Sprouts are one of the easiest things you can make at home. I used to buy sprouted lentils all the time, because they are awesome in salad, but now I make my own because the simplicity is hard to beat. Not to mention, it’s much more inexpensive to sprout lentils at home than to buy sprouted lentils at the store!
So, why do you want to eat sprouted lentils anyway? Why are they better than regular lentils?
While cooked lentils are a powerhouse of nutrition, sprouted lentils are even better. They’re easier to digest, leave you with less gas & bloating, and sprouting increases the amount of vitamins in the lentils.
You only need 4 things to make your own sprouted lentils: a mason jar & ring, very thin cloth (I used cheesecloth), water, and dried lentils.
The first thing you want to do is put some lentils in a jar (I used about 1/4 cup lentils and 3/4 cup water).
The lentils are going to expand quite a bit, so don’t put too many of them in there. Just a little bit will yield quite a few lentils once they’ve sprouted.
Put the lid on your jar, with the piece of thin cloth underneath. Make sure it’s on there tight.
Then stare at your jar of lentils. This is going to be so exciting! Homemade sprouted lentils for salads, in regular-lentil dishes and even as a tasty snack on their own!
Put your jar in a dark corner of your kitchen and leave them alone for 24 hours.
I put mine in the back corner of my kitchen, away from direct sunlight.
After 24 hours, drain the water, rinse the lentils and put them back in the jar. Add a new piece of thin cloth to the jar, do NOT add any more water, put the lid on the jar and let it sit in a dark corner again, for about 12 hours – only this time, lay it on it’s side.
Rinse the lentils, drain them, and add a new piece of cloth, Leave them out of direct sunlight, repeat this process every 12 hours, until your lentils have sprouted and the sprouts are at least 1/4 inch in length. This took about 3 days for me.
Spread the lentils out on a towel and let air dry before storing in the refrigerator (in an air-tight dish). They will last for 5-7 days.
Look how cute they are!
What? Lentils can be cute, can’t they?
Do you cook the lentils or just eat them raw? I used to eat the sprouted lentils raw, but I was wondering what you do with them 🙂
You can do either. I usually eat them raw, but have cooked them before, too (not on their own, but in something, such as cauliflower rice & lentil tacos, I would cook the lentils and cauliflower rice together (for about 5-10 minutes)).