to avoid mold. 
• If you have a cabbage leaf on hand you can put this down first and then the fermenting weight. This helps avoid any of the zucchini from coming in contact with the air by floating on top as this can cause mold.
• A plastic mason jar lid is nice as no rust will form, however any lid will work as long as you're burping the jar.
• If you have a root cellar or a cold room you could store the ferments in there for a month or two.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Freebie – Meal Planning Template

Having a system for meal planning is so key to having more bandwidth! I’ve tried many different kinds of meal planning systems and only found one to work, find out all about it in this post!

Snag this FREE Printable: Meal Planning Template

Check Out More!