Sprouts are a healthy addition to your diet! This is how I make them at home. (And I save a LOT of money making them VS buying sprouts at the store!)

Here is an example of sprouts sold in the store. Let’s compare to the sprouts on the right since I’ll be showing you a sprout seed mix. The store sprouts, for practical purposes, are $4.00 for 4 ounces (1/4 of a pound).

When I checked the current price of the sprouting seeds you’ll see below, a 16 ounce (1 pound) bag of seeds is $8.00. When you make the sprouts you’ll use 2 tablespoons of seeds (which is what they call “one serving”, and the bag holds about 20 servings.

Since I use 2 tablespoons of seeds every time I make a batch, $8.00 divided by 20 servings in a bag is only 40 cents per batch of sprouts I make!

You will see at the end of the process - the 2 tablespoons of seeds creates a large amount of sprouts that nearly fills the jar - much more than the 4 ounces sold in the containers in the store. I might be getting 8 ounces of sprouts!

If I bought 8 ounces of alfalfa sprouts at the store, that would cost me $8. For the same amount of sprouts made at home, I’m spending 40 cents!

Next, let’s see what you’ll need to make sprouts at home!

To make sprouts at home, you’ll need to purchase a sprouting jar and a sprouting seed mix. I have an older model of this jar from NOW Foods.

For seeds, I like this Zesty Sprouting Mix from NOW Foods.

As of this posting, you can get the jar from Amazon or from iHerb - click the links below to see the prices. (At this writing, the jar on iHerb is $6.00 while the jar on Amazon is $13.05.)

You can also purchase the sprouting mix from iHerb.

Sprouting Jar from Amazon

Sprouting Jar from iHerb

Sprouting Seeds from iHerb

The jar will either have instructions on the side (as shown above) or instructions will come tucked inside the jar.

To start process, measure out two tablespoons of seeds and pour the seeds into the jar. Put enough water in the jar to cover the seeds by one inch. Let the seeds soak in the water for about 5 to 8 hours. (You can let the seeds soak overnight.)

After the seeds have soaked for several hours, it’s time to drain the water.

Since the jar comes with a lid that is screened, you can keep the lid on the jar to drain the water. Simply tip the jar over and drain the water.

Give the seeds another rinse in tepid water (not too cold and not too hot).

Drain the water again.

Give the jar a gentle shake to get the seeds distributed along the length of the jar.

Place the jar on its side at an angle with the lid slightly downward, as shown above. If the area is close to a window or brightly lit, put a kitchen towel over the jar. My kitchen sink isn’t at a window so I just leave it like this.

Twice a day - morning and evening - fill the jar with tepid water to cover the sprouts….

…and then drain all of the water out.

If you live in an area that is hot outside or a dry climate, you can rinse & drain the sprout seeds three times a day.

Gently shake the jar to redistribute the sprouts/seeds before setting the jar at an angle again.

Do this twice-a-day (or three-times-a-day in a hot or arid climate) rinsing and draining for 3 or 4 days in a row.

Every day you will see more and more sprouts from the seeds!

On about the 4th day, give the sprouts one last rinse of water. Then place the jar sideways where it can get more daylight, but not direct sunlight. Near a window where the sun doesn’t come straight in to shine on the jar is good. The sprouts will continue to grow and become more green.