My first attempt at growing microgreens involved ordering ten different seed varieties at once and scattering them all across a single tray. I figured more variety meant more learning. What I got instead was a mess: radish sprouted in two days and was ready before the cilantro had even cracked its shell. Sunflower seeds needed soaking I hadn’t done. Half the tray was harvestable while the other half was barely visible.
It took a few rounds of growing before I figured out which varieties actually make sense for someone starting out. This guide covers the seven best microgreens to grow indoors at home. For each one, I’ve included germination speed, harvest window, flavor, difficulty, and where to find microgreens seeds. These are the varieties I keep in constant rotation, ranked roughly by how forgiving they are for a first-time grower.
If you want to understand the basics first, start with our guide to what microgreens are. If you’re already clear on what they are and want the growing process, see how to grow microgreens at home.
Why Grow Your Own Instead of Buying?
A small clamshell of microgreens at the grocery store costs $5 to $10 and lasts about a week in the fridge before it starts to wilt. A single tray grown at home costs $2 to $4 in seeds and soil and produces three to four times as much.
Freshness is the bigger reason. Microgreens lose their crunch and flavor fast after harvest. The ones you can buy near you were cut days ago, packed into plastic, shipped in a cooler, and sat on a shelf. By the time you eat them, the best qualities are already fading. When you grow your own, you cut them minutes before they go on your plate. I didn’t fully understand the difference until I compared a homegrown radish microgreen to one from a store package bought the same day. The homegrown one was sharper, crunchier, and more alive. The store version tasted flat.
1. Radish Microgreens
Radish is the best microgreen to grow first. It’s the fastest, the most forgiving, and it delivers visible results before you have time to second-guess your setup.
Seeds germinate in 2 to 3 days. By day 7 or 8, you’ve got a thick mat of bright green shoots with pink or purple stems, ready to cut. No soaking. No special handling. Scatter the seeds, cover the tray, mist, and wait.
The flavor is sharp and peppery, like a milder version of fresh horseradish. It works on sandwiches, in salads, over tacos, and on top of grain bowls. When I want to show someone that growing food indoors is a real thing and not just a hobby, I point to the radish tray. Nothing produces faster results.
Germination: 2 to 3 days. Harvest: 7 to 8 days. Difficulty: very easy. Seed density: about 65 grams per standard 10×20 tray. Seeds cost roughly $2 to $6 per ounce from most microgreen suppliers.
2. Broccoli Microgreens
Broccoli is the variety I’d pick if I could only grow one thing on my shelf. The flavor is clean and mild with a slight peppery bite, which means it blends into anything without overpowering the dish. It grows nearly as fast as radish, and it’s the most studied microgreen for nutritional content.
A 2012 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, led by researchers at the University of Maryland and the USDA, found that microgreens contain significantly higher concentrations of vitamins C, E, K, and beta carotene compared to their mature counterparts. Broccoli microgreens have also drawn attention for their sulforaphane content. Research by Jed Fahey at Johns Hopkins found that young broccoli plants contain 20 to 50 times more sulforaphane than the full-grown vegetable.
Seeds are small, so you spread them densely. About 50 grams covers a standard 10×20 tray. No soaking needed. They’re ready in 7 to 10 days.
Germination: 2 to 3 days. Harvest: 7 to 10 days. Difficulty: easy. Seeds cost roughly $4 to $8 per ounce.
3. Sunflower Microgreens
Sunflower produces the biggest, most satisfying microgreens on this list. The shoots are thick and crunchy with a mild, nutty taste that reminds me of lightly toasted sunflower seeds. They’re filling enough to eat as a side on their own, not just as a garnish on top of something else.
The extra step with sunflower is soaking. These are large seeds, and they need 8 to 12 hours in water before planting. I soak them overnight and plant in the morning. During the blackout phase, I place a second tray directly on top with a small weight (a book or a jar of water) to press down on the seedlings. This helps them push the seed hulls off as they grow. Without the weight, you’ll spend time picking hulls off the leaves by hand, which is tedious and never quite works.
The yield per tray is the highest of any variety I’ve tested. A single 10×20 tray produces enough shoots for a week of meals. You need about 150 grams of seed per tray since the seeds are large.
Germination: 2 to 3 days (after soaking). Harvest: 10 to 14 days. Difficulty: moderate (soaking and hull management add steps). Seeds cost $5 to $10 per ounce depending on quantity.
4. Pea Shoot Microgreens
Pea shoots are the sweetest microgreens you can grow. They taste like fresh peas straight from a garden, with a crisp, tender bite and curling tendrils that make them the most visually interesting variety on a plate. These are the ones I eat directly off the tray more than any other.
Like sunflower, peas are large seeds that need soaking (8 to 12 hours). They grow taller than most microgreens, often reaching 3 to 4 inches before harvest, so make sure your growing setup has enough headroom. During the blackout phase, pea shoots take 4 to 5 days before they’re ready for light, a bit longer than most varieties.
Flavor peaks around day 10 in my experience. Earlier than that and the shoots taste thin. After day 14, the texture starts to turn fibrous and the sweetness drops off. Day 10 is the window I aim for. You’ll use about 250 grams of seed per tray since the seeds are big.
Germination: 2 to 3 days (after soaking). Harvest: 8 to 14 days. Difficulty: easy to moderate. Seeds cost roughly $4 to $7 per ounce.
5. Arugula Microgreens
Arugula microgreens carry the same peppery kick as the mature plant, but with a nuttier, smoother finish. The sharpness that puts some people off full-grown arugula is dialed back at the microgreen stage. The flavor is still distinctly arugula, just more balanced.
These are small seeds, easy to spread. No soaking required. Growth is moderate at 8 to 12 days. The shoots are delicate and tender, so handle them gently when you harvest. A light touch with sharp scissors works better than pulling. They pair well with eggs, pizza, pasta, and flatbread.
Germination: 3 to 4 days. Harvest: 8 to 12 days. Difficulty: easy. Seeds cost about $4 to $6 per ounce.
6. Kale Microgreens
If you’ve avoided kale because you find the mature plant bitter or tough, try the microgreen version. Kale microgreens are milder and sweeter, with a clean, slightly earthy flavor that blends well into smoothies and salads. The bitterness that defines full-grown kale is barely present at this stage.
They’re rich in vitamins A, C, and K, and one study found kale microgreens contain five times more glucosinolates (compounds linked to antioxidant activity) than the mature plant. Growth speed sits in the middle of the pack. No soaking needed. They don’t produce as much volume per tray as sunflower or pea, but the nutritional density makes up for it.
Germination: 3 to 5 days. Harvest: 8 to 14 days. Difficulty: easy. Seeds cost about $4 to $7 per ounce.
7. Cilantro Microgreens
Cilantro is the slowest variety on this list by a wide margin, but it’s here because the flavor is worth the patience. Cilantro microgreens taste like a brighter, more citrusy version of the mature herb, and people who find full-grown cilantro soapy often find the microgreen version much more palatable. The flavor is fresh and crisp without the polarizing edge.
The seeds are actually split coriander seeds: the whole coriander pod divided into two halves. The split seeds germinate faster and more evenly than whole pods. Some growers soak them for 8 to 24 hours before planting, but with split seeds it’s not required. Even with good conditions, cilantro takes 14 to 21 days from seed to harvest, roughly double the time of radish or broccoli.
The yield per tray is modest, and the shoots are small and delicate. But a handful scattered over soup, tacos, or a rice bowl adds a bright citrus flavor that punches well above its size. If you’re willing to wait, cilantro is a rewarding addition to a growing rotation once you’ve dialed in the faster varieties.
Germination: 5 to 9 days. Harvest: 14 to 21 days. Difficulty: moderate (slow and requires patience).
Where to Buy Microgreens Seeds
You can grow microgreens from regular garden seeds, but seeds sold specifically for microgreens are usually higher quality. They’re tested for germination rate and packaged in the larger quantities you need (30 to 250 grams per tray, depending on seed size).
The suppliers I’ve ordered from include True Leaf Market, Bootstrap Farmer, and Johnny’s Selected Seeds. All three carry microgreen-specific seed varieties with growing notes and recommended densities. Prices typically range from $2 to $10 per ounce, with bulk bags available at lower per-ounce rates. Radish and broccoli are on the cheaper end. Sunflower and pea seeds cost more per ounce but you use more per tray, so the price per grow is similar.
If you’re starting out, pick two or three varieties from the top of this list. I’d go with radish (for a fast confidence boost), broccoli (for nutrition and ease), and either sunflower or pea shoots (for a bigger, more satisfying harvest). That combination gives you a fast result, a nutritional anchor, and something substantial to eat, all within the first two weeks.
Ready to start growing? See how to grow microgreens at home for the full step-by-step process from tray prep to first harvest.