How to Make Sandwich and Salad Sprouts

We’ve all been there, wanting some nutritious sprouts and standing in front of a display at the grocery store wondering how long they’ll keep and why they’re so expensive.

What if I told you that you could keep a consistent supply of fresh sprouts in your kitchen with just a few minutes of upkeep per day? What if I also told you that they will cost a small fraction of the price your store-bought sandwich sprouts cost?

Choosing Seed Sprouts for Sandwiches

The best sprouts for sandwiches and salads are vegetable seeds. These include radishes, broccoli, and alfalfa. These are the type of sprouts you’ll find in your local health food store. They are thin, crunchy, and packed with nutrients.

But you don’t want to just sprout any old seed. Some seeds are sprayed with chemicals either as a pesticide or in order to keep them from sprouting too fast.

For this reason be sure that you seek out only seeds labeled “sprouting” or “sproutable”. You can find them here.

The Basics of Sprouting

Sprouts are simply the smallest, earliest life of a plant. So if you have a handful of radish seeds and stick them in the soil and water them you will soon have a sprout. But, if you allow it to grow past this point you might have a delicious red radish within weeks.

This beginning growth of the seed is what we are after when we sprout seeds in our kitchen. It is simply a matter of keeping them moist, rinsing often to avoid mold, and exposing them to sunlight towards the end to get them a good dose of chlorophyll.

The Process

1. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of radish, broccoli, or alfalfa seeds to a quart jar.
2. Cover it with a sprouting screen and a canning ring or use a sprouting jar lid.
3. Fill jar at least halfway full with water, swirling seeds to try to keep them submerged.
4. Allow to soak for about 8 hours.
5. Dump off water right through sprouting screen, add enough water to cover, swirl to rinse, and drain off once again.
6. Turn jar upside down at a 45 degree angle into a bowl or other container. This will allow any moisture to drip away.
7. 2 to 3 times per day repeat the rinsing process. If you live in a hot climate rinse 4 to 5 times per day.
8. Within a day or two you will notice tiny little tails emerging from the seeds. This growth will continue as you rinse and drain them. This process is temperature dependent, so if you are in a warmer climate it will go quickly and additional rinsings will be necessary.
9. After 3 to 4 days your sprouts should be long enough that your jar is filling up. At this point be sure they are in a sunny location so that they can make some chlorophyll.
10. Once your sprouts are to your desired length and the tips are green they are ready to eat. At the end of a draining cycle (before you would rinse them again) transfer to cold storage and eat within a few days.

How to Eat Sandwich Sprouts

Obviously these are delicious in sandwiches, but here are a few other ideas for you:

• Top salads with them.
• Mix them into a creamy cultured dairy dip.
• Chop finely and sprinkle over soups as you would fresh herbs.
• Whiz them up in your food processor with avocado, lemon juice, and garlic for a delicious dip or spread.

If you’re looking for a cheap and easy way to add some extra nutrients, chlorophyll, and variety to your diet then we highly recommend you try your hand at making vegetable sprouts.

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