Health
benefits

A light vegetable to crunch on

Very low in calories, bean sprouts (or shoots) from mung beans are packed with water. You can have as many as you want!

Bean sprouts also contain:

  • vitamin C
  • potassium
  • iron
  • zinc
  • vitamin B3

When is the right
time to eat them?

All year.

Bean sprouts (from mung beans) can be eaten year-round.

  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December

Vegetable patch
or urban balcony?

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Bean sprouts (from mung beans) are very easy to grow from seed at home. You need water, a closed container, and mung beans (they look like little green beans).

First allow the mung bean seeds to expand by soaking them in water overnight, in a container placed away from light. Empty the water every morning to allow the sprouts to grow during the day, add more water at night and let sit until the following morning, then repeat. The sprouts will develop in two to three days, turning from green to white, with a yellow tip (the cotyledon).

Choosing and
storing bean sprouts

Choose your bean sprouts well:

  • They should be white and shiny, with a bright yellow tip.
  • A sign of freshness: the sprout can break with a sharp sound.

Properly store your bean sprouts:

  • Always store away from light! Otherwise their sprouts will begin to turn green.
  • In the refrigerator: One to two days in the vegetable drawer.

Tips and
tricks

How to prepare bean sprouts

There’s nothing easier! Just rinse them quickly. You can eat sprouts that have been cooked for a few minutes as well as raw bean sprouts. The most common way to prepare them is to sauté them in a wok or frying pan for fewer than five minutes, with other crunchy vegetables.

Don’t keep the sprouts that have turned brown; they have oxidized and lost their taste and nutritional properties.

Bean sprouts go well with…

Raw: Whether mixed with carrots or bell peppers, bean sprouts go well with all raw vegetables to make fresh and crunchy salads.

Cooked: They go wonderfully with pasta or noodles, along with sliced vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, eggplants, and leeks. They are an essential ingredient in Asian dishes, such as spring rolls and Chinese-style pork with peanuts or cashews.

Can everyone
eat them?

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Young children

Babies can eat bean sprouts starting at age 24 months, to avoid the risk of pulmonary aspiration. Older children will like their fresh, crunchy taste.

And everyone else…

Bean sprouts are some of the easiest-to-digest pulses, along with lentils.

See plenty of other tips for encouraging children to eat vegetables

Where do they come from?
Origins and varieties

Origins: Mung beans are native to Asia, to Japan in particular.

Varieties: Bean sprouts (or shoots) grow from mung beans, which resemble green beans.