Sunflower Sprouts: Grow and Eat!
A perfect indoor gardening activity for the cold winter months. Grow and eat fresh sunflower sprouts with your kids!
Sprouting is the perfect gardening activity for kids. Not only can you see the “fruits” of your labor within 2 days, but it’s almost impossible to screw it up! We’ve had plenty of gardens that have failed.  We put in lots of hard work, and didn’t get any fruits or vegetables. But sprouting has worked for us every time!  Even better, sprouting microgreens are so tasty and versatile, that the kids like to eat them.
Our latest project was Sunflower sprouts (often called sunflower lettuce). I learned about these tasty little sprouts at a church activity and the kids were excited to give it a try.
Grow Them!
There are just a few simple steps to growing sunflower sprouts. The first is to find some black sunflower seeds in the shell. The ones best for sprouting look like this:
Step 1)
Soak the sunflower seeds for 12-18 hours. They like to float to the top, so I used a jar with a lid to turn it upside down and to make sure it was filled.
Step 2)
Dump into a colander until they sprout- keep damp by spraying with tap water. Once they begin to sprout a tiny white tail, they are ready.
Step 3-6
Step 7
Spray with a spray bottle to keep it damp. After two days, remove the paper towel. After 5-6 days, you’ll have sunflower lettuce!
Eat them!
TJ is my crazy one. He is in that phase where he thinks it’s cool to eat weird stuff. He likes to pull leaves off of his sprouts and chomp on them in front of his friends.. Kind of a show off thing. Lol. So, I made sure to send him some plain sprouts in his lunch.
We also eat the sprouts in sandwiches or on top of some crusty bread. This one has cream cheese, avocado, and tomatoes, with sunflower sprouts on top!
If your kids don’t like to SEE the sprouts on top of their bread, you can always turn it into this mouth watering spread!! Cream cheese, sprouts, and avocado, all in the food processor!! YUM!!
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If you’ve ever used sunflower lettuce/ or sunflower sprouts in a recipe, I’d love to hear what you do with it!
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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What an awesome idea! I never knew you could eat sunflower sprouts(although, why not?) and plus they are so cute! We have to try this 🙂
I’ve used other types of sprouts before but never sunflower sprouts. That spread looks really good with the avocado and cream cheese in it! I can’t wait to try it myself once I get some sunflower sprouts!
I really like how you not only gave instructions on how to get the sunflower sprouts to bloom (with pictures thank you very much :)) but you also gave several ways to eat them. I have to admit I don’t always have the best green thumb so being told step-by-step what to do and then being able to see the pictures of each step and what it should look like when I’m done really helps. I also now have some ideas of what to do with these healthy greens once I’ve grown them.
Thanks Lyn!
About how many seeds were in the container shown?
Thanks
Kathy
All the soil was covered with seeds.
All the soil was covered with seeds.
What other seeds can I sprout? Can’t wait to do this with my girls. Thanks
There are so many seeds you could spray Shay! Here is a list of some of them: http://sproutpeople.org/seeds/
Sunflower sprouts are SO yummy in smoothies too! Thanks for the step by step directions to sprout 🙂
Do you need to use the sunflower seeds still in shells? I have the shelled kind, will that work too? Great spread recipe. My kids might actually eat that!
They are still in the shell Pam, but these black ones are specifically for sprouting. The sunflower seeds in the shell you buy for eating are different.
Ahhhh, did not know that. I’ll definitely have to buy some. Thanks for all of your great recipes!
Hi Amy,
I simply love the vegetarian options you have. Being a vegetarian I had a hell of a time planning my son’s lunch after we moved to the US from India.
I pack his lunch by 6 in the morning and it will be an easy 5-6 hrs before he eats. I always had my concerns about sending guacamole / avocado for lunch owing to the oxidization. Is there anything that I need to keep in mind while packing an avocado preparation for lunch.
Would really appreciate if you can please clarify this for me
Suman, you can squeeze a tiny bit of lemon juice in the mashed avocados and it seems to be enough to keep it from getting too brown.
I use them is Asian dishes – stir fried with ground pork or turkey and season with garlic and soy sauce, or in clear soup. My favorite is to use as a vegetable in my ramen noodle dishes.
Just had a sample taste this morning, 5/3 at the Columbia University farmers’ market. Bought a packet and plan to mix with a salad and make into a spread. Sunflowers have always been my favorite seed/nut. Looking forward to sprouting our own. We have skylights and it’ll make for a good natural light/filter without getting too hot. Viva la girasol!
Hi there,
Just wanted to note that these are Microgreens also called shoots, not sprouts, since they are grown on soil. Love your recipes, keep up the good work!
I grow sunflower sprouts in BPA free 10 inch plastic trays with organic soil. Soak one cup of seeds for 12 hours. Rinse in a colander twice a day till they start sprouting. Plant. Takes about 12 days for maturity, They are delicious!
Love this idea, thank you!
I have just started step one. Great timing as i am on a strict detox and micro greens are just the thing.
I only had red sunflowers at hand as i am in Iran at present.
I was wondering if it would be possible to actually grow a few of the sprouts to produce the sunflower plant?
Nice and sunny here now and would love to have a few sunflowers here on our balcony. We are in semi lockdown so would be so cheering to have a plant or two! ??
Great idea! That would work!
I didnt think to put the sunflower sprouts in the avocado like that. great idea. I have been buying my sunflower sprouts online and getting them delivered. its easier than growing them and i always have them on hand, but i still grow some when i feel like it.