Why eat microgreens? That is usually the first question friends ask when they see our kitchen shelves lined with trays of tiny greens, and honestly, I get it. The plants look almost decorative, like something you would grow for a garnish and nothing more. My answer is that nothing else we grow gives us this much nutrition and flavor for so little space, money, or effort. A tray goes from seed to harvest in about two weeks, costs pennies, and turns an ordinary sandwich or salad into something that tastes like it came from a nice restaurant. Once you understand what these little plants actually are, the question stops being why and starts being why not.
What are microgreens, exactly?
Microgreens are an edible seedling, usually 1 to 3 inches tall, harvested right after the first leaves expand. They differ from sprouts in one important way. A sprout is eaten root, seed, and all, usually just a few days after germination. A microgreen gets a little more time, grows real leaves, and gets cut above the soil line. If you want the full rundown on that distinction, we covered it in our guide to growing sunflower sprouts at home.
You can grow them from almost any vegetable, herb, grain, or legume seed, which is part of the fun. And these cute little baby plants are not just a food trend. They are being taken seriously by researchers, who have been studying microgreens for their unusually dense nutrient content.
Why eat microgreens? The reasons we keep growing them
The first reason is simple: they are delicious. My wife and I both agree on this, and we do not agree on everything. A snipped handful of fresh greens, eaten seconds after cutting, tastes brighter and more alive than anything you can buy in a plastic clamshell at the store.
The second reason is nutrition. Early research suggests that microgreens are more densely packed with nutrients than their full grown versions. The most quoted study out there, from the University of Maryland, is worth a read, and the published microgreens research is easy to find if you want the details.
Here is the short version. Assistant professor Qin Wang and graduate student Zhenlei Xiao, working with the College of AGNR’s Department of Nutrition and Food Science, looked at nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, and beta carotene across 25 different types of microgreens, including cilantro, celery, red cabbage, green basil, and arugula. Their research found that the microgreens contained four to 40 times more nutrients than their mature counterparts. I will add my usual hedge: the range is wide, it depends on the variety and the nutrient, and microgreens are a food, not a supplement or a cure. But four times is four times.
That kind of density matters because of what we already know about vegetables in general. Eating a diet high in vegetables is linked to lower risks for many health problems, and microgreens are one of the easiest ways we have found to eat more vegetables without really trying. They have become a favorite of health conscious cooks for exactly this reason: the concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are higher per bite than in the mature plant.
The third reason is flavor variety. Microgreen use keeps growing in the culinary world because of their colors and their surprisingly broad range of tastes. Although they are tiny, microgreens have big, bold, and distinctive flavors, and a single tray can change the whole character of a dish.
Popular choices of microgreens include:
- Broccoli
- Radish
- Mustard
- Arugula
- Lettuce
- Amaranth
- Beet
- Lentils and chickpeas
- Pea shoots and sunflower
That list barely scratches the surface. Honestly, if the seed is edible, it is worth a try as a microgreen, and half the enjoyment for us has been experimenting with oddball varieties to see what comes up.
Easy ways to eat microgreens
There are more ways to use microgreens than we can list, but here is how they actually get eaten in our house. Blend them into a smoothie. Pile them on top of pizza, omelets, curries, soups, stir fries, wraps, and pasta. Tuck them into sandwiches, where they replace limp lettuce and immediately make the sandwich better.
Our favorite use is the Power Food Salad. Mix pea shoots, sunflower greens, arugula, and broccoli together as the base instead of lettuce, then dress it however you like. Every bite has a slightly different character, and it looks gorgeous on the plate, which matters more than I expected it to.
If you would rather drink your greens, they blend right into a smoothie alongside our favorite spirulina smoothie recipes. And if you are the kind of cook who thinks about flavor the way I do, this is the real magic: with a few trays going, you can get bitter, sour, umami, sweet, and spicy all from microgreens. Mustard and radish for heat, amaranth and pea shoots for sweetness, broccoli for that mild cabbagy depth.
How to grow microgreens at home
It is easy to grow your own microgreens at home, and I would argue it is actually preferable to buying them. There are very few foods you can eat this fresh with this little work. Store bought microgreens are a day or two old when you get them and decline fast. Homegrown ones are minutes old.
The supply list is short, and most of it is one-time purchases:
- A growing tray, 10 by 20 inches, with no drain holes
- A light source: a full spectrum LED, a basic LED, or just a sunny window
- A water sprayer for gentle misting
- A growing medium: organic soil, coconut coir, peat moss, or potting mix
- Organic sprouting seeds
- Optional: a warming mat to speed up germination in a cold house
Steps to growing your own microgreens at home:
First, pour about a cup of water into your growing tray. Fill the tray three quarters full of growing medium and pat it down lightly. The water at the bottom lets the roots drink from below, which keeps mold away better than soggy surface watering does.
Shake your seeds onto the soil, covering the surface densely and evenly. Spray lightly with water. Place a second empty tray on top of the seeds, weigh it down a bit if you like, and put the whole stack in a dark spot, on your warming mat if you are using one.
Check on them once a day and mist to keep things moist. Once the leaves have sprouted and the top tray gets pushed up an inch or so, move the tray under a light or close to a sunny window. There are plenty of opinions on light timing, but 12 hours on and 12 off works well for us, especially with a timer doing the remembering. Watching pale yellow seedlings turn green within hours of hitting the light never gets old.
How to store your microgreens
Do not cut your greens until you have to. Let them keep growing on the tray and harvest as you eat. After cutting, keep them moist by wrapping them in a damp cloth or paper towel and storing them in the fridge. They will hold for several days that way, though ours rarely last that long.
Will microgreens regrow?
Sometimes you will get a few late bloomer seeds that push up a second, smaller flush, but as a rule your microgreens only grow once. Cut, compost the roots, and start the next tray. Since a new tray takes ten minutes to set up, nobody here is mourning the used soil.
FAQ
Are microgreens really more nutritious than full grown vegetables? The University of Maryland study found four to 40 times higher concentrations of certain vitamins and carotenoids in certain varieties, so yes, with the emphasis on “certain.” We treat microgreens as a dense addition to a vegetable-rich diet, not a replacement for eating your vegetables.
Can you eat microgreens raw? Absolutely, and that is how most people eat them. They are delicate, so cooking them defeats the point. Salads, sandwiches, and garnishes are where they shine. Give them a quick rinse if they were grown in soil, though honestly we eat them straight off the tray more often than not.
What is the difference between microgreens and sprouts? Sprouts are eaten whole a few days after germination, roots and seed coat included, usually grown in jars with no soil. Microgreens grow in soil or a mat for one to three weeks and are cut just above the growing medium, so you eat the stem and leaves only.
Which microgreens should a beginner start with? Sunflower and pea shoots are the most forgiving and the fastest, radish is nearly indestructible and adds nice heat, and broccoli is mild enough for anyone. Start with two or three varieties, get a couple of trays under your belt, then branch out.
More Power Foods to explore
Have fun incorporating microgreens into your diet. Growing your own is the easiest way we know to keep fresh, nutrient dense food within arm’s reach, and it pairs well with the other things we ferment and grow around here. If you are in an experimental mood, try tepache, the fermented pineapple drink, or a batch of vegetarian kimchi. We also have guides to making sauerkraut at home and to making your own probiotics at home if you want to round out the kitchen. Thank you for reading, and please like, share, comment, and follow us for more Power Food info!
