Encyclopedia

The Complete Microgreens Encyclopedia

Built for both wholesale buyers and chefs: 25 microgreen profiles with flavor identity, nutrition context, and real-world usage standards.

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All: All 25 microgreens with wholesale-grade consistency context and chef-facing flavor guidance, from mild utility greens to high-impact specialty cuts.

🌻Asteraceae

Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Sunflower microgreens are the undisputed heavyweight champions of the microgreens world — thick, crunchy, and satisfying in a way that most delicate greens simply cannot match. Grown from black oil sunflower seeds (not the striped snacking variety), these microgreens produce tall, sturdy stems toppe

📅 8-12 days🟡 Intermediate

🫛Legume

Pea Shoots

Pisum sativum

Pea shoots are the tender, curling tendrils and young leaves of the common garden pea, harvested when they've grown just 3 to 6 inches tall. They are among the most visually appealing microgreens, with delicate, winding tendrils that curl and twist like miniature grapevines, giving any plate an inst

📅 8-14 days🟢 Easy

🌶️Brassica

Radish

Raphanus sativus

Radish microgreens are the firecrackers of the microgreens world — fast-growing, vividly colored, and packed with a peppery punch that wakes up any dish. They are one of the easiest and fastest microgreens to grow, germinating in as little as 24 hours and reaching harvest size in just 6 to 10 days.

📅 6-10 days🟢 Easy

🥦Brassica

Broccoli

Brassica oleracea var. italica

Broccoli microgreens may look unassuming — thin stems, small round cotyledon leaves, nothing visually dramatic — but they are arguably the single most nutritionally significant microgreen in existence. The 2012 landmark study by researchers at the University of Maryland, published in the Journal of

📅 7-10 days🟢 Easy

🌾Grain

Wheatgrass

Triticum aestivum

Wheatgrass is the bright green, blade-like growth of the common wheat plant, harvested young before the plant begins to joint (produce its seed head). It stands apart from other microgreens in both appearance and use: rather than being eaten whole as a garnish or salad green, wheatgrass is almost ex

📅 7-12 days🟢 Easy

🥬Brassica

Arugula (Rocket)

Eruca vesicaria ssp. sativa

Arugula microgreens deliver the same signature peppery, mustard-like bite that has made mature arugula a darling of Italian and Mediterranean cuisine — but in a more concentrated, elegant form. These microgreens produce slender stems topped with tiny, lobed cotyledon leaves that are bright to dark g

📅 7-12 days🟢 Easy

🌿Herb

Basil

Ocimum basilicum

Basil microgreens capture the beloved aromatic intensity of the world's most popular culinary herb in a tiny, jewel-like form. These microgreens are visually striking — particularly purple basil varieties like Dark Opal and Red Rubin, which produce stems and leaves in deep burgundy-purple that look

📅 12-20 days🟡 Intermediate

🌿Herb

Cilantro (Coriander)

Coriandrum sativum

Cilantro microgreens — sometimes labeled as coriander microgreens (same plant, different regional naming) — bring one of the most polarizing flavors in the culinary world to the microgreens tray. You either love them or you have the OR6A2 gene variant that makes them taste like soap. For the cilantr

📅 14-21 days🟡 Intermediate

🥬Brassica

Kale

Brassica oleracea var. sabellica

Kale microgreens take the nutritional superstar status of mature kale and compress it into a tender, mild, and far more versatile form. While mature kale can be tough, fibrous, and intensely flavored (requiring massage, cooking, or aggressive preparation), kale microgreens are soft, delicate, and su

📅 8-12 days🟢 Easy

🟣Brassica

Red Cabbage

Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra

Red cabbage microgreens are the showstoppers of the microgreens world — their vivid purple-magenta stems topped with bright green cotyledon leaves create a visual contrast that elevates any dish from ordinary to Instagram-worthy. They are among the most photogenic microgreens commercially available,

📅 7-12 days🟢 Easy

🔴Amaranthaceae

Amaranth (Red Garnet)

Amaranthus tricolor

Amaranth microgreens — particularly the Red Garnet variety — are among the most visually stunning crops in the microgreens world. They produce magenta-to-crimson stems and leaves that look almost unreal in their intensity. When the light hits a tray of red amaranth microgreens, the color is electric

📅 8-12 days🟢 Easy

🟥Amaranthaceae

Beet (Bull's Blood)

Beta vulgaris

Beet microgreens — particularly the dramatic Bull's Blood variety — are prized for their deep, burgundy-red coloring and their earthy-sweet flavor profile that bridges the gap between the salad bowl and the spice rack. They produce tall, elegant stems in shades ranging from hot pink to deep crimson,

📅 10-14 days🟢 Easy

🌈Amaranthaceae

Swiss Chard (Rainbow)

Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris

Swiss chard microgreens — especially the Rainbow or Bright Lights variety mix — deliver a kaleidoscope of stem colors that make them one of the most visually spectacular trays in any microgreens operation. The stems emerge in shades of bright yellow, orange, hot pink, magenta, crimson, and white, al

📅 10-14 days🟢 Easy

🟡Brassica

Mustard

Brassica juncea

Mustard microgreens pack a fiery, wasabi-like punch that makes them the go-to choice for anyone who wants to add serious heat and pungency to their food without reaching for the hot sauce bottle. They're bold, unapologetic, and not for the faint of palate — yet they carry a complexity and depth that

📅 7-10 days🟢 Easy

🌱Legume

Fenugreek

Trigonella foenum-graecum

Fenugreek microgreens — called "methi" in South Asian cuisine — are a fragrant, flavorful microgreen with deep roots in Indian, Middle Eastern, and North African cooking traditions. They produce slender, pale-green stems topped with three-part (trifoliate) leaves that are unmistakably leguminous in

📅 8-14 days🟢 Easy

☘️Legume

Red Clover

Trifolium pratense

Red clover microgreens are the gentle souls of the microgreens world — mild, sweet, tender, and universally inoffensive in flavor. They produce delicate, thin stems with small, round cotyledon leaves that are bright green, sometimes with a faint reddish tinge. They're often confused with alfalfa spr

📅 7-12 days🟢 Easy

💜Brassica

Kohlrabi

Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes

Kohlrabi microgreens are a hidden gem of the Brassica family — combining beautiful purple-and-green coloring with a mild, sweet flavor and impressive nutritional credentials. The stems emerge in shades ranging from pale green to stunning deep purple (depending on whether green or purple kohlrabi see

📅 7-10 days🟢 Easy

🌿Brassica

Garden Cress

Lepidium sativum

Garden cress microgreens are one of the oldest cultivated salad plants in human history, with records of cultivation dating back to ancient Persia over 2,500 years ago. Today, they remain one of the most elegant and refined microgreens available — dainty, peppery, and unmistakably sophisticated. Cre

📅 7-10 days🟢 Easy

🌸Tropaeolaceae

Nasturtium

Tropaeolum majus

Nasturtium microgreens are the bold rebels of the microgreens tray — large, round, lily-pad-shaped leaves on thick stems that deliver a peppery, watercress-like punch. Unlike most microgreens where you're eating cotyledon leaves, nasturtium is typically grown to the first true-leaf stage, producing

📅 10-16 days🟡 Intermediate

🌿Polygonaceae

Buckwheat

Fagopyrum esculentum

Buckwheat microgreens — sometimes called buckwheat lettuce — are tall, elegant, and surprisingly lemony-fresh in flavor. They produce broad, heart-shaped cotyledon leaves on tall, slender pink-to-red stems, creating a visually appealing crop that looks like a miniature garden of valentines. The leav

📅 7-12 days🟢 Easy

🫘Legume

Lentil

Lens culinaris

Lentil microgreens bring the nutritional powerhouse reputation of lentils — one of humanity's oldest cultivated crops — into the vibrant world of fresh greens. They produce slender, climbing stems with small, compound leaves and delicate curling tendrils reminiscent of pea shoots. The overall appear

📅 10-14 days🟢 Easy

🌽Grain

Popcorn Shoots

Zea mays var. everta

Popcorn shoots are the surprise hit of the microgreens world — grown from ordinary popcorn kernels, they produce tall, bright-yellow shoots that taste remarkably like sweet corn. These are not subtle greens — they're bold, sweet, and instantly recognizable. The shoots emerge pale yellow to bright go

📅 7-14 days🟢 Easy

🍋Polygonaceae

Sorrel (Red-Veined)

Rumex sanguineus

Sorrel microgreens — particularly the striking Red-Veined variety — deliver a bright, lemony tartness that is unlike anything else in the microgreens world. They produce elegant, lance-shaped cotyledon leaves with prominent red veins that create a stunning visual effect, like miniature stained-glass

📅 10-14 days🟢 Easy

🌱Legume

Alfalfa

Medicago sativa

Alfalfa microgreens — distinguished from the more common alfalfa sprouts by being grown in soil to the cotyledon leaf stage — are among the mildest, most universally palatable microgreens available. They produce thin, delicate stems with tiny, rounded cotyledon leaves that are bright green and unifo

📅 7-10 days🟢 Easy

🥬Brassica

Green Cabbage

Brassica oleracea var. capitata

Green cabbage microgreens are the reliable workhorse of the microgreens world — consistent, productive, nutritious, and pleasingly mild. They produce sturdy stems in pale green to white, topped with rounded, bright-green cotyledon leaves that are slightly larger and more substantial than many other

📅 7-10 days🟢 Easy