How to Grow Alfalfa Sprouts at Home
Wondering how to grow alfalfa sprouts? It's really easy, and I'll show you how in this quick tutorial - all you need are alfalfa seeds, a jar and some cheesecloth.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Sprouting time4 days d
Total Time4 days d 5 minutes mins
Course: Salad, Snack
Cuisine: gluten-free, healthy, vegan, vegetarian
Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Low Salt, Vegan
Servings: 1 jar full
Author: Elizabeth Emery
- 2 tablespoon alfalfa seeds
- sea salt
Place seeds in a small bowl. Cover in twice their volume of water and add a pinch of sea salt to help encourage sprouting. Leave seeds to soak on a countertop overnight (or for 6+ hours).
In the morning, drain and rinse seeds through a fine meshed sieve.
Place seeds in a mason jar. Cover the jar's mouth with a piece of cheesecloth and secure with an elastic band.
Leave jar on its side on countertop to allow seeds to spread out and sprout.
In evening, pour about ½ cup fresh water into the jar (you don't need to remove the cheesecloth for this - I usually just pour the water straight through it).
Swill water around in jar and then tilt it to drain water out again immediately. Leave jar on its side on countertop to sprout.
Repeat this 'pouring & swilling' process each morning and evening for about 4 days, until sprouts are roughly 3-5cm in length with green tips.
Remove sprouts from jar, rinse thoroughly to remove husks and store refrigerated in a sealed container until needed.
That's it! Use in sandwiches, salads and smoothies. (Sprouts will keep for about 3-4 days if refrigerated.)