Grow Dinner on Your Counter: The Easiest Indoor Plants and Vegetables to Start Now

You don’t need a backyard, a green thumb, or even decent weather to grow fresh food. Indoor gardening has quietly become one of the most accessible ways to keep nutritious ingredients within arm’s reach year-round, and the barrier to entry is far lower than most people realize. A windowsill, a shallow tray, a few cloves of garlic — that’s enough to get started.

Whether you’re working with a small apartment, limited outdoor space, or just want to skip the grocery store markup on herbs and greens, growing edibles indoors puts you in control of what ends up on your plate. And a handful of low-maintenance houseplants can make your space look better while requiring almost nothing from you in return.

Here’s what actually works, based on expert guidance, and how to do it without overcomplicating things.

Start with sprouts and microgreens (the fastest win)

If you want results fast, sprouts and microgreens are your entry point. These tiny greens can go from seed to plate in days, not weeks, and they require almost no equipment.

According to Lindy Ly at Garden Betty, “for best results, use 1020 propagation trays (these are the standard black plastic trays you see in nurseries) or aluminum baking pans. You can even use and reuse disposable aluminum pans—any shallow pan or ...