The content of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) is an important quality parameter in probiotic functional foods. Complex culture media formulated with natural additives are an alternative for their quantification. In this work we propose the use of orange, onion and jalapeño pepper juices, guava and noni pulps, as well as milk powder as ingredients of complex culture media for BAL quantification. The concentration of BAL recovered in the complex culture media and the commercial medium for lactobacilli De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) were compared. No significant difference was found (P < 0.05) in BAL recovery between culture media made with orange juice (Log 9.33 ± 0.05 CFU/mL), guava pulp (Log 9.20 ± 0.10 CFU/mL), pulp noni (Log 9.12 ± 0.10 CFU/mL), milk powder (Log 9.10 ± 0.15 CFU/mL) and MRS (Log 9.20 ± 0.22 CFU/mL). However, the count was lower in the media added with onion and jalapeño pepper. Complex culture media are a simple, economical and quality alternative for the quantification of BAL in functional probiotic foods, such as fermented milk products and yogurt.