Let's grow your Alfalfa sprouts

3 steps

Everything you need is on your pack. Here it is again, step by step.

1. 
   1

   Soak

   Put the seeds in a clean sprouting jar or sprouter and cover with clean drinking water. Soak for 4 to 8 hours.

2. 
   2

   Rinse

   Drain, then rinse and drain 2 to 3 times a day, keeping the seeds out of direct sunlight.

3. 
   3

   Harvest

   Typically ready in 5 to 7 days. Rinse, drain well and refrigerate.

• Use about 2 tablespoons of seeds for a 1 litre jar. They swell a lot, so less is more.
• After each rinse, rest the jar upside down at an angle so it drains well.
• Store harvested sprouts covered in the fridge and use within a few days.

Day by day

Day 0 is the day you soak. Every kitchen is different, so yours may be a day ahead or behind. That's fine.

Day 0: Soak

You will see

Small, kidney-shaped, golden-brown seeds.

What to do

Wash your hands, and wash a 1 litre jar in hot soapy water. Add about 2 tablespoons of seeds and rinse them. Cover with two to three times their volume of cool drinking water. Soak for 4 to 8 hours. Then pour away all the water, shake out as much as you can, and rest the jar upside down at an angle. Keep it out of direct sunlight.

Day 1: Swelling

You will see

The seeds look plumper. Some may split, and a few tiny white tails may peep out.

What to do

Rinse and drain 2 to 3 times a day. Morning and evening is the minimum. Drain well each time and tilt the jar so air can flow.

Day 2: Tails

You will see

More white tails, getting longer. Alfalfa often grows lots of fine, fuzzy white hairs on the roots. These are root hairs, and they're normal (see the checker below).

What to do

Keep rinsing and draining 2 to 3 times a day. Rinse more often if your kitchen is warm.

Day 3: Growing

You will see

Longer, thin white sprouts. Loose seed hulls start to show.

What to do

Keep rinsing and draining. Give the jar a quick sniff. Fresh sprouts smell clean and mild.

Day 4: First leaves

You will see

Tiny pale leaves start to open at the tips, and the sprouts start to fill the jar.

What to do

Keep rinsing and draining 2 to 3 times a day. If the sprouts pack tightly, give the jar a gentle shake after rinsing so water and air reach the middle.

Day 5: Often ready from today

You will see

Sprouts a few centimetres long, with small leaves.

What to do

You can harvest now, or keep going for a day or two if you'd like them bigger. Optional: for their last day, sit the jar in bright light but not direct sun, so the leaves turn greener.

Day 6: Harvest day for most people

You will see

Well-grown sprouts with open leaves.

What to do

Give them a final rinse. To remove loose hulls, tip the sprouts into a bowl of drinking water, swish gently and skim the hulls off the top. Drain well for a few hours so they go into the fridge fairly dry. Store them in a covered container in the fridge. Cook them until steaming hot before eating.

Day 7: Last day of the usual window

You will see

Longer sprouts with bigger, greener leaves.

What to do

Harvest today if you haven't already. Rinse, drain well and refrigerate. Cook them until steaming hot before eating, and eat within a few days.

Rinse tracker

Is it mould or root hairs?

This is the question new sprouters ask most. Here's how to tell.

Drain thoroughly after every rinse, rinse more often in warm weather, keep the jar tilted so air can flow, and grow a smaller amount at a time.

Not sprouting?

• Soak for 4 to 8 hours in clean drinking water.
• Drain, then rinse and drain 2 to 3 times a day.
• After each rinse, rest the jar upside down at an angle so it drains well.
• Keep the seeds out of direct sunlight.
• Typically ready in 5 to 7 days.
• Store seeds sealed in a cool, dry, dark place.

Recipes

Alfalfa sprouts have a mild, fresh flavour and soften quickly in hot dishes. Every idea below cooks the sprouts until they are steaming hot.

Alfalfa sprout and spring onion omelette

Serves 1

You need

• 1 good handful of alfalfa sprouts (about 50 g)
• 2 to 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• A knob of butter
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter in a frying pan and soften the spring onions for 1 minute.
2. Add the sprouts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until wilted and steaming hot.
3. Pour in the eggs, season, and cook gently until set. Fold and serve hot.

Miso noodle soup with alfalfa sprouts

Serves 2

You need

• 2 good handfuls of alfalfa sprouts (about 100 g)
• 700 ml vegetable stock
• 2 nests of dried noodles
• 1 carrot, cut into thin sticks
• 2 tbsp miso paste
• 2 spring onions, sliced

Method

1. Bring the stock to the boil, add the noodles and carrot, and simmer until the noodles are cooked (see the packet).
2. Lower the heat and stir in the miso paste until it dissolves.
3. Add the sprouts and spring onions and simmer for 2 minutes until the sprouts have wilted and the soup is steaming hot.

Garlic mushrooms and alfalfa sprouts on toast

Serves 2

You need

• 2 good handfuls of alfalfa sprouts (about 100 g)
• 250 g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• A knob of butter or 1 tbsp oil
• 2 slices of toast
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan and cook the mushrooms for 4 to 5 minutes until golden.
2. Add the garlic and sprouts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until the sprouts have wilted and everything is steaming hot.
3. Season and pile onto hot toast.

Quick idea: stir a handful of sprouts into a soup for the last 2 minutes and simmer until steaming hot.

Check the labels of your other ingredients, such as eggs, butter, miso, noodles, stock and bread, for allergens.

Like your sprouts cold? Cook them first, then cool them.

Sprouts blanched until steaming hot, then cooled, in a sandwich. Image for illustration.

Blanched alfalfa sprout sandwich with egg mayonnaise and cucumber

Serves 1

You need

• 2 slices of seeded wholemeal bread
• 1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon shop-bought mayonnaise
• A few slices of cucumber
• A good handful of alfalfa sprouts (about 50 g), blanched as below
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil.
2. Add a good handful of sprouts (about 50 g) and stir to separate them. When the water is back at a rolling boil, boil for 2 minutes, until the sprouts are soft and steaming hot all the way through.
3. Wash your hands. Drain the sprouts in a clean sieve that has not touched raw sprouts, then cool them quickly under cold running drinking water. Shake off the water and pat dry with clean kitchen paper.
4. Use straight away in your sandwich, or keep covered in the fridge, away from raw sprouts, and eat the same day.
5. Mix the chopped egg with the mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. Spread it on one slice of bread, add the cucumber and cooled sprouts, and top with the second slice.

Cooking for someone who is pregnant, a young child, an older person or anyone unwell? Serve the sprouts hot, straight from the pan, instead of cooled.

This recipe contains egg, which is an allergen. Check the labels of your other ingredients, such as bread and mayonnaise, for allergens. Seeded breads often contain sesame, and mayonnaise can contain mustard.

About Alfalfa seeds

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), also called lucerne, is a clover-like plant from the pea family, widely grown as a forage crop. Its seeds are tiny and kidney-shaped, and they grow into fine, thread-like sprouts with two small leaves. Because the seeds are so small, a good drain after every rinse matters more than with bigger seeds.

Questions