Growing Your Own Sprouts

When I was a child, I have memories of my mom growing sprouts in our kitchen.  I have always loved sprouts, especially in the colder months when the produce at the store is not that great.

Sprouts are so easy to grow, and there are so many great reasons to grow them!

For one, sprouts are so easy to grow at home; no need to buy them at the store.

Sprouts are nutritious – they have been grown for over 5,000 years!

There are so many varieties – many more than you usually see at the grocery store, which usually include alfalfa, broccoli or clover. 

Beet Sprouts
Beet sprouts! Aren’t they pretty?

Alfalfa is a good introduction to sprouting. It has a mild flavor, and it is generally easy to find. If you can’t find sprouts at a local health food store or garden center, check online. 

Decide what you want to use for a sprouting device.  There are many types, from trays to lids for jars. xx

Sprouting Lids

For your first step, soak the seeds for 8-12 hours. 

2 tablespoons of seeds will yield about 4 cups of sprouts – just remember that each type of seed varies.

Soaking Sprout Seeds

Rinse and drain well.  Continue to rinse every 8-12 hours. 

The water from rinsing the seeds are full of nutrients – great for watering houseplants!  Keep the alfalfa seeds in indirect light.

Beet Sprouts

The seeds will begin to sprout quickly – you should see some growth within a day or two. Growing sprouts is a great activity for children to participate in.  Since sprouts grow so quickly, it is a teaching tool to show kids the process of growing.

Sprouting seeds
About 36 hours after soaking

Within about 5-6 days, the alfalfa sprouts turn dark green and are almost ready to eat. At this point, you can move the sprouts so that they get more light (indirect), to help them “green up”.

Store your sprouts in the refrigerator about 8-12 hours after the last rinse.  You can rinse the sprouts in a bowl to remove hulls (as they will rise to the surface), but it is not necessary.  Make sure the sprouts are well-drained and reasonably dry, and then place in a bag or other sealed container, otherwise they will dry out.

Sprout Sandwich

My 4-year-old showing off her sprout sandwich!

  My kids like a toasted pita pocket or toasted bread with some mayonnaise and sprouts.

Sprouts are a very versatile food – you can make sandwiches, top salads, and so on.

What do you think?

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22 Comments
  • Amber Myers
    March 18, 2020

    How cool. I’ve never tried this before. I’ve never been big on sprouts but my mom likes them on her salad, so I’ll show her this post.

  • Lisa Martin
    March 19, 2020

    I love this! We are really into growing our own food this year!

  • Lynndee
    March 19, 2020

    I love sprouts, but I’ve never tried growing them before. What a cool idea. Thank you for the tips and tricks.

  • Catalina
    March 19, 2020

    Seems so easy to grow sprouts at home with your tips! I think it will be a lot of fun to grow them with my kids!

  • Tasheena
    March 19, 2020

    This sounds like a really cool idea. I never thought to grow my own sprouts at home. Looking forward to giving this a try.

  • cait
    March 19, 2020

    yum im a big fan of trying to grow my sprouts so ill have to take this into consideration

  • Ice Cream n Sticky Fingers
    March 19, 2020

    I haven’t had sprouts in a very long time. Growing them at home seems super easy and I’m sure it’s more cost efficient too. I’ll have to grow some as a science project for my son.

  • Terri Steffes
    March 19, 2020

    I adore the crunch that sprouts give to your salad, or whatever you choose to top it with. They are so yumm.

  • Beth
    March 16, 2022

    I can’t wait to try this! I eat veggie sprouts all the time, but I’ve never tried growing my own before.

  • Kelly Bolen
    March 16, 2022

    I love seeing when people grow there own food! I have a tower garden and grow mirco-greens, tomatoes and so much more! I absolutely love it!

  • Talya Stone
    March 16, 2022

    This is a lovely and very healthy thing to do. I may try doing this with my daughter I am sure she will find it fascinating!

  • Melanie Edjourian
    March 16, 2022

    It’s great that this is so easy to do. It’s not something I’ve done in ages. They are perfect to add to salads too!!!

  • Neely Moldovan
    March 16, 2022

    This is actually something we have been wanting to do!

  • Kay
    March 17, 2022

    I’ve always want to try this. Its better than getting from the grocery store. I’ll check amazon for these plastic lids. Thanks for this!

  • Tweenselmom
    March 17, 2022

    Oh wow, thanks for this! I also use sprouts for my own recipes, so I’m glad you taught us how to grow them 🙂

  • katrina m kroeplin
    March 17, 2022

    this is what i have been looking for. thank you so much i’m saving this so i can get my supplies.

  • Ntensibe Edgar
    March 18, 2022

    A sprout sandwich? Wow….that’s a first for me! I surely love sprouts on my dinner or salad.

  • khoingn | The Broad Life
    March 19, 2022

    Looks great! This ways will surely improve the quality of the meals since we know how fresh it is as we grow ourselves.

  • Colleen
    April 13, 2022

    We love sprouts, but when you buy them, they don’t stay fresh long. Growing your own is a perfect solution! Thanks for sharing.

  • Kara
    April 13, 2022

    My sprouts from the store always go bad so quickly, so I definitely will be trying this! I don’t have a green thumb, but I have faith I can do these.

  • Oscar
    April 13, 2022

    Thanks for sharing this, I’ve always wanted to grow my own sprouts. I’m going to try the alfalfa sprouts first.

  • Ramona
    April 20, 2022

    Yes! Indeed. Growing my own sprouts has been going on for a few years and we love it. It is easy and so good for you. Live food. I sprout all the mentioned and additionally mung beans, radish and lentils.