How to Grow Tasty Nutritious Bean Sprouts for Practically Free
And a bonus recipe, too.
I love bean sprouts. But when I lived in a small, rural town of 1,006 people in West Texas, there were no bean sprouts in our grocery stores. So if I wanted bean sprouts, I’d need to grow them myself.
And guess what? It’s super easy to grow your own.
You only need a few things:
A glass jar, a one or two-quart size, works well.
A piece of cheesecloth or a special sprouting lid made for canning jars.
Some mung bean seeds which are cheap and easy to find online.
Always thoroughly wash your hands and your jar before beginning your sprouting process. Every time you rinse your sprouts, wash your hands and the bowl your sprouts are draining into.
Here are the super-simple sprouting steps.
Remember: 1/4 cup, 4 oz. of beans =
4 cups sprouts
put the seeds in the empty jar
fill the jar half full of water
2. let the beans soak for 1–4 hours
3. put the sprouting lid or cheesecloth secured with a rubber band or ring on top
6. prop your jar at an angle in a bowl to catch moisture
7. place it in a dark cupboard
8. twice a day, take the jar from the cupboard and fill it with clean water
9. gently swish the beans around, drain, and replace them in the dark cupboard
10. here are the bean sprouts 72 hours after starting
11. the sprouts will continue lengthening and filling the jar
12. when they are 3 or 4 inches long, I consider them done
13. pull them out of the jar and rinse one more time
14. place in a container in the fridge and use within 2 days
Yummy bean sprouts’ nutritional information.
I love the crunchy, slightly nutty flavor of mung bean sprouts on salads, sandwiches, or stirfries. They’re also good for you!
Nutrients per Serving
One cup of mung bean sprouts contains the following nutrients:
Calories: 31
Protein: 3 grams
Fat: 0 grams
Carbohydrates: 6 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Sugar: 4 grams
Vitamin C
Calcium
Iron
This one cup of bean sprouts will give you 23% of your recommended Vitamin C for the day.
What can you do with these delicious Mung Bean Sprouts?
My favorite way to enjoy sprouts is in a simple stir fry, using other veggies you may have on hand. Here’s a typical batch from my fridge that makes two generous servings.
Ingredients
2 cups of bean sprouts
1/2 an onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 stalks of celery, thinly chopped
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 cup of mushrooms
3 tablespoons sesame or other oil
Soy sauce
Grated ginger, chili pepper, other seasonings you like
Heat your oil over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic. Saute while stirring for a minute or two. Add the zucchini and mushrooms, continue cooking and occasionally stirring until the zucchini is just tender. Add the bean sprouts and soy sauce. Cook another minute or two. Add whatever seasonings you like, and it’s done.
You can eat this simple stir fry but itself or with rice, rice noodles, or any other carbohydrate. I often add cubes of tofu or chickpeas, too.
I hope these easy steps inspire you to grow your own sprouts at home. Let me know how you enjoy eating them!