Sprouts Salad

Sprouts salad made with mung bean sprouts, fresh veggies, herbs and lemon. This 10 minutes super quick protein packed and delicious plant based sprouts salad is nothing less than a powerhouse of nutrition. It is refreshing, juicy and has lots of flavor & crunch. If you love making nourishing dishes that are super easy and delicious this sprouts salad is going to be your best friend! It is loaded with nutrient-dense foods that are very good for our body. More importantly this sprouts salad is vegan and gluten-free.

About Sprouts Salad

A sprouts salad can be made with many kinds of sprouts like mung bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, moth bean sprouts, horse gram, whole masoor (red lentils) and black chickpea (kala chana) sprouts. In this post I show how to make the sprouts salad with mung beans. If you want to make this salad with other kind of sprouts, read my pro tips section below where I detail the process.

Mung beans are also known as Green Gram and is a popular legume used in many Asian Cuisines. They are used to make various dishes like curries, desserts, dosa, soups and salads. You will also find Mung beans sprouts in a lot of dishes like noodles, salads, stew and even in soups.

Sprouting any kind of legumes, nuts or seeds increases their nutritional profile and make them more easily digestible. So consuming sprouts often is great for our body. This green gram sprouts salad is easy enough to make for a Breakfast or even for a light but nutritious lunch. Avoid eating it late in the night as they don’t digest well.

My Recipe

My recipe to make sprouts salad uses raw homemade mung bean sprouts, onions, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, green chilies (or black pepper), little fresh ginger, lemon juice and coriander leaves. To finish off sometimes I add a handful of cornflakes or roasted homemade Poha chivda, for an added crunch. This is totally optional but you will love that if you are too bored with the basic version.

On occasions I also add some chaat masala or fresh grated coconut. Even more, a lot of times I have made a sprouts chaat too with sweet Tamarind chutney and Green chutney. It tastes amazing!

We love all of these versions and can’t really say which one tastes better than the other because all of these taste simply awesome.

Do you cook Sprouts before adding to the salad?

Yes/No. This is an important decision to make before you prepare a green gram sprouts salad. If you are not using homemade moong sprouts, you should always cook them, either blanch or steam prior to using. Health experts always suggest cooking sprouts prior to consumption as they are prone to various kinds of bacteria & can lead to foodborne illness.

Cooking or blanching any kind of sprouts will reduce the risk of illness as it kills the harmful bacteria and also makes them easier to digest.

I have eaten raw green gram sprouts all my life without any problems because that’s how my Mom made sprouts salad. Even now this is our favourite way to eat green gram sprouts. I lately realized we do not have any problem eating the raw sprouts because we use fresh homemade green gram sprouts that are soaked & sprouted carefully to avoid the growth of bacteria. I have a detailed post on How to Sprout Mung Beans at home.

But if you are using store bought or refrigerated sprouts you should cook them thoroughly, steam or blanch them well before making this salad. If you have a sensitive stomach and cannot really digest the raw sprouts, then it is always recommended to either blanch or steam the green gram sprouts, whether homemade or not.

Pro tips

Using Other Kind of Sprouts : If you are using other kinds of sprouts like alfalfa sprouts, moth bean sprouts, horse gram sprouts, lentil sprouts, chickpea sprouts you should always cook them until tender, whether homemade or store bought.

None of these are edible in the raw form (like the green gram sprouts) plus these take longer to sprout during which many kinds of bacteria builds up.

When to steam mung sprouts for salad?
Store bought – Yes steam or blanch.
Home-grown – Yes Steam home-grown mung sprouts if they have taken more than overnight to sprout. If they have grown in a few hours (under 8 hours), they are edible raw without cooking and eat them right away.
If the home-grown sprouts are sitting in the refrigerator for more than a few hours, steam or blanch them before using.
If you have a sensitive stomach, blanch them ALWAYS.

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How to Make Sprouts Salad (Stepwise Photos)

1. I sprouted the green gram at home following this Mung bean sprouts recipe. Since these are homemade I use them raw. If using store bought, Rinse the sprouts well under running water. Bring 2 cups water to a rolling boil and add the sprouts. Give a good stir and turn off the heat. Immediately drain them to a colander and pour 2 cups clean drinking water, not tap water. Leave them in the colander until you are done with the other preparation.

2. Rinse onion, tomatoes, carrot, green chili, cucumber, lemon, ginger and coriander leaves under running water. If you want you may also add 2 to 4 young mint leaves (optional). Peel and fine chop onion, tomatoes, cucumber and chili (skip for kids). Grate carrots and ginger (optional). Cut the lemon. Fine chop coriander leaves too.

3. Make the salad only when you are ready to serve as the veggies will let out moisture. Add the sprouts to a mixing bowl. Add all the prepared veggies, ginger, chilli (or crushed black pepper, herbs and salt. Squeeze in the lemon juice and mix well. Taste test and adjust salt. Transfer to serving bowl and top with corn flakes or roasted poha chivda.

Serve sprouts salad immediately. If you want you may add little chaat masala or fresh coconut.

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