How & Why I Grew Broccoli Sprouts At Home

I admit it, I’m an experiment addict. I love finding new projects or ideas and then trying them out over and over at home.

My health and wellness obsession led me to my recent venture of growing produce in my kitchen. One too many YouTube videos had me googling everything from growing micro greens and herbs on my countertop to setting up extensive grow lights and an indoor garden in your basement.

I finally settled on making broccoli sprouts for my first experiment.

I’ve been a long time consumer, (in all aspects of the word), of broccoli sprouts since I learned about their health benefits.

PLEASE NOTE: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I SHARE BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND RESEARCH. YOU ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR WITH ANY CONCERNS.

According to studies which can be summarized in this video from NutritionFacts.org, broccoli sprouts are a superfood packed with more sulforaphane than fully grown broccoli or many other vegetables. Sulforaphane has been shown to not only have anti-cancer benefits, but are incredible for hormone balance. It does this by helping our liver in detoxification.

Be sure to always chew your broccoli sprouts or full grown veggie because that is the only way to activate the enzymes.

However, broccoli sprouts are pretty expensive for the amount you get in store if you can even find them on a regular basis. Especially when you consider how much is recommended to eat on a daily basis (which is around a cup or less a day according to the video from Dr. Rhonda Patrick included below).

I just want to take a minute to share my continuous love for all cruciferous vegetables. I’ve been yelling from the mountains for years about them. In the video below, (one of the best performing on my YouTube channel), I shared how I used DIM supplement, (also know as Diindolylmethane), to help get my period back a couple of years ago. DIM is an enzyme found in cruciferous vegetables and helps with the processing of estrogen (and extra estrogen) in the body. Click here to find out more information about the enzyme. Be sure to check out the video I made below.

Overall, cruciferous veggies in all their forms are a great natural options for women especially those dealing with hormonal issues. To be honest, with all of the threats our body come across on daily basis (including potentially hormonally disruptive beauty products, pesticides, plastics, and even BPA covered receipts), adding extra servings of them into our daily routine can’t hurt.

Long story short, my geeky side and my cheapskate side put their heads together and told me to try making broccoli sprouts at home.

What I Used To Make Broccoli Sprouts

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The supplies I needed included:

A Large Mason Jar (Or A Jar You Can Cover With A Strainer Lid)

A Stainless Steel Sprouting Lid

Organic Broccoli Sprout Seeds

Filtered Water

Please Note: I also purchased this kit with a stand to help keep the jar on an angle to ensure proper drainage. It’s not necessary and can be swapped for anything else that keeps the jar on an angle.

In addition, some people use screen wires or other material to cover the jar instead of the sprouting lids. I found this lid to be helpful and stress free. I stayed away from the plastic lids because I generally try to avoid plastic that touch food as much as I can. However, these lids fit 64 oz mason jars. For the record, there are a million different uses for these jars including my easy cold brew coffee recipe and also fruit infused water.

Lastly, this may seem like a lot to invest on the front end, but a small amount of seeds yield a lot. Remember the jars, lids, and stands can be reused for other projects and can last for years.

How I Made Them

Despite the fact that I was pretty nervous about the thought of making these at home, I am so happy I finally did. They were easy and I already have made a couple more batches since this.

Broccoli Sprouts:

1. Put 3 tablespoons of broccoli seeds in a jar with filtered water. I used water from my Berkey Filter.
2. Cover with a regular lid and set in a dark place in your kitchen from 8-12 hours.
3. After that time, drain water out of jar. Rinse twice and drain as much as you can.
4. Set jar on an angle in the stand mentioned above or in whatever container you have. It can be placed on your counter, not in a super dark place.
5. For the next 3-6 days, rinse the seeds/sprouts every 8-12 hours. Once the seeds start a bit of sprouting, you can move the jar to a spot with indirect sunlight.
6. After the brown hulls of the seeds separate from the sprout, fill the jar with water and let the hulls float to the top. Skim the hulls off and throw away (or compost).
7. Once the sprout has developed a tail (sprout) and two green leaves, they are ready.
8. Drain completely for 8-12 hours, then refrigerate the sprouts. They should be good for up to a week as long as they stay dry.

What I Didn’t Know

I got the above instructions from this website and a couple other YouTube videos. It worked out perfectly and resulted in me wanting to do this all the time.

However, not many of these sites mentioned the root hairs that developed as the leaves started to poke out of the sprouts. I truly thought I messed up completely and was ready to throw everything out. I did some research and found out this was perfectly normal and to be expected. So, just keep that in mind and do your research as well.

Overall, the experience was great and I plan on continuing. These, like all health related things, are part of a lifestyle and is not meant to be a quick fix. Nonetheless, the simple possibility of growing your own food in a small space is amazing.

Let me know if you’ve ever tried this or if you would.

FTC DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small finder’s fee on the sale. This does not increase your price in any way shape or form. Using these links help support the continuation of this website. All opinions are my own. Thank you in advance.

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