Stop Sleeping On Microgreens, The Most Nutrient-Dense Food You Can Easily Grow At Home

Microgreens were once only the garnishes of high-end restaurants, but recently they’ve been making the rounds on everything from cocktails to farmers markets and taco restaurants in Denmark. With high-impact flavors and nutrients, growing microgreens at home is a no-brainer. They take up only inches of space making them high-yield and small-footprint crops. And as long as you have a window, you can grow your own. It’s the ultimate form of urban gardening.

Small but mighty is the best way to describe the flavor of microgreens—imagine the flavors of fully grown radish, beet, and herbs, and then distill it. A bite into microgreens is impactful and can enhance any dish. By picking the right microgreen, you can add an extra layer of pepperiness, nuttiness, or herbal qualities to your recipe. They're also the ultimate visual tool (i.e., Instagram gold). They add texture, shape, and color to every dish.

While microgreens entered pop culture as garnishes in high-end restaurants, you're not limited to garnishes. When researchers looked2 at how people accepted microgreens, it significantly correlated with the acceptability of the microgreen flavors. So pick what you like! Add them to wraps and toasts, top stir fries and salads, and even add them to smoothies. They're a great way to build out an entree like a baked salmon with a light salad paired with a crisp watermelon radish. Because they are so delicate, microgreens are best used raw immediately after cutting.

Saying these super plants can grow everywhere is totally not click bait. As long as you have a shallow container, some dirt, and access to daylight, you can grow microgreens. Even the small act of producing microgreens in your own home is a small step toward increasing access to better nutrition. One study3 calls microgreen production and the addition of microgreens to eating plans a "viable mechanism for diversifying food production systems" that also have "the advantage of empowering individuals to take responsibility without the need for extensive…infrastructure development." Since they can be grown year-round and do not require fertilizer or pesticides due to their short growth period, they may be a smart greens solution for all communities.