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How to Make Sprouts at Home | Easy Guide with Soaking Times

Make sprouts at home! It’s easier than you might think, cheaper, and less wasteful as well as you can make as little or as much as you need at a time. It’s all about soaking and sprouting times, so stick to the guide of 18 soaking times outlined below and you’ll be set. 

How to Make Sprouts at Home A Guide with Soaking Times

Benefits of soaking and sprouting

Soaking and sprouting is said to neutralise the plants’ own protective enzyme inhibitors which can be make seeds and grains hard to digest (this is why birds are such good sowers of plant-life). These can cause bloating and indigestion in some people. Soaking and sprouting grains and legumes turns them into living plants, making nutrients like vitamin B and C more bioavailable. Sprouting also makes legumes alkaline.

How to make sprouts at home

To make sprouts at home, you will need some seeds, nuts or legumes for sprouting.Opt for organic varieties if you can. 

How to Make Sprouts at Home A Guide with Soaking Times

We love the fresh green flavour of sprouts and often enjoy them as a snack, add them to sandwiches or salads. Lentils and chickpeas are some of our favourites, but sunflower seeds and beans of all sorts are great too!

I recommend using filtered water. Remember that it feeds the plant, which we end up eating so it’s best to choose pure ingredients. And that includes water!

How to Make Sprouts at Home A Guide with Soaking Times

Want more reading? Check out this article about what’s so special about sprouted wheat.

How to make sprouts at home
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How to Make Sprouts at Home with 18 Soaking Times Guide

Always use raw dried whole nuts, seeds and grains - i.e unroasted buckwheat, unroasted almonds, dried corn, chickpeas and lentils.
Prep Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours
Servings: 1 cup

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup nuts, seeds, grains or legumes (soaking guide below)
  • cold filtered water

Instructions

  • Place a desired amount of nuts, seeds, grains on legumes in a clean glass bowl, jug or jar and cover with enough filtered water to come up about 2 inches above. Soak for the required time - see table below. Drain using a sieve then rinse with filtered water.
  • If sprouting, leave the food inside the sieve and leave at room temperature for the required time (see table below) to sprout. Dip in filtered water for a couple of minutes every few hours to "water" the sprouts.
  • Once sprouted to about half a cm long, transfer sprouts to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 2-5 days.
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Soaking and Sprouting Times for Nuts, Seeds, Legumes and Grains

Adzuki beans8 hours3-5 days
Alfalfa8 hours1-3 days
Almonds8-12 hours12-24 hours
Barley6-8 hours2 days
Buckwheat30 minutes1-2 days
Cashews2-8 hoursdoes not sprout
Chickpeas12 hours12-24 hours
Corn12 hours2-3 days
Lentils8 hours12-24 hours
Millet8 hours2-3 days
Mung beans24 hours2-4 days
Peas (Sugar Snap)24 hours3-5 days
Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)8 hours1-2 days
Quinoa2 hours1-2 days
Rice8 hours3-5 days
Spelt and Rye8 hours2-3 days
Sunflower seeds6 hours 2-3 days
Wheat6 hours2-3 days

6 comments

Conrad June 23, 2015 at 12:10 pm

Do you just use regular dried legumes or seeds or do you buy those special packets? I’ve seen them but they don’t seem that much cheaper than the already sprouted boxes.

Reply
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook June 25, 2015 at 9:57 pm

Hi Conrad, I just use the regular ones – you can buy them in bulk stores or just in regular supermarket in the dried food section. They are a lot cheaper too.

Reply
Debbie June 23, 2015 at 5:08 pm

That’s a great post, thank you! I must say I often buy sprouts and then end up tossing most of them because I find the packets too big.

Reply
I Liked This // 26.06.2015 - erin made this June 26, 2015 at 6:02 am

[…] School holidays are here, I’m going to get sprouting. […]

Reply
Cheri mayell November 16, 2015 at 11:44 am

How exciting I inadvertently sprouted sone butternut squash seeds. But how would I sprout black turtle beans please.

Reply
Martyna @ Wholesome Cook November 16, 2015 at 6:21 pm

Hi Cheri, that’s great! To sprout black turtle beans the method is very similar. Soak dried beans in 2-3 times more cool filtered water for 12 hours. Then drain and rinse and set out on a sieve lined with cheesecloth set out of direct sunlight. Rinse every 8-12 hours and allow to sit on the cheesecloth in a sieve. You should have the sprouts ready in around 3-4 days.

Reply

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