How To Grow Sprouts At Home

Broccoli, alfalfa and bean sprouts show up on sandwiches and wraps on the regular. You can find them at the grocery store, but while the sun is shining, it’s pretty easy to grow them at home. With a few simple tools you probably already have, you can have fresh sprouts anytime you want. How to Grow Sprouts in a Jar 1. Soak the Seeds Add 1 teaspoon of sprout seeds to a pint- or quart-size mason jar. Cover with cool water by about 2 inches, and let the seeds soak for at least 8 hours. Cover the jar with 2 layers of cheesecloth, securing it in place with a rubber band or the jar lid band. 2. Rinse & Repeat Drain the seeds, then rinse and drain again. Set in a cool, dark place. Continue to rinse and drain the seeds twice daily until light yellow leaves start to sprout, 3-5 days. Pro tip: Lay the jar on its side or at an angle (use a bowl to hold it in place with the opening down so any excess water can drip out) so the seeds have more room to spread out along the side of the jar, instead of being all on top of each other on the bottom. 3. Get a Little Sun Once the yellow leaves appear, rinse and drain once more and set the jar in a well-lit area so the leaves can darken. 4. Serve When the leaves have turned green, the fresh sprouts are ready to rinse in a salad spinner and eat. Refrigerate until ready to use. Recipes with Sprouts West Coast Avocado Toast Hummus, sprouts and avocado top sprouted whole-wheat bread in this healthy vegan lunch idea. Look for sprouted bread in the freezer section of your grocery store. If you want to make this toast interesting, trying growing red clover sprouts. BLATs (Bacon-Lettuce-Avocado-Tomato Sandwiches) In this healthy BLT recipe, we use a creamy avocado spread flavored with garlic and basil and add broccoli sprouts. Look for sprouted-wheat bread in the frozen section or with other specialty breads at your grocery store. Rainbow Veggie Wraps There’s definitely a sushi vibe to these kid-friendly wraps, which are stuffed with vegetables, cheese and hummus and then rolled and sliced. Serve them with store-bought green goddess, a creamy herb-filled dressing, to take it up a notch with ease. They look impressive but they’re easy enough for kids to assemble themselves for an easy lunch or dinner. Loaded Garden Pizz’alad Here a garden salad packed with lettuce, bell pepper and avocado rests atop a provolone cheese pizza. And it’s all drizzled with tangy homemade ranch dressing. We recommend a knife, fork and plenty of napkins to dig into this pizz’alad! Using bread flour gives the pizza crust a crisp and sturdy structure, but all-purpose flour works well in its place. Loaded Garden Salad Throw some mung bean sprouts in with this veggie-rich garden salad recipe. It combines pepper, avocado, tomatoes and mushrooms tossed with a lightened-up herb ranch dressing. It’s great with pizza or as a light side salad. Sprout-Growing Equipment Sprout Grower on counter top Pictured: Chef’n Countertop Sprouter Growing Kit While growing your own sprouts is easy to do with items you probably already have around the house, these sprout-growers proved to be mega-helpful in making the process even easier. Deluxe Kitchen Crop 4-Tray Seed Sprouter Want to scale up the amount of sprouts you grow without sacrificing counter space? We love that this multi-tray sprouter stacks up, instead of out, to save room and make watering a cinch. Just add water to the top tray, and it flows through each tray below until filtering into a catch tray on the bottom (which saves you from having to rinse and drain multiple jars if you were making more than 1 teaspoon of seeds). Plus, spreading the seeds out on each tray gives each sprout more space to grow and equal amounts of sunlight, so no seed goes to waste. Chef’n Countertop Sprouter Growing Kit The process for using this sleek-looking grower isn’t different than the jar method listed above. The bonuses? The strainer works better than cheesecloth, plus the drip tray and interior ventilation tube help keep excess moisture to a minimum for more bountiful growth without any mold. Stainless-Steel Sprouting Lids If the jar method is working for you, no need to go big on buying a grower. But you can save yourself some money (and prevent excess waste) by picking up a few sprouting jar lids and forgoing the cheesecloth altogether. Your Ultimate Guide to Growing Herbs IndoorsFun Planter Ideas That Will Brighten Up Your Indoor Kitchen GardenFoods That You Can Grow IndoorsHow to Grow Fruits & Vegetables from Food Scraps

Broccoli, alfalfa and bean sprouts show up on sandwiches and wraps on the regular. You can find them at the grocery store, but while the sun is shining, it’s pretty easy to grow them at home. With a few simple tools you probably already have, you can have fresh sprouts anytime you want.

How to Grow Sprouts in a Jar

1. Soak the Seeds

Add 1 teaspoon of sprout seeds to a pint- or quart-size mason jar. Cover with cool water by about 2 inches, and let the seeds soak for at least 8 hours. Cover the jar with 2 layers of cheesecloth, securing it in place with a rubber band or the jar lid band.

2. Rinse & Repeat

Drain the seeds, then rinse and drain again. Set in a cool, dark place. Continue to rinse and drain the seeds twice daily until light yellow leaves start to sprout, 3-5 days.

Pro tip: Lay the jar on its side or at an angle (use a bowl to hold it in place with the opening down so any excess water can drip out) so the seeds have more room to spread out along the side of the jar, instead of being all on top of each other on the bottom.

3. Get a Little Sun

Once the yellow leaves appear, rinse and drain once more and set the jar in a well-lit area so the leaves can darken.

4. Serve

When the leaves have turned green, the fresh sprouts are ready to rinse in a salad spinner and eat. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Recipes with Sprouts

West Coast Avocado Toast

Hummus, sprouts and avocado top sprouted whole-wheat bread in this healthy vegan lunch idea. Look for sprouted bread in the freezer section of your grocery store. If you want to make this toast interesting, trying growing red clover sprouts.

BLATs (Bacon-Lettuce-Avocado-Tomato Sandwiches)

In this healthy BLT recipe, we use a creamy avocado spread flavored with garlic and basil and add broccoli sprouts. Look for sprouted-wheat bread in the frozen section or with other specialty breads at your grocery store.

Rainbow Veggie Wraps

There’s definitely a sushi vibe to these kid-friendly wraps, which are stuffed with vegetables, cheese and hummus and then rolled and sliced. Serve them with store-bought green goddess, a creamy herb-filled dressing, to take it up a notch with ease. They look impressive but they’re easy enough for kids to assemble themselves for an easy lunch or dinner.

Loaded Garden Pizz’alad

Here a garden salad packed with lettuce, bell pepper and avocado rests atop a provolone cheese pizza. And it’s all drizzled with tangy homemade ranch dressing. We recommend a knife, fork and plenty of napkins to dig into this pizz’alad! Using bread flour gives the pizza crust a crisp and sturdy structure, but all-purpose flour works well in its place.

Loaded Garden Salad

Throw some mung bean sprouts in with this veggie-rich garden salad recipe. It combines pepper, avocado, tomatoes and mushrooms tossed with a lightened-up herb ranch dressing. It’s great with pizza or as a light side salad.

Sprout-Growing Equipment

Sprout Grower on counter top   

Pictured: Chef’n Countertop Sprouter Growing Kit

While growing your own sprouts is easy to do with items you probably already have around the house, these sprout-growers proved to be mega-helpful in making the process even easier.

Deluxe Kitchen Crop 4-Tray Seed Sprouter

Want to scale up the amount of sprouts you grow without sacrificing counter space? We love that this multi-tray sprouter stacks up, instead of out, to save room and make watering a cinch. Just add water to the top tray, and it flows through each tray below until filtering into a catch tray on the bottom (which saves you from having to rinse and drain multiple jars if you were making more than 1 teaspoon of seeds). Plus, spreading the seeds out on each tray gives each sprout more space to grow and equal amounts of sunlight, so no seed goes to waste.

Chef’n Countertop Sprouter Growing Kit

The process for using this sleek-looking grower isn’t different than the jar method listed above. The bonuses? The strainer works better than cheesecloth, plus the drip tray and interior ventilation tube help keep excess moisture to a minimum for more bountiful growth without any mold.

Stainless-Steel Sprouting Lids

If the jar method is working for you, no need to go big on buying a grower. But you can save yourself some money (and prevent excess waste) by picking up a few sprouting jar lids and forgoing the cheesecloth altogether.

Your Ultimate Guide to Growing Herbs IndoorsFun Planter Ideas That Will Brighten Up Your Indoor Kitchen GardenFoods That You Can Grow IndoorsHow to Grow Fruits & Vegetables from Food Scraps

Sprout Grower on counter top

Sprout Grower on counter top