How to Grow Sprouts
Learning how to grow sprouts at home has been such a great addition to our homestead kitchen routine! Whether you want to enjoy broccoli, alfalfa, buckwheat, or red cabbage sprouts, the basic directions are the same. Follow these easy steps to get sprouts growing in your kitchen today.
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Servings: 2 cups
Equipment
- Sprouting Jar
- Sprouting Lid
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon sprouting seeds
Instructions
Soaking the Seeds
- Start with a clean quart-size jar (or smaller). Add a scant tablespoon of seeds to the jar (or less, depending on the size of your jar).
- To kick off the sprouting, you want to soak the seeds in about a cup of room-temperature water for 6-12 hours.
Sprouting the Seeds
- After soaking the seeds, drain off the water and rinse the seeds well.
- Let your jar sit at room temperature for 12 hours.
- Every 12 hours, rinse the seeds well by filling the jar with water, swishing everything around, then dumping the water out. Homesteading Hack: This is where the sprouting lids come in very handy as you can fill and drain the water through the lid.
- After about 12 hours, you’ll already start to see little tails poking out of the seed! Congratulations, it’s working! Continue to rinse the sprouts every 12 hours (following step 3 above) for 3-5 days until the desired length is reached.
Rinsing & Draining the Sprouts
- Once the sprouts reach two to three inches in length, give them a good thorough rinsing (I like to rinse them two or three times to help de-hull the sprouts).
- To de-hull sprouts, add them to a large bowl and fill it with water. Swish the sprouts around, and the hulls of the seeds will float to the top. Drain the water (and hulls) off. It’s OK if some hulls remain, they’re harmless, and you may not even notice you’re eating them.
- Drain sprouts thoroughly and pat dry with a towel.
- Store them in an airtight container, along with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture, for up to a week. Homesteading Hack: Sprouts will have the most nutrient density on day 5, so consume them as close to that day as possible.
Notes
Homesteading Hack: You can consume the sprouts at any stage, from 12 hours up to 5 days! The sprouts will continue to grow up to about two to three inches in length (depending on the seed). If you want continuous sprouts, consider starting a new jar of sprouting seeds every day for an endless supply of sprouts.
Types of Sprouts
Following this step-by-step tutorial, you can easily grow many kinds of sprouts at home. From the alfalfa or broccoli sprouts you can find at your local grocery store to mung bean sprouts perfect for topping homemade pho! If you’re not sure where to start, look for a sandwich blend or a salad blend. These are a blend of common seeds where you get to enjoy the great flavor and all the nutritional benefits of each seed combined. Most sprouts fall into four categories:- Bean and Pea Sprouts: These will grow larger, more substantial sprouts and include black beans, kidney beans, mung beans, lentils and snow pea sprouts.
- Vegetable Sprouts: We love growing veggie sprouts like alfalfa, broccoli, clover, caraway, clover and radish sprouts. These are generally the sprouts you’ll find in the sandwich or salad blends (mentioned above).
- Nut and Seed Sprouts: We don’t always think of nuts or seeds when talking about sprouts, but pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds will all grow into delicious fresh sprouts.
- Sprouted Grains: Sprouting grains is something we’ve done in the past for baking, but you can also sprout grains to grow into things like wheatgrass or quinoa sprouts.
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