As a child, you likely enjoyed watching seeds grow.
It was nothing more than placing seeds on moist paper with dirt, letting the sun shine, and bam! In a few days you had sprouts.
As an adult, sprouts have much more value than excitement.
What to Expect? Sprouting beans is an easy, inexpensive, and tasty way to increase your nutrient-dense food palette. Legumes are nutritious foods that are tasty and highly digestible.
Here is a basic sprouting guide to sprouting beans and other legumes.
What You Need to Know before Sprouting Beans
You must know the following before starting your sprouting project.
Which beans can you sprout?
The majority of beans can be sprouted.
Some varieties, such as black beans and navy beans, may take longer and need more attention to sprout.
Heads Up! Please do not sprout broad beans, kidney beans, and Lima beans as they contain potentially harmful substances that do not go away even when re-hydrated. Only cooking will remove these substances.
Do you need special seeds?
You can use either conventional seeds or special sprouting seeds when sprouting beans.
Conventional seeds are the same seeds that you can purchase to consume.
These are dried legumes and haven’t been processed or treated in any way.
Special sprouting seeds go through a special cleaning process and treatment.
Therefore, they are less likely to harbor pathogens that like to grow in moist conditions such as E. coli and salmonella.
The 5 Best Bean Sprouter Kits For Home Growing
Below are the best bean sprouter kits available in the market.
1. Gardens Alive Seed Sprouter Kit
With the Gardens Alive Seed Sprouter Kit, you can easily produce nutritious and delicious bean sprouts at home, school, or in the office.
Its attractive design means it will work in any setting, as well as not compete for space where you would not want a sprouter.
This kit comes with two trays, allowing you to simultaneously grow two varieties of beans.
Its stackable design will permit growers to add four more, allowing you to have six growing containers at the same time.
Pros
- Beautiful design
- Two-tiered, with support for up to six growing trays
- Optimal sprouting conditions
- BPA-free food-grade plastic
Cons
- Small growing trays
Interestingly, you do not need sunshine or soil to sprout seeds with this product. There is a special hydroponic setup included that will provide the best conditions for sprouts to germinate.
Your legumes will grow up to 20 times faster as long as there is consistent and adequate moisture.
2. OYSIR Beans Sprout Machine
Sprouting itself is not difficult, but the OYSIR Beans Sprout Machine makes it even easier.
This smart device has many useful features to simplify the sprouting process.
First, the machine has a powerful sprouting seeds function.
Depending on the current environment, there are three different season modes available, Autumn/Spring, summer, and Winter.
When you pick the correct mode, the machine will automatically adjust for the best sprouting conditions for your seeds.
Second, the machine has Time Control LED Display.
After you set the time (or times), you can watch your setup through a small screen. After the set time has elapsed, the machine shuts down.
The OYSIR Beans Sprout Machine also has a 360-degree rotating sprinkler to avoid any uneven spraying of seeds. This will enable seeds to grow at a uniform rate.
Pros
- Odorless non-toxic plastic
- Easy to operate
- Smart functionality
- Excellent safety features
Cons
- Unsuitable for small seeds
Finally, this intelligent device includes a power-off memory function. If the power goes off before the end of the set time, the machine will return things to normal when the power comes back on.
3. SOLIGT Stackable Stainless Steel Seed Sprouting Kit
If you’re looking for a strong and durable seed sprouter then the SOLIGT Stackable Stainless Steel set is the way to go. Also, the whole kit is BPA-free and non-toxic.
The sprouting kits come with three growing trays and a cover. You can easily stack them on top of each other, minimizing space.
You won’t need to be a pro to sprout beans from this kit because it comes with a guide with step-by-step directions on how to sprout many different microgreens and legumes.
Pros
- Sturdy and durable design
- BPA-free material
- 3-year unlimited warranty
- Easy to use
Cons
- Harvesting is hard
In the event you are not happy with the item you purchased, SOLIGT backs this product with a 3-years unlimited warranty and during that time, you can get a refund or a replacement for your faulty kit.
The only drawback is that the trays are deep, which can make for a challenging harvest.
4. ABEL Seed Sprouter
The ABEL Seed Sprouter kit consists of three main pieces: a clear lid, a white meshed inner tray, and a solid green outer tray.
The clear lid goes over the trays and helps keep the heat and moisture. Hence, the sprouts grow quicker.
Furthermore, the kit is constructed from polypropylene plastic, which is BPA-free, allowing for a chemical-free environment to grow your sprouts.
Pros
- Large capacity
- Optimal growing conditions
- BPA-free plastic
- Easy to use
Cons
- Unsuitable for large seeds
Unfortunately, the holes in the mesh tray are too big, and will allow smaller seeds to pass through it. For this reason, you will need to get some cheesecloth.
5. IUME Seeds Sprouting Kit
The IUME Seeds Sprouting Kit is perfect for those who enjoy traditional sprouting jars. It comes with two food-grade glass mason jars topped with stainless steel lids. There are two strong stands to hold the jars in place.
The two jars are individualized – you can grow different sprouts at the same time. Each jar has a hole in its top for drainage and to allow airflow.
These conditions allow the plant to sprout quickly – your plants can be ready to eat as soon as three days after putting them in the jar.
Pros
- Easy to use and clean
- BPA-free glass and stainless steel
Cons
- Glass is brittle
Washing this kit is easy. You can use your hands or place it in a dishwasher after every sprouting cycle to get rid of dirt.
How to Sprout Beans
Sprouting beans is a straightforward process that needs minimal equipment.
Here are the steps to follow.
Purchase sprouting beans
As mentioned above, sprouting seeds grow faster and healthier than regular beans.
You’ll also have an easier time growing varieties like:
- chickpeas
- lentils
- mung beans
Rinse and soak the seeds
Once you’ve unpacked it, the next thing you need to do is place the beans in a strainer and run them through some water.
Keep doing this until the seeds are clean and no unwanted materials are remaining.
Next, you have to soak them for at least eight hours. The best time to do this is overnight.
While soaking, add three cups of water for every one cup of beans. And make sure to cover the container once the water is in.
After eight hours (or the next morning) the seeds will have absorbed most of the water, and grown in size a bit.
Drain the beans
Your sprouting container should have holes in the bottom for drainage of excess water.
Holes also help with aeration.
Once seeds are drained, refill container with water. Repeat until seeds are adequately moist.
Cover the Jar
Following that, relocate the growing container to a dark and humid environment.
Cover it with a porous material that will block out light, while still allowing air to circulate.
The kind of beans you are sprouting will dictate how long it takes to sprout.
Some can take as little as two days, while others will take about five days.
Harvest your sprouts
Your sprouts will be ready to harvest when they are between 1¼ inches and 1½ inches tall.
After taking them out of the container, place them on a flat surface or cut them to a flat surface, using absorbent material such as kitchen or paper towel.
Be sure to place the sprouts in a warm and dry location so that the excess moisture can evaporate.
How to Sprout Beans Faster
The best way to speed up the sprouting of your beans is to increase both the humidity and temperature in your growing container.
This method can shorten the sprouting time by two days or more.
Alternatively, you can sprout fast-growing varieties. This includes green split peas, lentils, or mung beans.
Black beans, black-eyed peas (also called black-eyed beans), and chickpeas will sprout after five days.
How to Use Sprouted Beans
Sprouted beans are better for you than regular beans in the preparation of foods.
Potential uses for sprouted beans include:
- Dips: when making hummus, you can use sprouted chickpeas in place of regular chickpeas.
- Sandwiches: sprouted beans provide a nice crunch in sandwiches.
- Snacks: sprouted beans can be eaten as a snack, either raw or after being roasted and salt.
- Soups: sprouted beans enhance the flavor of soups.
- Stir-fry dishes: mung beans are a common ingredient, used regularly in many Asian stir-fry recipes.
What are the Benefits of Sprouting Beans?
The following are the top benefits of sprouting beans.
Better nutrition
Sprouting enhances the nutritional value of the starch contained in beans.
It also increases protein levels, as well as,
- vitamin C
- folate
- iron
- magnesium
- zinc
Sprouted legumes also metabolize phytate when consumed. Phytate is known to limit absorption of nutrients in the gut.
Ease of digestion
During sprouting, legumes convert complex starches into simple sugars.
This is much easier to digest especially if you have troubles digesting complex sugars.
An inexpensive source of food
Growing beans at home is a clever way to lessen reliance on grocery stores.
It is simple to do and does not cost much money.
You will receive ready food for a small fraction of what you would have paid at your local grocer.
Sprouting FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about sprouting beans.
Is sprouting safe?
Sprouts are indeed safer to eat if you grow them in a sterile environment.
However, that’s impractical, since most plants thrive in humid environments.
Instead, you should simply cook the sprouts before eating them to rinse away the pathogens.
How do you protect against mold?
High humidity and low airflow are the principal causes of mold.
Be sure to rinse your seeds thoroughly after soaking. Also, your containers must have sufficient drainage holes.
Are raw beans harmful?
Some beans are harmful if eaten raw.
Watch Out! These include broad beans, kidney beans, and Lima beans.
Wrapping Up
Growing beans at home is more than just convenience – homegrown food is healthier and cheaper.
With some proper bean sprouter kits for home growing beans and some care, you won’t be making the weekly trips to the grocer anymore!