Learn how to Make Natto at home three ways with this easy step-by-step recipe!
Ways to Enjoy Natto (COMING SOON!)
- How to Eat Natto
- Natto Monjayaki
- Natto Kimchi Don
- Natto Bibimbap
- Natto Mochi
- Natto Jiru
If you recreate this Natto recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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How to Make Natto
Learn how to Make Natto at home three ways with this easy step-by-step recipe!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: basics
- Method: fermenting
- Cuisine: japanese
Ingredients
Natto from scratch (bacteria starter)
- 0.1g Natto Bacillus bacteria starter
- 380g dry soy beans
Natto from frozen pack
- 1 pack of frozen natto (or 60g from previous natto)
- ~380g dry soy beans
- 1 tbsp filtered water
Natto from previous batch
- ~400g cooked soy beans
- 60g natto from previous batch
Instructions
- Soak the soy beans overnight– it should expand and look plump.
- Discard the water and then cook the soy beans in an instant pot, pressure cooker or over the stove until tender.
- Lay cling wrap on a tray or shallow tupperware (this step is not essential but helps immensely with the clean up process). Sterilize any utensils and bowl with hot water to remove any bacteria. Drain the soybeans well and then add the soy beans to the tupperware.
- Add 1 tablespoon of filtered water into the pack of natto and mix to loosen. Then spread the natto over the soy beans and mix well. If using the starter, sprinkle the starter over and mix. If using previous batch, add the natto and mix well. Cover with paper towel, cling wrap and then elastic bands to secure.
- Place in a yogurt maker, fermentation box or a warm area at 40 C for 24 hours. The next day, place into the fridge and continue to ferment for another 24 hours.
- The natto is complete! Store in the fridge for up to 2 days or transfer to portioned size freezer safe reusable bags or tupperware. When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge and enjoy!
- You can repeat this process maximum 3 times with previous natto. Then you must use the frozen store bought natto (because the bacteria is stronger).
Notes
- Helpful Equipment: instant pot, pressure cooker, shallow tupperwares, fermentation incubator, cooling box
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- *time does not include fermentation time
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (60g)
- Calories: 120
Keywords: natto, fermented soy beans, how to make natto, homemade natto
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
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Crystal says
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for your recipe. I would like to clarify if we should be using one of these sets of recipes i.e. natto from scratch, natto from frozen pack or natto from previous pack, OR do we use all of them in your recipe?
Thank you!
Lisa Kitahara says
Hi Crystal,
Yes, just one of the options! 🙂 I hope that clarifies!
Hanna says
I made this using a frozen pack and it turned out soooo good! I already liked the store bought natto but the homemade version is so much creamier and flavorful 🙂 Also a big plus for me: I have a big batch of natto without all that packaging! 😀
★★★★★
Glenn Nishida says
So good and so easy!! Best recipe on the net! I have tried several different Recipes for Natto. Lisa’s is the easiest and best tasting one. The natto has a light nutty flavor and not overly pungent like others.
I love this blog as well as her IG platform! Thank you again! Aloha, Glenn
★★★★★
:D says
How long to cook soybeans using instant pot and how much water to use? Thank you!
Lisa Kitahara says
Please follow the instructions for cooked beans for the instant pot in the manual! 🙂 There should be a 'beans' setting.
Jenny says
Could I use the yogurt setting on the instant pot to keep it warm for 24hrs or is that too high of a heat?
Lisa Kitahara says
I've heard that yogurt settings do work! just be sure it is between 38-40 C.
Carol says
Hi Lisa, I love your recipe and wanna try out as soon as posible!!
But where I live is very hard to find those ingredients. It’s possible to make a batch from natto that is bought in the store? Like those that are industrialized?
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
★★★★★
Lisa Kitahara says
if its store bought it should be fine! 🙂
Kay says
worked great, used a powdered natto starter and a yoghurt maker and turned out really slimy and yummy just how I wanted 🙂
★★★★★
What K8 Ate says
So good!! I used the frozen pack and I love that the beans are so plump. The beans imported or from the store can be a bit tiny and dried by the time it flies in from Japan and hits my grocery store 😭 thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
★★★★★
Oriana says
I am super excited to try this, question is it says wrap paper towel over it. Isn’t natto sticky, so won’t paper towels stick to it?
Thank you for sharing!!!
★★★★★
Melanie says
Hi Lisa! Is there a non plastic/cling wrap alternative to cover the beans with during the fermentation process?
Lisa Kitahara says
No for natto I highly recommend cling wrap. You can opt to use compostic cling wrap!
Gina says
Hi, I got a packet of natto starter from amazon, and it is 0.1 oz. I just noticed that your recipe calls for 0.1 g. I had used the whole packet. Did I use way too much of the starter?? I used the whole packet. 🙁
Lisa Kitahara says
It may be too much but it could still turn out. let me know how it went@
Sergio says
Thank you for the recipe . Can I get the same result using cheap peas instead soya beans. ?
Regards
Sergio vinhal
★★★★★
Richard says
Would the fluid off the top of store-bought Greek Yogurt work as a starter for natto??
Lisa Kitahara says
No, unfortunately not 🙁
Koral says
"You can repeat this process maximum 3 times with previous natto"
In most fermented products, we always can use the previous one as yeast. Why 3 times?
Is it okay if we keep the previous one in the deepfreeze and use it as starter?
Jillian says
I have the same question since you can always use previous starter when making sourdough and ginger bugs. Why only three times with previous natto?
Robbie says
I experimented with this and sometimes i got strange smells, i think when using the previous batch as a starter there is increased probability of catching some undesired bacteria instead of pure bacillus subtilis
Jennifer says
When making this recipe double, do you have to double the starter? In wine I just use yeast of 1 packet and it will grow as needed
Anami says
Hi! I made a batch and used more than 0.1 g of natto starter be it's just hard to measure😅 when the natto came out of the second fermentation period in the fridge, it was very nice & sticky but not yet as flavorful as store-bought natto. Then I ate it the next day after putting it in the fridge again and all the stickiness was gone! The flavor was great but I really miss the stickiness. Did I use too much of the powder? Or did I do sth else wrong? Like maybe my yoghurtmaker does not work well? Another batch I made right after also came out not sticky. Thank you for your wonderful recipes Lisa!
★★★★★
debra says
hi, I've seen other recipes that just call for cooking beans (after soaking etc.) and since I don't have an instant pot, I usually cook my pinto beans in my crock pot...I could do the same. here right? all you need are cooked beans to go into the recipe right? of course I need water in the crock pot, I can use a minimal amount....but should that water then be drained out as I've seen also in other recipes, or just use beans with cooked liquid, does that matter really? wouldn't one way produce wetter beans than the other....but still fermented the same right? tia
Robbie says
My experience is that if you leave liquid you will not get the nice strands of slimy filaments
Caren Nagao says
Perfect but...I avoid plastic and heat so instead of putting the natto into Tupperware or wrapping in plastic I just kept it in the instapot on yogurt setting after adding frozen natto. Clean up was still extremely easy, it just slid out. It tasted perfect and made me so happy! Wait, one more thing why do you discard the eater after soaking. Is it impurities on the beans? It doesn't say to add more water to the instapot to make them tender but I assumed that one should so I did and it worked.
★★★★★
Meredith says
I give this recipe a 10 out of 10.
I thought I ruined it because my oven on low/warm registered 140F (which is not the 100F or 40C in the recipe) but this is very forgiving. Very much like yogurt making.
I stirred it after 24 hours, expecting to add another store bought portion of Natto, but NO. It was gooey and had all the consistency and taste of the natto I've been loving since living in Japan 20 years ago. I eat it regularly so this will save me quite a bit of money.
The beans are still cream colored and not the dark brown that you get when you buy the frozen. Not sure if they will change once frozen. But the taste was delicious, same as what I have been eating.
Can't wait to try other beans as I saw a Korean black bean version of natto. After 24 hours in the fridge, I'll make a batch of rice and add Asian mustard, soy sauce and green onions. I perfect lunch with a cup of miso soup.
I wish I could attach my pictures of the gooey strands that make natto what it is. It will froth up just as expected. A high protein, K2 gut health packed snack or meal.