Nutrition for Alfalfa Sprouts

Calories, Protein, Vitamins and More


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Alfalfa Sprouts Nutrition Summary

One cup of alfalfa sprouts (33 grams or 1.16 oz) contains 8 calories and 1.3 grams of protein. Alfalfa sprouts consists of 93% water, 2% carbohydrates, 4% protein, and less than 1% of fat.

Alfalfa sprouts are a source of calcium.

In one cup of alfalfa sprouts:

  • Calories: 8
  • Protein: 1.3 g
  • Sugar: 0.1 g
  • Dietary fiber: 0.6 g
  • Fat: 0.2 g
  • Sodium: 2 mg
There is no significant amounts of saturated fat or cholesterol in alfalfa sprouts.

See the Alfalfa Sprouts Nutrition Chart for complete recommended daily values.
The specific nutritional values from USDA is for: Alfalfa seeds, sprouted, raw.

Calories in Alfalfa Sprouts

Alfalfa sprouts have 8 calories per cup or 24 calories for every 100 grams. Most of its calories are from protein, carbohydrates and fat.

53% of calories in alfalfa sprouts are from protein, 29% of calories are from carbohydrates and 18% of calories are from fat.

Calories from Carbs

A good portion, or 29% of the calories in alfalfa sprouts are from carbohydrates. The carbs in alfalfa sprouts are mostly in the form of dietary fiber and sugar (86% and 14%). 1 cup of alfalfa sprouts has 3% of daily values or 0.6 grams of dietary fiber.

  • Dietary fiber: 0.6 g
  • Sugar: 0.1 g
There is no significant amounts of starch in alfalfa sprouts.

Calories from Fat

About 18% the calories in Alfalfa Sprouts are from fat. Alfalfa sprouts are very low in total fat, with 0.2 grams per cup. Most of the fat in alfalfa sprouts are healthier unsaturated fats.

Alfalfa sprouts are cholesterol free and trans-fat free.

  • Total fat: 0.2 g
  • Saturated fat: < 0.1 g
  • Monounsaturated fat: < 0.1 g
  • Polyunsaturated fat: 0.1 g
There is no significant amounts of cholesterol or trans fat in alfalfa sprouts.

Omega-6 in Alfalfa Sprouts

A source of omega-6 fatty acids, every cup of alfalfa sprouts contain a total of 0.1 grams of omega-6. In addition, a large portion of the omega-6 in alfalfa sprouts come from linolenic acid - the only essential omega-6 fatty acid. [2]

  • linoleic acid: 0.08 g

Calories Similar to Alfalfa Sprouts

Some other vegetables with similar calories to alfalfa sprouts by weight:


Protein in Alfalfa Sprouts

One cup of Alfalfa Sprouts has 1.3 grams of protein or about 3% of daily recommended intake. Alfalfa sprouts are relatively low in protein, and is not a source of complete protein. However, alfalfa sprouts do contain significant amounts of threonine, isoleucine and leucine, essential amino acids.

  • Protein: 1.32 g
  • Threonine: 0.04 g
  • Isoleucine: 0.05 g
  • Leucine: 0.09 g
  • Lysine: 0.07 g
  • Valine: 0.05 g
There is no significant amounts of tryptophan, methionine, phenylalanine or histidine in alfalfa sprouts.

Protein Similar to Alfalfa Sprouts

Some other vegetables with similar amounts of protein to alfalfa sprouts by weight:

Vitamins and Minerals in Alfalfa Sprouts

Alfalfa sprouts are a source of calcium. It also contains significant amounts of folate (Vitamin B9), Vitamin K and phosphorus.

Vitamins in alfalfa sprouts (1 cup):
  • Vitamin a: 2.6 ug
  • Thiamin: < 0.1 mg
  • Riboflavin: < 0.1 mg
  • Niacin: 0.2 mg
  • Vitamin c: 2.7 mg
  • Folate: 11.9 ug
  • Vitamin k: 10.1 ug
Minerals in alfalfa sprouts (1 cup):
  • Calcium: 10.6 mg
  • Potassium: 26.1 mg
  • Iron: 0.3 mg
  • Magnesium: 8.9 mg
  • Zinc: 0.3 mg
  • Selenium: 0.2 ug
  • Phosphorus: 23.1 mg
  • Copper: 0.1 mg
  • Manganese: 0.1 mg
  • Choline: 4.8 mg
There is no significant amounts of pantothenic acid, vitamin b6, vitamin e or vitamin b12 in alfalfa sprouts.

Flavonoids and Carotenoids in Alfalfa Sprouts [3]

Alfalfa sprouts contain a couple of healthy phytonutrients and antioxidants, specifically carotenoid beta-carotene and flavonoid quercetin. In one cup of alfalfa sprouts:

  • beta-carotene: 29 ug
  • Quercetin: 0.56 mg

Alfalfa Sprouts Nutrition Chart

Alfalfa Sprouts:

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Nutrition calculations are from Harvard Medical's nutrient guidelines [1] and USDA's food central database (2019) [2].
We calculated values from 2000 kCal daily recommended diet.

Alfalfa Sprouts in Cooking

Alfalfa Sprouts can be consumed raw. Most recipes call for one or two cups of alfalfa sprouts.

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