Alfalfa Sprouts | How to grow Alfalfa Sprouts
Grow your very own alfalfa sprouts at home any time of the year. All you need are alfalfa seeds, water and some patience! Serve these nutritional crunchy homemade alfalfa sprouts with salads, burgers, sandwiches, veggies or lentil dishes.
About Alfalfa Sprouts
In Hindi, alfalfa sprouts seeds are called ‘rajko‘. I like to buy organic alfalfa seeds from the Fabindia store or superstores. One of my friends showed me how to sprout alfalfa seeds at home and I am so thankful as now I get to enjoy these sprouts whenever I like!
Alfalfa seeds are really tiny but, once they grow they become tasty, nutritious sprouts. They are crunchy and can be eaten in different ways. These sprouts will add texture and nutrients to your family’s diet. Add them to your breakfast, lunch or dinner meals – sprinkle on salads, soups, top in sandwiches, burgers or serve as a side with your main course.
I sprouted these seeds for 3 days in the hot month of May in India. For colder temperatures, sprout the seeds for 4 to 5 days. You will get beautiful green sprouts that are a delight to look at! I love to add these little beauties to my morning toast with tea and my simple salads.
Once sprouted, store sprouts in a zip lock bag or airtight box for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.
Alfalfa sprouts also have health benefits. They are rich in antioxidants, an excellent source of protein for vegetarians, they contain valuable minerals and vitamins like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, B complex vitamins and Vitamins A, C, E and K.
How to Make Alfalfa Sprouts
1. Grab a clean jar. You can opt to sterilize the jar by rinsing it with hot water. Pick the stones and damaged seeds from about 2 tablespoons alfalfa seeds. Then add the seeds in the jar.
2. Rinse the seeds a couple of times in the jar. Pour the water out and be careful not to spill the seeds.
Add water to the same jar, cover the jar and leave the seeds to soak in the water for 5 to 6 hours.
You could opt to rinse the seeds in a bowl instead of the jar. And use the jar only to grow the sprouts.
3. Cover the jar with a muslin cloth, cheesecloth or thin cotton kitchen napkin.
4. Tighten the muslin to the mouth of the jar. Then use a rubber band or string to hold it in place.
5. Drain the water from the jar as shown in the picture below. After draining all the water, gently pour some clean filtered water inside the jar through the cheesecloth or muslin. Shake the jar and drain all of the water.
6. Below is a picture of the soaked alfalfa seeds. Leave the seeds in the jar and leave the rubber band and muslin on top.
I opened the muslin cover to show what the soaked seeds look like.
7. Keep the bottle inverted in a bowl to ensure that all of the water is removed from the jar. Any remaining water will cause the seeds to rot.
8. Rinse the seeds with clean filtered water every day. In hot temperatures, you may need to rinse the seeds a couple of times.
You can keep the jar inverted and slightly tilted in the bowl so that any extra water drains out. Discard this water from the bowl.
Rinsing removes toxic substances and harmful microorganisms that may grow in the jar. After one day, you will start to see sprouts.
9. After the second day, some greens will appear on the sprouts. Remember to rinse the sprouts every day.
After rinsing drain the water completely. Rinsing will also help the seeds to retain moisture and prevent drying.
If during the sprouting process, any time you get an awful smell, trash all of the seeds.
10. On the third day, the sprouts should be fully grown. I stopped sprouting after 3 days as it was very hot. So the sprouts are quite small compared to when they are sprouted for 4 to 5 days in cooler temperatures.
Before consuming alfalfa sprouts, rinse them thoroughly with warm or lightly hot water. This may get rid of the harmful bacteria if any on the sprouts.
Note that if you have a weak immune system, avoid eating any type of raw sprouts.
11. After rinsing and draining all the water, add these sprouts to your salads, rice, curries, sandwiches or burgers for an extra healthy bite!
Expert Tips
- Sterilize jar: If you can, sterilize the jar with hot water before you add the alfafa seeds. This will ensure that the jar is not contaminated and help the sprouts to grow to their maximum potential.
- Rinse alfalfa seeds: Make sure you rinse the alfafa seeds a couple of times. Be careful when pouring the water out of the seeds as you don’t want to lose any of the seeds. To avoid this use a fine strainer.
- Seasons: Growing alfafa seeds will yield different results in different weather conditions. If you are growing sprouts in hot weather then they will only need 3 days to grow. However, if you are growing alfafa seeds in colder weather then they will take more than 3 days to grow. When sprouts are grown in the summer over a three day period they tend to be quite shorter in comparison to sprouts grown in colder weather. This is because the extra days allow the sprouts to grow longer in length.
- Serve: Get creative with these delicious seeds and serve them with any dish of your choice. My favorite things to serve alfalfa sprouts with are morning toast, salads, veggies, burgers, curries and more. Don’t forget that these sprouts are rich in protein too and can be added to vegetarian or vegan dishes too!
FAQs
Do we have to change the muslin cloth cover every day?
You don’t need to change the muslin cloth cover every day at all. Use the same muslin cloth to cover the jar throughout the three-day period. Feel free to change it if you want to.
Where can we get alfalfa seeds? Are they available in supermarkets?
You can buy alfalfa seeds in the organic grocery section in supermarkets or you can order them online.
Are broccoli sprouts the same as alfalfa sprouts?
Though broccoli sprouts and alfalfa sprouts look similar they are not the same. Broccoli sprouts and alfalfa sprouts taste different and have different nutritional contents.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
Materials required
- 1 cheesecloth or muslin cloth
- 1 small jar – glass jar or mason jar
- 1 string (cotton or jute) or rubber band, to tie
Ingredients for sprouting
- 2 tablespoons alfalfa seeds
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Pick the seeds if there are stones or damaged seeds.
- Take a clean jar. If possible sterilize the jar by pouring hot water over it or keeping the glass jar in boiling water for 5 minutes.
- Add the alfalfa seeds in the jar.
- Rinse the seeds a couple of times with water taking care the seeds don’t spill out.
- Cover the jar lightly and soak the seeds in 1 cup water for 5 to 6 hours.
- Secure a muslin cloth or cheesecloth on the mouth of the jar with a string or rubber band.
- Drain all the water from the secured muslin cloth.
- Next rinse the seeds with clean filtered water. Gently pour some clean filtered water inside the jar through the cheesecloth or muslin. Shake the jar and drain all of the water.
- Keep the jar inverted for some time till the extra water also drains out.
- Store the jar in a cool and dry place for 3 to 5 days till you see the sprouts.
- Rinse the seeds and the jar everyday with clean filtered water and then drain the water completely. You can keep the jar slightly inverted in a bowl so that any extra water drains out in the bowl. Discard this water.
- When the sprouts are done, then remove the alfalfa sprouts with a spoon in another jar/box/zip lock bag and store airtight in the fridge.
- Alfalfa sprouts stays good for 4 to 5 days when refrigerated.
- Before using the alfalfa sprouts, thoroughly rinse them with warm or lightly hot water a few times. This also removes the hulls if you do not prefer them.
- Add the rinsed alfalfa sprouts to your food whenever you want them.
Notes
- You can use a clean glass jar or mason jar. If you prefer, you can opt to sterilize the glass jar with hot water. You can also use a sprouting jar or a sturdy BPA free plastic jar.
- Rinsing is very important throughout the entire sprouting process. Rinse the seeds first before soaking. After soaking, rinse the seeds again. While the sprouts are growing, rinse with clean filtered water every day once.
- Before eating the sprouts, rinse them thoroughly in warm or lightly hot water.
- Keep the jar inverted in a bowl for some minutes to drain out all the water from the jar when you keep the alfalfa seeds to sprout and also after you rinse the sprouted seeds later.
- If at any point of time you get an awful or stinky smell, trash the sprouted seeds.
Nutrition
This How to grow Alfalfa Sprouts post from the archives first published in August 2012 has been republished and updated on November 2022.
A well explained post. Always a delight to read your blog,Dassana. Admire the efforts you put into your recipes and the write ups. I do have a question though…while the seeds sprout in jar, they have to be kept covered with muslin cloth, right? U have mentioned to rinse the seeds everyday. So do we have to change the muslin cloth cover everyday? Thanks in advance.
Thanks NP for your kind words. No need to change the muslin cloth cover every day. Keep them covered.
What does alfalfa seeds mean in Marathi? Unless I know the local name buying will be difficult.
not sure what alfalfa seeds are called in marathi.
Thank you for the well explained procedure along with pictures to make alfalfa sprouts. This is very much effective in reducing uricacid levels in blood cerum as this can raise rhe ph levels in body
glad to know this thankyou so much ram 🙂
Got all the answers . Great way of explanation .
thanks sourav
Thanks a lot
i got answer to my question about an important question, sometimes searching in many other publications, for some duration of many days, for sprouting Alfalfa, very quickly by your site.
Rajabi
welcome rajabi. good to know.
Very good
This explanation is brilliant! And so methodically and pictorially explained. I have been wondering for a long time where I could get the Alfalfa sprouts as I need for various recipes.
Just one suggestion. We could use a sprouting vessel which is avialble in the market. It is more hygenic and the moisture issues are taken care of more easily.
They are commonly called Rijaka seeds in hindi.
Thanks.
thanks ashit. thanks for the suggestion of the sprouting vessel. you can buy alfalfa seeds online or in a super market.
What is the name of Alfalfa Seeds in Marathi language? Are ‘Matki’ or ‘Mot’ Seeds, the alfalfa seeds? Maharashtrians sprout the ‘Matki’ or matkaya seeds, big time and quite routinely. Even other seeds like moong, masoor, chawli, harbare (channa) and even shengdane (peanuts) as they are called in marathi are sprouted and commonly made into a very tasty and nutrtious snack they call ‘Usal’ in a Maharashtrian household.
i don’t know what is alfalfa seeds called in marathi. they are not matki or moth beans. alfalfa seeds are very tiny. i know about the sprouts and usal too.
Where can we get kudure menthe or alfalfa seeds. Are they available in super markets
you can buy alfalfa seeds in the organic grocery section in super markets. you can also buy them online.
can we use alfalfa sprouts with other sprouts and make curry?thank u dassana
alfalfa sprouts taste very different when cooked. they loose their crunchiness. so i would suggest to have them raw or lightly sauted. but still you can try adding them with other sprouts in a curry.
Are these alfaalfa are methi seeds?
no they are not methi seeds. you should be able to buy them online or get them at health food section or organic section in a super store.
Wonderful post Dassana 🙂
thanks saigeetha
This is such a beautiful post…well explained…you are tempting me to make some sprouts with your amazing clicks…
I used to sprout it quite often..but now I get it from my health store, lazy me..time I start doing it again.
This is new to me and I would love to give this a try. Btw not sure if I missed reading it .. how long does it stay fresh after you make the sprouts ?
dear kankana, these usually keep good for 5 days. maximum one can extend for 7 days.
Alfalfa seeds are new to me…Never came across them..The method of making sprout in a jar is interesting..Anyway sure about it being healthy as all sprouts are…:) Beautiful clicks..
Hi,
I did not know of Alfalfa Beans. I thought you may be referring to Moong Dal. Will try and get it from the grocers … hope they have heard of this. However, someone below have mentioned that it is called rajko in hindi. I’ve heard of Rajma. Anyway will try and find out if I can get it. Thanks. Healthy living is most welcomed.
you should be able to get it in bombay. it is me who has mentioned that it called in rajko in hindi. do try… they taste also good and are healthy as well.
Dassana alfalfa sprouts is really new to me, I am going to make this soon for my family, too healthy ! Your clicks are looking awesome…
How interesting!! It reminded me of a science class. 😀 Alfalfa is good for us and we should be eating it with salad and other food! Thanks for the great tutorial!
thanks nami
Hey Dassana, this is such a beautiful post. I love the alfalfa sprouts but, never thought about sprouting them at home. By any chance, do you know the name of alfala seeds in hindi or even Kannada?
Thanks in advance.
good to see you family cool after a long time. i did miss your posts as well your comments. hope you & your family are doing good and you had a great eid.
in hindi they are known as rajko. i don’t know what they are called in kannada. a health food or organic food store will mostly have these seeds.
Dassana, I found out! Alfalfa is called kudre menthe in Kannada. I wanted to tell somebody who knows kannada about this amazing seed.
Eid was good, thank you.
I am now enjoying the recipes I have missed and I am soon going to try your dhaba style daal.
thanks family cook…..
hey Dassana, I read this method in one book and they mentioned that this method will work for any bean sprouts. I have never tried this method though. And even I have never tasted particular this alfalfa sprouts.
yea I remember the book – Joy of Cooking – All about Vegetarian.
dear kanan, i make my other bean sprouts with the same method. only difference is i don’t use a jar for the beans. i use a bowl or a pan to sprout the beans. the alfalfa sprouts taste good. they are crunchy and tastes very nice with salads and even sandwiches or burgers.