Can 5-Year-Old Lentils Still Sprout? Walmart Lentils vs Premium Sprouting Seeds
For years, I've kept lentils in my pantry as part of my food storage program. Like many preparedness-minded families, I look for ways to stretch my budget while still maintaining a practical stockpile. With food prices continuing to rise, I recently decided to conduct a simple experiment to see whether inexpensive grocery store lentils could still compete with premium sprouting seeds.
The experiment compared two very different products.
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| 5-year-old-Lentil-Seeds |
The first was several packages of lentils I purchased from Walmart more than five years ago - stored in an old wine jug ;) These lentils had been sitting in storage and were originally purchased as food rather than specifically for sprouting.
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| Purchased fresh from online |
The second was a fresh package of sprouting lentils from Todd's Seeds, a company I have purchased from before and have always been pleased with. Todd's Seeds sells high-quality sprouting seeds specifically intended for germination.
The difference in cost immediately caught my attention.
My Walmart lentils (prices today - June 2026) cost only $1.96 per pound.
My original Walmart lentils were purchased over five years ago and likely cost well under today's $1.96 per pound price. The fact that they still sprouted after years in storage made this experiment even more interesting.
The Todd's Seeds package cost $9.99 for just one-quarter pound. At that rate, purchasing a full pound would cost approximately $39.96.
| Product | Cost per Pound |
|---|---|
| Walmart Lentils | $1.96 |
| Todd's Seeds | $39.96 |
| Difference | Todd's costs about 20 times more |
I do want to add that I have successfully purchased seeds from Todd's Seeds, and have been satisfied but this article is merely a price comparison, because groceries continue to spike, I think it is important to look for more ways to get bang for the buck.
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| STORE is 5 year seeds from Walmart - blank tray is Todd's Seeds |
To compare the two, I sprouted both varieties side by side under the same conditions. The fresh Todd's Seeds lentils performed exactly as expected and produced the best germination rate. Overall, they appeared to sprout about 25 percent better than my old stored lentils.
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| I rotated two trays of each on the sprouter |
However, the most surprising result was not that the fresh seeds won.
It was that the five-year-old Walmart lentils still sprouted remarkably well.
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| Tray of old seeds on left side - not much difference than the new seeds on right |
Considering their age and the fact that they had been purchased as ordinary grocery store food, I was impressed by how many still germinated successfully. For anyone interested in preparedness, food storage, or reducing grocery costs, this demonstrates that inexpensive pantry staples can sometimes serve multiple purposes.
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| Newer seeds on left - old seeds on right. |
Would I buy the premium sprouting seeds again?
Yes.
If my goal were achieving the highest germination rates possible, Todd's Seeds clearly produced the best results. Fresh seeds specifically intended for sprouting have advantages, and those advantages showed up in this experiment.
But if my goal is maximizing value and stretching my preparedness budget, the grocery store lentils deserve serious consideration. The price difference is difficult to ignore when one pound of specialty seeds can cost nearly $40 compared to less than $2 for a pound of grocery store lentils.
Again, I want to emphasize that this experiment was using 5-year-old seeds. I have no doubt the new Walmart seeds will germinate just as good as the new seeds shown.
This experiment reinforced something I have learned repeatedly over the years: sometimes the best preparedness bargains can be found right in the grocery store aisle.
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| Seeds are on sale today. I personally would bargain shop for anymore seeds online |
While specialty products certainly have their place, stocking up on affordable foods when prices are reasonable can often provide excellent value. Even after five years in storage, these lentils were still capable of producing fresh sprouts, making them an inexpensive option for anyone interested in adding fresh nutrition to their pantry planning.
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| Today's price - June 2026. When I purchased the old seeds 5 yrs ago, I paid less than $1 a bag. |
As food prices continue to climb, finding practical ways to stretch every dollar becomes increasingly important. This side-by-side comparison was a reminder that the most expensive option is not always the only option, and sometimes the bargains we overlook today may become some of the most valuable items in our pantry tomorrow.
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| Sprouting 5 year old Lentil Seeds along with new |
All in all, this experiment reinforced me to keep saving my old seeds, to do more shopping comparisons and to stock up while the prices are low.
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