Once upon a time, I auditioned for one of those reality food shows, and my kimchi spring rolls got me to the next level of auditions (If you haven’t tried them yet, I posted a budget-friendly version here on the blog!) Why would a recipe like that get me flown to Los Angeles, you ask? Well, the judge asked me how I made my kimchi, and apparently, I aced his test; it’s not simply pickled; it’s fermented! I’ve always loved fermented foods, and this Homemade Kimchi is easy, vegan, budget-friendly perfection—the longer it sits, the better it gets! However, the process is super important, so let’s dive in!

Easy Recipe for Homemade Kimchi

Kimchi is a spicy, tangy, and veggie-packed Korean side dish made by fermenting fresh vegetables (think of it like pickles with a probiotic boost!). Instead of vinegar, the magic happens through lacto-fermentation, where good bacteria (the kind that’s great for your gut) naturally preserve the veggies and build the signature sour-savory flavor. I love serving it on rice bowls, tucked into wraps, or eaten straight from the jar as a quick snack. 😋

When I was in my 20s, I took a holistic nutrition course with a Naturopath Doctor in Indonesia. On my sojourn, I had a very long layover in South Korea, where I swear I ate 100 different kinds of kimchi. It helped me pinpoint the veggies I love most in my homemade recipe, but you can use just about any hardy vegetable you have on hand; I like to do a seasonal version as well, using raw pumpkin or butternut squash in the fall. Veggies like cucumbers and zucchini can be used, but because of their super high water content, they turn too mushy for my liking. Cabbage truly helps the texture no matter what else you add, so be sure to pick out a nice fresh head of cabbage!

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Homemade Kimchi Recipe

This easy Homemade Kimchi recipe is made with fresh veggies and simple ingredients. Tangy, fermented, and budget-friendly—no special tools required!

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Korean

Total Cost $6.41 recipe /$0.17 serving

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Fermentation 2 days days

Servings 36 oz (3 x 12 oz jars, 1 oz per serving)

Calories 11kcal

Author Jess Rice

Equipment

• 3 12 oz Canning Jars
• Food Processor
• Large Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp agave $0.14*
• 1 jalapeno seeded, $0.41
• 1 red bell pepper seeded and divided, $1.48
• ½ red onion divided, $0.54
• 2 inch piece fresh ginger peeled, $0.24
• 2 large cloves garlic $0.06
• ½ green cabbage mine was about 1 ¾ lbs, $1.66
• ¼ red cabbage mine was about ¾ lb, $0.86
• 4 green onions $0.48
• 2 ribs celery $0.30
• 2 carrots $0.16
• 1 Tbsp sea salt $0.08

Instructions

• Begin by sanitizing your workspace and running three 12 oz canning jars through your dishwasher on high heat to sanitize them. Alternatively, you can also sanitize your jars by submerging them in boiling water and then allowing them to air dry.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine agave syrup, 1 jalapeno (seeded), ½ red bell pepper (seeded), ¼ red onion, peeled ginger, and garlic cloves.
• Pulse vegetables and agave in a food processor until all vegetables have been broken down into a paste-like consistency, with any visible vegetables all being the same size, minced. Set aside.
• Prep all the vegetables: roughly chop or slice both cabbages, roughly chop the green onion (discarding only the very tip of the root), dice celery, julienne carrots, remaining ½ red bell pepper, and remaining ¼ red onion. This step is a great time to practice your knife skills or skip laboring over cutting everything and just chop it up coarsely. Kimchi is very forgiving, and it’s fun to have a lot of different shapes that will contribute to the texture once it is fermented later.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all prepared veggies and salt. With clean hands, massage the salt into the prepared vegetables until they are all very soft. (It’s arm day, y’all! Use those muscles, and don’t stop!)
• After at least 10 minutes of massaging the vegetables and salt, add the prepared, processed vegetable and agave mixture. Continue to massage the vegetables and the spicy-sweet processed mixture together for another 5-10 minutes, or until a significant amount of water is released from the veggies, and you can see it pooling at the bottom of our bowl.
• With clean hands, spoon your mixture into jars and push it down firmly with the spoon once full. You should see a significant amount of liquid brine rising to the top, covering your vegetables whenever you push it down with the spoon (or clean fingers!) Don’t waste the brine; top off the jars as much as you can to cover the veggies.
• Place lids on jars loosely and wipe down the jars. Transfer the jars to a dark place in your kitchen for 24 hours. I like to place my jars in a spare Tupperware container and keep them under the sink, so they are contained and in a warm(ish) place to help with the early fermentation process.
• After 24 hours, carefully “burp” each jar by simply removing the lid to allow some of the naturally occurring gasses to escape. If your kitchen is particularly warm, you may want to burp your kimchi after just 12 hours to avoid a small (potent!) explosion. 🙂
• After the initial 24-hour fermentation period, burp your kimchi every 8-12 hours until you see consistent, active bubbles every time you open the lid. Once you see a lot of bubbling on a regular basis, you can screw the lid on tight and transfer the jars to your refrigerator. It’s done!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*I like to add a little agave to balance the flavors of my homemade vegan kimchi, but I also find it helps speed up the fermentation process and helps create more brine. The touch of agave helps the enzymes from the healthy bacteria really get going! Personally, I wouldn’t skip it. But it is a very small amount of sweetener when considering the high yield on this recipe, so you could omit the agave altogether if you don’t have any on hand.

The total amount of time for fermentation to take place can depend on various factors, such as the temperature of your kitchen. Keep burping the jar every 8-12 hours after the initial 24-hour (or 12-hour) fermentation period until you see consistent bubbles.

Nutrition

Serving: 1oz | Calories: 11kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 201mg | Fiber: 1g

how to make Homemade Kimchi step-by-step photos

Gather all of your ingredients. Before starting, completely sanitize your workspace and run three 12 oz canning jars through your dishwasher on high heat to sanitize them. Or, you can alternatively sanitize your jars by submerging them in boiling water and then allowing them to air dry. I’ve also shared more on this below the step-by-step photos for reference.

Prep the veggies: While you wait for your jars to sanitize, you can get started on the vegetables. Add 1 Tbsp agave syrup, 1 jalapeno (seeded), ½ red bell pepper (seeded), ¼ red onion, 2 inch peeled fresh ginger, and 2 large garlic cloves to a food processor.

Pulse them in the food processor until all the veggies break down into a paste-like consistency. Any visible veggies should roughly be all the same size, minced. Set this mixture to one side for now.

Now roughly chop or slice ½ green cabbage and ¼ red cabbage, roughly chop 4 green onions (discarding only the very tip of the root), dice 2 ribs celery, julienne (thinly slice) 2 carrots, remaining ½ red bell pepper, and remaining ¼ red onion. You can also chop up everything coarsely if desired (this recipe is very forgiving!)

Massage the vegetables: Add the prepped vegetables to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp salt. With clean hands, massage the salt into the vegetables until they are all very soft (about 10 minutes).

After at least 10 minutes of massaging, add the processed vegetables and agave mixture from your food processor to the bowl.

Massage the vegetables with the spicy-sweet processed mixture for a further 5-10 minutes or until a significant amount of water has been released from the veggies.

You should see it pooling at the bottom of your bowl, as shown in the photo above.

Add to jars: Again, with clean hands, use a spoon to add your veggie mix to the sterilized jars.

Push the mixture down firmly with your spoon once full (a significant amount of liquid brine should rise to the top, covering the homemade kimchi as you push down).

Don’t waste any of the brine from the bottom of the mixing bowl! Try to top off each jar with as much as you can. You ideally want all the veggies to be submerged in the brine for fermentation.

Ferment: Place the lids on the jars loosely and wipe down the sides of the jars. Now, place the jars in a dark place in your kitchen for 24 hours. (I like to place my jars in a spare Tupperware container and keep them under the sink so they are contained and in a warm(ish) place to help with the early fermentation process.)

What is lacto-fermentation?

Serving Suggestions

I love piling this recipe for kimchi on scrambled eggs…it adds just the right kick to a simple breakfast. For lunch or dinner, I’d toss it into fried rice or add it to an easy rice bowl (our Bibimbap recipe is perfect for this!). And, of course, I couldn’t make my kimchi spring rolls without it. Or, if you want a comfort food twist, it’s amazing in quesadillas with some melty cheese. You can also spoon it over grain bowls, stuff it into wraps and sandwiches, or add it to any salad for an extra punch of flavor.

How to Store

This recipe can last for several months in an airtight jar in the fridge. Be sure to use clean fingers or utensils whenever you grab some, as introducing new bacteria can shorten its life span or throw off the flavor. Also, make sure the top layer is always submerged under the brine to keep everything fresh and safe. If anything starts to look or smell off, it’s best to toss it and start a new batch.

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