How to Grow Sprouts with Leaping Sprouts
Growing fresh sprouts at home is easy. Seeds vary in soaking time, growing time and light preference, but the basic process is the same for all of them.
Why Sprout?
Sprouts are fresh, crunchy and ready in just a few days. Broccoli, radish, alfalfa, mung bean, lentil and many other seeds each bring their own flavour and texture.
Broccoli sprouts are popular for their sulforaphane content.* Mung bean sprouts are mild and crunchy, and great in stir-fries, salads and soups.
Try a few varieties and find your favourites.
*Research has found that young broccoli sprouts can contain 10 to 100 times more glucoraphanin, the compound your body converts into sulforaphane, than mature broccoli. Sulforaphane has been widely studied for its potential health effects.
Your Sprouting Setup
- Leaping Sprouts kit
- Whole, untreated seeds, beans, lentils or grains suitable for sprouting
- Clean drinking water
- A spot away from direct sunlight
Seeds sold specifically for sprouting are the best choice for sprouts you’ll eat raw. Many dried beans, lentils and grains from the grocery store also sprout well, as long as they’re whole, untreated and still able to germinate.
Choose Your Sprouts
Different seeds grow at different rates and expand by very different amounts. The starting amounts below are sized for a 1-quart Leaping Sprouts jar and leave room for the sprouts to grow, rinse and drain properly.
| Sprout | Dry Seed | Soak | Typical Harvest | Light |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfalfa | 1 tbsp | 8 hours | 4–6 days | Bright indirect light near harvest |
| Broccoli | 1 tbsp | 8 hours | 5–7 days | Bright indirect light near harvest |
| Fenugreek | 1 tbsp | 8 hours | 3–5 days | Bright indirect light near harvest |
| Kale | 1 tbsp | 8 hours | 5–7 days | Bright indirect light near harvest |
| Mustard | 1 tbsp | 8 hours | 4–5 days | Bright indirect light near harvest |
| Radish | 1 tbsp | 8 hours | 2–5 days | Bright indirect light near harvest |
| Mung bean | 1½ tbsp | 8–12 hours | 4–6 days | Keep dark for pale sprouts |
| Lentil | 2 tbsp | 8–12 hours | 2–3 days | Light not needed |
| Chickpea | 2 tbsp | 8–12 hours | 2–3 days | Light not needed |
| Wheat | 2 tbsp | 8–12 hours | 2–3 days | Light not needed |
These amounts are a starting point, not a minimum. Don’t add extra seed just to get a fuller jar. Sprouts need room for water to circulate during rinsing and for excess water to drain away.
Harvest times are a guide rather than a deadline. Temperature and seed variety affect growth, so harvest when your sprouts reach the size you prefer.
About light: Keep the blackout sleeve on during soaking and early growth. For leafy sprouts (alfalfa, broccoli, fenugreek, kale, mustard and radish), remove the sleeve for the last 1–2 days, once the first small leaves appear, and place the jar in bright, indirect light so the leaves green up. Mung beans, lentils, chickpeas and wheat can stay covered right through harvest. Never place the jar in direct sunlight.
1. Soak the Seeds
Wash your hands, then add the seeds to your clean jar and attach the screen lid.
Fill the jar halfway with cool or room-temperature water, swirl for a few seconds and drain completely.
Remove the screen lid and attach the blackout lid. Fill the jar halfway again with fresh water and leave it upright to soak for the time shown in the table.
2. Drain and Set Up
Remove the blackout lid, attach the screen lid and drain the soaking water completely.
Fill the jar halfway with fresh cool or room-temperature water, swirl for a few seconds and drain again.
As you return the jar to the stand, slowly rotate it so the seeds spread out and stick to the sides of the jar. This keeps them from collecting in one dense clump and improves airflow and drainage.
Place the jar on the stand with the screen lid over the drip dish, slide the blackout sleeve over the jar and set the day counter to Day 1.
3. Rinse Morning and Evening
Rinse your sprouts at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Each time:
- Remove the jar from the stand.
- Fill it halfway with cool or room-temperature water.
- Swirl for a few seconds.
- Drain completely through the screen lid.
- Rotate the jar to spread the sprouts around the inside.
- Return the jar to the stand.
- Flip the AM/PM rinse switch to mark the rinse complete.
Advance the day counter each morning, and empty the drip dish as needed.
4. Give Them the Right Light
Follow the light column in the table and the note beneath it. Leafy sprouts come out from under the sleeve for the last 1–2 days; everything else can stay covered. Keep the jar out of direct sunlight at all times.
5. Harvest
When your sprouts reach the size and flavour you want, fill the jar halfway with cold water, swirl gently and drain. Repeat once more for a total of two final rinses.
Optional cleanup: Fill a large bowl with cool water, add the sprouts and swirl gently. Skim off the loose seed hulls that float to the top, then remove any unsprouted seeds that settle to the bottom. This step isn’t necessary, but it makes for a cleaner batch.
Drain thoroughly, then remove as much remaining moisture as possible with a clean salad spinner or clean towel.
Store Your Sprouts
Transfer the dried sprouts to a clean covered container and refrigerate immediately. For best quality, eat them within a few days.
Discard sprouts that become slimy or unusually dark, or that develop a strong, unpleasant or musty smell.
Broccoli sprout freezer cubes: Have extra broccoli sprouts? Blend them with a little water, pour into an ice-cube tray and freeze. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer container and add them to smoothies, vegetable drinks or other recipes. Freezing doesn’t kill bacteria, so treat the cubes with the same care as fresh sprouts.
Root Hairs or Mould?
Fine white fuzz around the roots of broccoli, radish and some other sprouts is usually root hair, not mould.
Root hairs:
- Grow evenly from the roots
- Often appear when the sprouts are dry
- Become much less visible after rinsing
Mould:
- Usually grows in irregular patches
- Can spread across seeds and sprouts
- May come with an unpleasant or musty smell
If you’re unsure whether a batch is mouldy, discard it.
Food Safety
Like other raw produce, sprouts can carry harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli. The warm, moist conditions seeds need to sprout also suit bacteria, and good hygiene reduces the risk but can’t eliminate it.
Who should not eat raw sprouts: Health Canada advises that young children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone with a weakened immune system should not eat raw sprouts. If you’re cooking for anyone in these groups, cook the sprouts thoroughly before serving.
For everyone else, these habits keep sprouting safe and simple:
- Use clean, whole, untreated seeds, ideally ones sold for sprouting.
- Never use garden or agricultural seeds that have been chemically treated.
- Wash your hands before handling seeds or sprouts.
- Clean the jar, lids, sleeve, stand and drip dish between batches.
- Use clean drinking water for soaking and rinsing.
- Rinse morning and evening and drain thoroughly each time.
- Refrigerate sprouts right after harvesting.
- Discard any batch that becomes slimy or develops an unusual or unpleasant smell.
If you’d like extra peace of mind, you can cook any sprouts before eating them. Mung bean sprouts in particular are great in stir-fries and soups.
Cleaning Your Leaping Sprouts Kit
The glass jar and metal blackout lid are dishwasher safe.
The rest of the kit is made from PLA, a plant-based plastic that softens with heat. Wash those parts by hand in warm, soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Don’t put them in the dishwasher, and avoid boiling water or very hot soaks, which can warp them.
A Few Useful Tips
Don’t overcrowd the jar. Stick to the starting amounts in the table. Small seeds turn into a surprising amount of sprouts.
Sprouts growing slowly? Give them more time. Cooler temperatures mean slower growth.
Some seeds didn’t sprout? That’s normal. Not every seed in a batch will germinate.
Sprouts clumping together? Broccoli, radish and other small sprouts can form a dense mass as their roots grow. Gently separate them while swirling during a rinse.
Lots of seed hulls? Also normal. Rinse them away during the final rinses, use the “optional cleanup” step under step “5. Harvest”, or just leave them as many people do. I tend to remove them since I use my sprouts in smoothies and it keeps them smooth.