Grow Mung Bean Sprouts in A Jar

A fun, edible 4-5 day project for kids

Mung beans are used in Indian and Asian cooked dishes, stir fries, and salads. You can find lots of recipes to use them in at yummly.com.

You can buy a sprouting jar, or sprout jar top to use on a jar you have, online from various different sources. I made my own by cutting plastic needlepoint canvas to fit the top wide mouth 2 quart mason jar I already had.

I bought a inexpensive bag of Mung beans at my local Asian market.

DAY 1: Soak 2 tablespoons of Mung beans in water for 12 hours.

I soaked mine overnight.

DAY 2: Turn the jar upside down to drain. Fill the jar with water and drain again. Sit the jar at an angle (sitting it in a bowl works) in a dark place, like inside a cabinet. I did this the following morning. In the evening, fill the jar with water, gently stir the beans, drain, and set at an angle again in the dark.

By the end of day 2, the beans are beginning to sprout

DAY 3: Fill the jar with water, gently swoosh the bean sprouts around, drain, set at an angle in a dark place again.

By the end of day 3, the sprouts are really taking off.

DAY 4: Fill the jar with water, gently swoosh the sprouts around, drain, set at an angle in a dark place.

DAY 5: Fill the jar with water, gently swoosh the sprouts around, drain completely, set in a bit of sunlight to let them green up a bit.

By day 5 I had a 2 quart jar full of sprouts.

When you are ready to eat them, wash them in a bowl of water. The discarded hulls will rise to the top so you can pick them out easily. Then drain and dry. They can be stored in the refrigerator or eaten immediately.

Samantha Teng has a great instructional video to watch.