How to make sprouts

Do you like eating sprouts? —Me too!

Sprouts are a fun way to add some variety to simple dishes and make ya feel fancy. They’re fresh, crunchy, tasty (ranging from sweet and creamy to zesty spicy!), and extremely nutritious. They’re also super versatile! Add sprouts on top of a salad, inside a taco or wrap, in place of a bed of rice, or just eat ‘em naked by the handful like I do!… I mean the sprouts are naked, as in without any dressing… :)

We know they’re rad. The only downside is they can be kinda expensive to buy and when purchasing from a store, they generally need to be eaten fairly quickly before they can turn bad.

So today, I’m sharing how to make your own sprouts at home!! It’s a very simple process and it’s fun to watch em grow! Plus you’ll save lots of money and have the freshest sprouts in all the land. So let’s do this.

In my demo photos I’m making daikon radish sprouts! These have a very zesty flavor which I love. It adds a nice zing to ho hum recipes. Other popular sprouting seed options include sunflower, alfalfa, clover, and broccoli (although there’s a whole wide world of options out there— try cilantro, onion, kohlrabi, etc!).

The basic sprouting steps will be the same regardless of the type or amount of sprouts you’re making.


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Supplies Needed

-Sprouting seeds

-Jar with screen (I have a sprouting jar in my photos, but you can use a mason jar with a screen cut to fit or buy a sprouting screen for mason jars for just a few dollars).

 
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How To

1) Start with 2 tbsp seeds. Add seeds to sprouting jar and cover with water. Soak your seeds for 6-12 hours.

An important key here is to keep your sprouting process in the dark. As your seeds are soaking and draining, keep them out of the light, like inside a cabinet or dark pantry. This is crucial or they won’t sprout!

2) Drain water. Rinse seeds and drain again. Leave jar tilted upside down at an angle (you may need to prop it up with another jar or against a wall) so any remaining water can drain out and seeds are ventilated. Place back in dark area.

3) Repeat every 8-12 hours!— Rinse, drain, repeat. An easy schedule is to repeat the rinsing and draining at the same time (like 7am and 7pm) each day.

Sprouts will be ready in about 4-5 days from your start! Other seeds require 5-7 days to be ready. Read the packaging of your seeds.

 
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Storing Sprouts

Once sprouts are ready, they can be stored in the refrigerator. Make sure sprouts are dry before storing (drain well and/or you can use a salad spinner or spread them out on a towel to dry for a bit).

Sprouts are living!— so they do need some air flow to stay fresh. Place them in an unsealed container in the fridge, like a glassware container or mason jar with the lid slightly ajar. Some people store them in a bowl with plastic wrap over the top and poke holes in it with a toothpick for some air flow (this works well but I like to avoid plastic wrap when possible!). You can also keep them in a sprout bag if you have one (you may need to continue rinsing and draining if they dry out).

Enjoy!

Devour them in salads, stir fries, sandwiches, smoothies, burgers, omelets, practically anything!

For my pregnant mamas!— Some pregnant women choose to be extra cautious with sprouts because it’s possible for them to contain bacteria or mold. Talk to your midwife or doctor with any questions and know that you can always cook sprouts if you want to be extra careful. ;)

 
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Sprout on, my friends!