Have you ever had a shawarma or falafel plate with those delicious purple pickles? They are actually fermented turnip pickles. Making homemade lacto fermented pickled turnips is so quick and easy.
They are a perfect condiment for adding a bit of pizzazz to all sorts of dishes:
Fermented Turnip Pickles

Looking for a classic fermented turnip pickle that is perfect for shawarma or falafels? This quick and simple recipe is delicious and probiotic! The bright pink colour comes from the addition of beets.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 quart jar 1x
- Category: Pickles
- Method: Fermented
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients
- 2 cups of turnips (about 5 small or 3 large)
- 1 small beet
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt (non-iodized)
- 1/4 cup starter (see notes)
- 2 cups filtered water, to cover (chlorine free)
Instructions
- Peel the turnips and beet and cut into thin, bite-sized sticks. If you are using fresh, young turnips and beets, then they don’t need to be peeled.
- Pack the vegetables, garlic and bay into a sterilized quart jar.
- Dissolve the salt in 1/2 cup of water, pour over the vegetables with the starter. Add more water to make sure the vegetables are covered.
- Use a weight to keep the vegetables submerged, top with a lid, and allow to ferment somewhere cool for 1 week.
- Store in the fridge and consume within 1 month.
Notes
- If you are using fresh, organic vegetables then you don’t need a starter. Otherwise, use kefir whey, sauerkraut juice or a purchased vegetable starter (affiliate link) to kick start this ferment.
- In the spring you can find fresh, little salad turnips, which don’t need to be peeled. However, storage turnips have a thick skin that needs to be removed.
- Turnips really like to float, so use a well-fitted weight
to keep them below the brine, even if you are using a fido jar (affiliate link.)
Keywords: pink, turnip pickles, gyro, shawarma, falafel, Turkish, Greek, Lebanese, spring, summer, fall, probiotic
I love these. They are super quick to whip up, and I attest hard to screw up. I’ve had them ready in as short as 5 days, and had wonderful falafel plates.
★★★★★
Great!