How to Sprout Beans at Home – Easiest Method

Sprouting your own beans is easier than you might think, and they’re full of impressive health benefits! People have been preparing beans this way for thousands of years, and in just a few simple steps, you can learn how to sprout beans too and improve your health.

I’m always looking for easy ways to help my family eat healthier on a budget. So when I learned about sprouting beans, I had to try it! We loved the results so much that sprouting beans is now part of my regular routine, and we eat more beans than ever. We don’t experience any of the negative effects typically associated with beans which is saying a lot for my husband who was unable to eat beans for years due to gut issues.

What’s Wrong with Unsprouted Beans?

Left unsprouted, beans are full of anti-nutrients which reduce the body’s ability to absorb nutrients in food. So when you’re eating that bowl of chili or lentil soup made with unsprouted beans, your body isn’t able to absorb a significant portion of the nutrients in the entire dish. The individual anti-nutrients in beans also have a number of their own specific harmful effects.

Lectins – These types of anti-nutrients can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and less severe symptoms such as bloating and gas. Lectins also bind to the lining of the intestinal tract which is believed to cause long-term effects including reduction of nutrient breakdown and absorption and a negative effect on the gut bacteria balance. Over time, they may even cause an auto-immune response leading to chronic inflammatory conditions.

Phytate – In addition to significantly reducing nutrient-absorption, phytate inhibits certain digestive enzymes which affect your body’s ability to breakdown food.

Saponins – These are similar to lectins in that they can affect the lining of the gut and potentially cause leaky gut and auto-immune responses over time.

The good news is that sprouting beans removes or deactivates a high percentage of each of these anti-nutrients!

More Reasons to Learn How to Sprout Beans

If the reduction of anti-nutrients wasn’t enough, there are even more reasons why it’s best to sprout beans.

Contain more protein – Protein is an essential aspect of a healthy diet, and by eating sprouted beans instead of unsprouted, you’ll be automatically increasing your intake.

Higher vitamin and mineral content – While all beans have significant amounts of important vitamins and minerals, sprouted beans have been shown to have even higher concentrations.

Improved digestibility – The sprouts are high in enzymes which will help your body to more easily digest food.

How to Use Sprouted Beans

Sprouted beans can be cooked like unsprouted beans, just keep in mind that they won’t take quite as long. It’s not recommended to eat any sprouted beans, especially kidney beans, raw, so make sure that you fully cook them.

You can use them in any recipes that call for beans including tacos, soup, chili, and bean salad. You can even make your own refried beans which taste much better than the canned version! The options are endless!

What Type of Beans to Use

You can sprout any variety of dry beans. For best results, always use organic beans. While non-organic beans may sprout just fine some of the time, they may be sprayed with a chemical that prevents them from sprouting at all.

How to Store

Store sprouted beans in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days before cooking them. If you can’t use them all up in time, you can freeze them for 8-10 months.

Ingredients & Tools

You don’t need any fancy equipment or ingredients to sprout beans! People have been doing this for thousands of years with only the simplest of tools.

Dry beans – I like to sprout a large amount of beans at once, however, you can also sprout beans in small batches.

Shallow baking dish – You can use a pie pan, glass baking dish, or something similar. My favorite pan to use is a 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish.

Water – Since the beans will soak up a lot of water, make sure to use quality drinking water such as filtered water, spring water, or clean well water.

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How to Sprout Beans

Day 1

Start by pouring the dry beans into the baking dish. Make sure to not fill it up more than 1/5th full. The beans will expand a lot during the sprouting process.

Pour enough water into the dish to cover the beans at least 3 times. You can’t use too much water, but there’s no need to fill up the pan completely to the top. Some of the beans will likely be floating, so tap them with a spoon to make them sink.

Cover the pan and let sit overnight or for 12-24 hours.

Days 2 – Beans Sprouting

Drain the water out of the pan. Then, add more water and swish the beans in it to rinse them. Now drain this water out of the pan. Make sure the beans are spread evenly across the pan and cover.

Repeat this process 3-4 times a day until the beans have grown approximately 1/4″ – 1/2″ sprouts. This will take different amounts of time based on the type of bean you are using and the temperature of the room. Most beans will grow sprouts within 3-4 days.

Cook

Once the beans have grown 1/4″ – 1/2″ sprouts, you can store them in the fridge for up to 3 days to cook later or go ahead and cook them right away.

Cook sprouted beans like dry beans, however, keep in mind that the cooking time will be reduced. Since they cook more quickly than dry beans, you can also add them directly to soups or chilis without first cooking them as long as you let the dish simmer until the beans are soft. The specific amounts of time will vary depending on the variety of bean you sprouted.

Now you can enjoy your delicious, healthy beans that you sprouted yourself!

If you try sprouting beans, let me know in the comments! Tag me on Instagram @violet_rightathome

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