Growing fresh sprouts at home is easy. Different seeds vary in soaking time, growing time and light preference, but the basic process is the same.
Why Sprout?
Sprouts are fresh, nutritious and easy to grow at home in just a few days. Broccoli, radish, alfalfa, mung bean, lentil and many other seeds each offer their own flavour, texture and nutritional profile.
Broccoli sprouts are especially popular for their sulforaphane content*, while mung bean sprouts are mild, crunchy and great in stir-fries, salads and soups.
Try a few varieties and find your favourites.
*Broccoli sprouts are little nutritional powerhouses, with up to 100× more sulforaphane-producing compounds than mature broccoli. Sulforaphane helps support your body’s natural antioxidant and cellular defence systems.
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
Many dried beans, lentils and grains from the grocery store sprout well. They just need to be 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.
Keep the blackout sleeve on during early growth. For leafy sprouts such as alfalfa, broccoli, fenugreek, kale, mustard and radish, remove the sleeve near harvest once the first small leaves appear and place the jar in bright, indirect light to let them green up.
For mung beans, keep the sleeve on through harvest if you want the traditional pale sprouts. Lentils, chickpeas and wheat can also remain covered when they’re being harvested as short sprouts.
Harvest times are a guide rather than a deadline. Temperature and seed variety affect growth, so harvest when your sprouts have reached the size you prefer.
1. Soak the Seeds
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 and attach the screen lid.
Drain the soaking water completely.
Fill the jar ¼ full with fresh cool or room-temperature water, swirl for a few seconds and drain again.
After each rinse, slowly rotate the jar as you return it to the stand, encouraging the seeds or sprouts to spread out and stick to the sides of the jar as much as possible. This keeps them from collecting in one dense clump and helps improve airflow and drainage.
Place the jar on the Leaping Sprouts stand with the screen lid over the drip dish.
Set the day counter to Day 1.
Start with the blackout sleeve over the jar. For leafy sprouts like broccoli, alfalfa, clover, kale, mustard, radish and fenugreek, remove the sleeve for the final 1–2 days so the leaves can green up in bright, indirect light. For mung beans, lentils, chickpeas, adzuki beans, green peas and wheat, simply leave the sleeve on until harvest. These are basic guidelines, adjust as you like.
3. Rinse Morning and Evening
Rinse your sprouts at least twice each 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.
Empty the drip dish as required.
4. Give Them the Right Light
Most seeds do well in darkness during soaking and early germination.
For leafy sprouts such as broccoli, alfalfa, clover, kale, mustard and radish, remove the blackout sleeve for the final 1–2 days and keep the jar in bright indirect light. This allows the leaves to green up.
Do not place the jar in direct sunlight.
For mung beans, leave the blackout sleeve on throughout growing if you prefer pale sprouts.
Lentils, chickpeas, peas, adzuki beans and wheat do not need light to be harvested as sprouts.
5. Harvest
Use the harvest range in the table as your guide.
When the 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 and add the sprouts, swirling them around a bit. Loose seed hulls will float to the top where you can skim them off. Gently move the sprouts aside to find and remove any seeds that didn’t sprout on the bottom and remove them. This step isn’t necessary, but it makes for a cleaner final batch.
Drain thoroughly, then remove as much remaining moisture as possible with a clean salad spinner or clean towel.
Store Your Sprouts
Transfer the dry sprouts to a clean covered container and refrigerate immediately.
For best quality, eat them within a few days.
Discard sprouts that become slimy, unusually dark or develop a strong, unpleasant or musty smell.
For sprouts like broccoli, where you may be growing them mainly for their nutritional value, you can put them in a blender with little water, as required, and freeze the mixture in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer container and use them later in smoothies, vegetable drinks or other recipes.
Root Hairs or Mould?
Fine white fuzz around the roots of broccoli, radish and some other sprouts is often 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 be accompanied by an unpleasant or musty smell
If you’re unsure whether a batch is mouldy, discard it.
Food Safety
Good sprouting hygiene is easy. Start with clean ingredients and equipment, rinse regularly, drain thoroughly and keep finished sprouts refrigerated.
- Use clean, whole, untreated seeds suitable for sprouting.
- Avoid garden or agricultural seeds that have been chemically treated.
- Wash your hands before handling 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 after harvesting.
- Discard any batch that becomes slimy or develops an unusual or unpleasant smell.
That’s enough. Matter-of-fact, useful, and proportionate without making a newcomer wonder whether sprouting is something they should be nervous about.
particularly for children, older adults, pregnant people and people with weakened immune systems.
Cleaning Your Leaping Sprouts Kit
The stand and lid are made from a plant-based plastic made from renewable materials like corn starch or sugarcane but it doesn’t like heat so don’t put these parts in the dishwasher or use boiling water. Simply wash them with warm, soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Avoid soaking them in very hot water, which can soften or warp the plastic.
A Few Useful Tips
Don’t overcrowd the jar
Stick to the starting amounts in the table. Those small seeds turn into a surprising amount of sprouts.
Sprouts growing slowly?
Give them more time. Cooler temperatures generally mean slower growth, so use the harvest ranges as a guide rather than a deadline.
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 away loose hulls during the final rinses if you prefer, or leave them.
Broccoli Sprout Freezer Cubes
Have extra broccoli sprouts? Blend them with a small amount of water, pour into an ice-cube tray and freeze.
Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer container. Add them to smoothies, vegetable drinks or other cold foods whenever you want some.