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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Videos / How to Make Beet Kvass (Recipe + Video)

How to Make Beet Kvass (Recipe + Video)

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links โœ”

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Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Beet Kvass: DIY Liquid Multivitamin!
  • Beet Kvass Recipe+−
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Recipe Video
    • Recipe Notes

Beet kvass is potent, nutrient-rich tonic made by fermenting beets. It is essentially a DIY liquid multivitamin and more effective than taking brands from the store that contain synthetics!

glass mug of homemade beet kvass with a paper straw

One of the most nutritious and health-boosting fermented beverages you can make in your home is beet kvass. Beets are chock full of vitamins and minerals. Fermenting them supercharges nutrient levels even further and enhances absorption potential.

This ancestral tonic is extremely beneficial to those with any sort of digestive complaints.

In addition, beets are highly cleansing, so those with liver issues benefit from consuming beet kvass on a regular basis.

There isnโ€™t another fermented drink that can improve health as rapidly in my personal experience.

Beet Kvass: DIY Liquid Multivitamin!

As a tonic, beet kvass is recommended first thing in the morning and after your evening meal.

Just 4 ounces or so is all you need to sip.

This highly nutritious superfood is far better than taking a multivitamin loaded with synthetic vitamins like folic acid.

Iโ€™m sipping a morning glass of beet kvass as I type this! ย What a great way to start the day and rev up your digestion each morning!

The recipe below was adapted fromย Nourishing Traditions Cookbook.

Most people make kvass with red beets. For a slightly sweeter and less earthy flavor, try making golden beet kvass.

If you find the results a bit salty, reduce the sea salt in the recipe to your liking.

How to Make Beet Kvass (Recipe + Video How-to)
4.5 from 12 votes
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Beet Kvass Recipe

Traditional beet kvass recipe that is an unbeatable morning and evening tonic for rapidly boosting health.

Course Drinks
Cuisine Russian
Keyword traditional
Prep Time 10 minutes
Fermentation time 2 days
Servings 1 quart
Calories 10 kcal
Author Sarah Pope

Ingredients

  • 1-2 beets (1 large or 2 medium) preferably organic, tops removed
  • filtered water
  • 2 Tbl liquid whey
  • 1/2 Tbl sea salt

Instructions

  1. Wash beets thoroughly and slice into chunks no smaller than about 1/2 inch across. Feel free to peel the beets if desired; doing so reduces chances for mold on the ferment.

  2. Put beet chunks into a clean, one-quart mason jar. Add whey, sea salt, and enough filtered water to fill all but 1 inch from the top of the jar. Stir and mix well. Close the lid and leave on the kitchen counter for 1-2 days. Try to keep it away from the fruit bowl to discourage the growth of mold.

  3. Drink as desired and refrigerate once the fermentation period is complete. A 4 ounce glass morning and evening is recommended.

  4. When an inch or so of beet kvass liquid is left in the jar, refill with more filtered water, stir, and close the lid again and leave on the counter for 2 days more. Refrigerate fresh batch of beet kvass and drink as desired.

  5. When all the liquid is used up from the second batch, discard or compost the beets and start the process again.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

If the beet kvass is too salty for you, feel free to reduce the salt to 1/4 tablespoon for your next batch.ย 

White fuzzy bubbles forming on the top of the liquid is normal and fine as the fermentation progresses.

ย 

Nutrition Facts
Beet Kvass Recipe
Amount Per Serving (2 ounces)
Calories 10
% Daily Value*
Sodium 300mg13%
Potassium 60mg2%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Sugar 1g1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

More Fermented Drink Recipes to Enjoy

How to Make Fermented Lemonade
Orangina Recipe (Fermented Orange Juice)
How to Make Kombucha

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Category: Fermented Beverages, Fermented Beverages Videos, Immune support, Videos
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: Amazon #1 bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (196)

  1. Olga

    Apr 24, 2020 at 3:13 pm

    Hi, Sarah! I’m curious about the second batch. You don’t need to add more whey nor salt to it? Thank for all your hard work.

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Apr 24, 2020 at 3:16 pm

      Yes, you add whey and salt … simply redo the batch with the same beets. Sorry for not being clear on that point!

  2. cindy3539

    Sep 17, 2019 at 8:07 pm

    5 stars
    Can 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the first batch of kavass be used in place of the 2 tablespoons of whey when making a new batch of kavass with new beets? I hate to keep buying yogurt to get the whey. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Sep 17, 2019 at 9:35 pm

      I haven’t tried that to know for sure. It might work ok. Please let us know if you try it!

  3. Dorla

    Apr 15, 2019 at 5:17 pm

    Can I use the leftover beets for soup? They should still have nutritional value like fiber, right?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Apr 15, 2019 at 8:11 pm

      Yes, you can use them for soup. They will be pretty tasteless though after the second batch.

  4. Lisa P Fisch

    Mar 23, 2019 at 1:13 am

    Sarah,
    Thank you for revisiting Lindaโ€™s post, February 26, 2016, and addressing the mold and temperature statements that she made. More importantly, within the text, she wrote that longer ferment times are required in order to obtain any pro/pre nutritional value and none would be found in Beet Kvass after two days. Can you speak to this specifically and include the nutritional value in a two-day ferment?
    Lisa

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Mar 23, 2019 at 9:17 am

      You don’t need to go longer htan 2 days to achieve probiotic/enzyme benefits. Fermenting it longer would increase those amounts for sure, but the kvass would also be covered in mold and undrinkable.
      Make a batch and see for yourself. You will see how fermenting it as described in the recipe produces a slightly effervecent beverage that has the taste of a living cultured probiotic drink. I haven’t sent a batch out for testing to find out exactly what the nutritional changes are, but you can certainly taste them for yourself and feel it in your stomach after you drink it.

      If you need more info, I would suggest making a batch and contacting a lab to test it.

  5. Lisa P Fisch

    Mar 20, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    Sarah,

    My mistake the post date was February 24, 2016. I cut and pasted her comment below. Lisa

    “Beet Kvaas will hold almost indefinily refrigerated. It will continue to ferment but very slowly. Also, you have to ferment Beet Kvaas a minimum of one and one half weeks in order to obtain the production of pre- and probiotics to be of any nutritional/medicinal value. Otherwise all you have is a tasty drink. Long ferment times are required (ie. sauerkraut must sit for 30 days) to develop the full compliment of pre- and probiotics and to access the micro nutrients of the vegetable. Also, you must never heat or freeze fermented foods or you totally destroy the nutritive/medicinal (prebiotics and probiotics) benefits we ferment vegies for.”

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Mar 21, 2019 at 10:42 am

      Here is my response to the comment you’ve referenced.

      You can’t ferment beet kvass for a week and a half or longer! It will be covered in mold otherwise. Please stick to the recipe above.

      I agree that you cannot heat fermented foods or you will destroy their nutritive value. But, you can heat it up to 117F without issues … higher than that is destructive. Freezing does NOT harm the probiotics or enzymes in fermented foods.

  6. Lisa P Fisch

    Mar 19, 2019 at 2:07 pm

    Hi Sarah,

    I am going back a couple of years but I believe it’s worthy of it. On July 1, 2015, Linda posted a comment concerning Beet Kvaas. She made some very important points which you did not respond to. Please bring this post to the forefront with your claims. I am eager to read your opinion as I’m sure others are too. If you have any questions as to the exact post I look here.
    Thank you,
    Lisa

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Mar 19, 2019 at 6:58 pm

      I’m not finding the comment you are referring to. Are you able to paraphrase it for me? Thanks.

  7. Steeny

    Aug 3, 2018 at 6:27 pm

    Can you use whey from raw milk? Or the leftover clear liquid from yogurt making?

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Aug 4, 2018 at 8:51 pm

      Either type of whey works fine. Just do not use cheese whey.

  8. Audrey Winje

    Jul 6, 2018 at 9:52 am

    Can you use more salt if there is no whey available?

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Jul 6, 2018 at 10:33 pm

      Yes, but it might taste far too salty though! It’s already quite a salty tasting beverage. Here are some other ideas for fermenting without whey. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/dairy-free-fermentation-no-whey/

  9. Andre B

    Jul 3, 2018 at 6:21 pm

    Great recipe. Thanks.
    I made a batch using a sun tea jar I bought specifically for this.
    How long will this keep in the fridge? I’ve only been drinking a tablespoon or two a day since beet kvass is something new to me. The stuff seems to last forever, months, when sipping such a small amount of it.
    Am curious if is time to toss it out and start a new batch despite it tasting just as fresh as when I initially made it.
    Thanks.
    Andre

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Jul 4, 2018 at 7:59 am

      Beet kvass lasts many months in the refrigerator.

  10. Dawn

    Sep 24, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    I skip the whey and instead add garlic, juniper berries and sometimes ginger. Taste even better than store bought.

    Reply
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