Recently, so many people have asked me all about nutritional yeast. Seeing that nutritional yeast isn’t really a staple in most diets, I can definitely understand why so many people have questions. I am in love with nutritional yeast, and often use it in my recipes, so hopefully these few tidbits of information about nutritional yeast will help you to better understand why it is a great product/supplement to add to your every day diet!
Nutritional yeast is actually a deactivated yeast that is grown and extracted from the molasses plant. The only reason why nutritional yeast can be added to recipes without being cooked is because it IS deactivated. You should never add an activated yeast (like yeast that is used to bake breads) to a recipe without cooking it. Without cooking activated yeasts, the yeast can continue to grow in the GI tract and can cause digestive upsets, which is never fun.
What I love about nutritional yeast is that it is perfect for a vegetarian or vegan’s diet. What vegetarians regularly lack in, nutritional yeast makes up for it. Nutritional yeast is full of vitamins and minerals, and I was actually surprised to find out that nutritional yeast contains 18 amino acids, which makes it a complete protein. Nutritional yeast is also rich in B-vitamins, which is also incredibly important for vegetarians as B-vitamins are usually found in animal products.
Nutritional yeast (or “nooch” as some people refer to it as) is also high in fiber and protein (4 grams fiber and 8 grams of protein per 3 tbsp!). Overall, the statistics for nutritional yeast are incredible and make me want to sprinkle it on EVERYTHING! (Fact: I do sprinkle it on everything) Nutritional yeast gives a cheesy flavor to dishes that especially delicious when you don’t eat cheese!
Some of my favorite ways to use nutritional yeast are the following:
- sprinkled on pastas and salads
- in vegan cream sauces and gravies
- on roasted vegetables
- and if I ate popcorn, I’m sure I would love it on popcorn!
I typically buy nutritional yeast either online (the KAL brand) or in the bulk bins at Whole Foods. A tub of it goes a long way, so I don’t mind dishing out $10 for a container of it.
For more Back to the Basics posts, visit the following links:
Question: Have you ever tried nutritional yeast?
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I Love with a capital L nutritional yeast! I just made vegan chick’n nuggets last night that were breaded with nooch! Yummers!
Please share that recipe!!! That sounds delicious!
It was this recipe from Vegan Dad:
http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/06/chickenless-nuggets.html
But I didn’t have enough bread crumbs so it was heavy on the nooch, light on the breadcrumbs. And I did NOT take the time to do the repetitive almond milk/flax, bread crumbs, almond milk/flax, breadcrumbs process, I just pressed the dry mix onto them and they were fantastic!
i LOVE nutritional yeast as well. i just tried it for the first time a few months ago, and now i can’t get enough of it. i love the flavor of it and the nutritional stats are phenomenal.
I just bought some Nutritional Yeast for a recipe and it has been sitting in my cupboard ever since because I had no idea how else to use it. Sounds like there are a lot of options and I need to dig it out.
There are endless ways to use it! Let me know how you like it!
Love me some nutrional yeast! My husband actually hates the word so prefers I call it nooch, which is pretty funny to me.
I’m very much in love with the stuff thanks to you! It makes my salad at lunch so much more filling and I can hold over to my snack much better- I love this wonder food!
I am not a big fan of a nutritional yeast. Sometimes I just have a pinch and eat it, but don’t like it on the food.
I have a whole nooch-related post…what it is, where to buy it, 15+ nooch recipes included…I LOVE the stuff. That’s the exact brand I buy, too. It’s so good!
I agree - I always buy the huge tub from an online store!
love the nooch!! our life was forever changed when we came across it a few years ago! so good!!!
Ha, for a second I was like, why don’t you eat popcorn!?!? I’m a genius…
bahaha - i love it!
so glad you posted this! i see nutritional yeast on blogs all of the time and really have wanted to try it but sort of had no idea what it was or what to do with it!! will definitely grab some at the store this week.
I LOVE nutritional yeast. Last week I made a cream sauce with it and it was amazing!!
Thanks for this info. I was hoping you would review in your “back to the basics” series! I have never tried it, but may branch out and try it!
Didn’t you know I’m a mind reader?
I knew you wanted me to!!!
I love it! Our favorite way to eat popcorn is topping it with nutritional yeast and soy sauce. Yummy!
8 grams of protein!!! That’s awesome. I don’t think I knew that but now that I do, it’s even more of a reason why I love me some nooch.
I know - whenever I first checked the nutritional label, I couldn’t believe it!!!
I love nooch! It’s especially good on eggs! I was vegan for a year and used it a lot but now that I eats eggs and dairy again, I still use it to add flair to my dishes.
I love nooch! I like putting it on top of salads and on top of eggs!
I just purchased some Nutritional Yeast and can’t wait to use it!
I went out and bought it last night because I’d been reading so much about it on your blog
I’m so excited to try it! I read online that you’re only supposed to eat a maximum of 3 tbsp/day, that any more is bad for you-do you have any comment one way or the other on that?
I LOVE your humor, recipes, food ideas….you’re fabulous. Thanks to you, in the last few weeks I have purchased and eaten black beans (twice!), roasted vegetables, and used avocado for something other than guacamole.
Also, off subject, I stumbled upon your blog a few weeks ago by accident (looking for protein muffins) and I am an official CleanEatingChelsey stalker
So, keep up the amazing work, and thank you for all of the hard work and effort you put into keeping this blog so awesome!! <3
I haven’t heard that, but I don’t think I have ever had more than 3 tbsp. a day. It might be because it’s high in b-vitamins? I don’t know.
PS - I love that you’re a CEC stalker. Thank you for all the kind words and for reading.. and for thinking I’m funny. People in real life don’t think that I am.
Your “cheesy” chickpeas recipe is the reason I purchased nutritional yeast for the first time and I immediately fell in love with it!
That’s one of my FAVORITE recipes!!!
I too am obsessed with nutritional yeast and put it on everything! My faves? On egg whites and steamed spinach!
Yum! That sounds great!
I’ve never tried Nutritional yeast, but it sounds great! I’ll have to pick some up next time I’m out!
I love putting this on my spaghetti bolognaise!!! I combine it with some grated brazil nuts and it gives a rich nutty cheesy flavour that rounds out the dish. so good
brazil nuts are AMAZING.
I have not tried nutritional yeast and up until this post I thought it was a bit weird…but you’ve inspired me to try.
I was wondering if you eat hummus and if so, how do you eat it? I looove hummus, but I’m trying not to eat as many wheat products (I used to just eat it with whole wheat crackers). Any suggestions on how to eat hummus in a healthier way?
Hummus is so good with so many foods!
-Raw veggies like carrots, peppers and cucumbers
-On top of a big salad
-In a “lettuce” wrap
-Corn tortillas
-Baked sweet potato chips or fries
Oh hummus is the best! I second all of Shana’s recommendations!
Thanks for sharing Chelsey, I’ve been quite intrigued by this stuff! I’m curious though, I have never seen it sold here in Australia, but we have Vegemite (which you may have heard of?) which is a yeast extract, also full of various vitamins and minerals. It is more like a paste, rather than a powder, but us Aussies love it! I’m thinking they might be similar? Not sure.. would love to try this nutritional yeast if I can find it though
I’m not sure either! See if you can order it off of Amazon!
Thanks for sharing! I’ve been meaning to try some but couldn’t easily find it in my local stores. I’m ordering online so I can try it on some of your recipes. Thanks!
Love this post! I love nooch… I love it on my kale chips and pop corn!
Thans for this post! I have used nutritional yeast before, but didn’t really know much about the nutrition. Now I kind of want to add it to everything! My favorite use, however, is as a topping for kale chips, gives them the perfect salty/cheezy crunch.
That IS the best - so so good!!!
if i begin regularly consuming nutritional yeast, then will i be “as slow as molasses?” ba da ba!
haha - nice one!
Thanks for this! I recently went to the local health food store to buy nutritional yeast for the first time and they sent me to the regular yeast. Tried explaining again. Got the same answer. Sigh. That’s what it’s like in the country.
hahah! Oh no! I hope you found some!
i’m new to nutritional yeast myself - just bought my first supply two weeks ago. but so far i’m loving it! thanks for the information!
Great info. I was wondering how long can you keep nutritional yeast/when should you ditch it??
I think the jars have expiration dates on them. As long as it is kept in an airtight container, I’m sure it’s fine for a while!
yeah, it was from a bulk bin, so no exp. date.
Thanks for the post! I’ve always wondered where nooch came from.
I need to start using it more - I always forget I have it in the back of my pantry!
But I love mixing it with tahini and lemon juice to make salad dressings.
I bought some nutritional yeast a few months ago after having read about it on blog after blog (like…this one!) and being intrigued. My favorite store has it in the bulk section - score!! I’ve been delighted with a) how good it tastes (cheesy) and b) how lot it lasts, as you pointed out. I like it, and those B vitamins make me very happy! I throw it on salads a lot; I’ve never been a fan of salad dressings, but the nooch adds a nice flavor that I guess is what people like about dressing. My husband liked it in a vegan mac & cheese I made a few months back.
Vegan Mac n Cheese is really good with nooch!
It’s amazing on popcorn, and basically everything.
Ah nutritional yeast is such a favourite of mine! I especially love how it works in cashew-based pasta sauces to make a creamy, cheesy sauce that is so good for you! I also LOVE it in scrambled eggs
.
I like it okay, but sometimes I’ve added it to things and it made them taste horrible! I tried a cheezy bean dip once and it just left it with the weirdest aftertaste. I find I like it better sprinkled on top of things versus mixed into things.
I agree sometimes if you use too much it can totally overwhelm the recipe!!
Just bought that exact brand at Vitamin Shoppe. Love the nutritional value, but I haven’t tried it yet in a dish where I can actually taste it. I’ve heard of this cheesy flavor, so I’ll have to remember to sprinkle it on my pasta next time I make it.
when i told my boyfriend i was using a cup of “nutritional yeast” in a recipe, he got weirded out and asked if it eating that much yeast was a good idea. are the problems people have with yeasty foods and gas because of the activated/deactivated status? i am a bit new to nutritional yeast and have only used it a handful of times so far.
I don’t think people will have the same reaction because it’s deactivated. DOn’t quote me though!
I love this series! I might have to do an ingredient intros on nooch!!
Just one note: all B vitamins except B12 are easy to get through plant-based sources. B12 is the problematic one that is only found in animal products + fortified plant sources such as SOME brands of nooch and SOME non-dairy milks.
Thanks for the tip!
I just bought nutritional yeast for the first time yesterday! I have seen it around on blogs (especially yours) and am going to be eating more vegan so I thought I should invest. It was so hard to find it at a local grocery store. I had to go to 2 different stores and then I finally found it in the bins at the small health store in town. I am excited to try it.
You kind of just blew my mind. I had no idea this existed or what it was for. I’ve seen you mention it before, but didn’t see it in my grocery store and haven’t had the time to google it. Becasue we all know googling takes forever……….
Anywho - thanks for schoolin’ me, teach!
any idea if it’s kosher??????
It is!
Thanks-
Just got it from Whole Foods & made a great dish with lentils, quinoa, asparagus & green beans-YUM!
Thanks for turning me on to it… I now need more recipes!
I think I had an allergic reaction to nooch! The first time I ate it, my face got all flushed and felt like it was on fire. I refused to believe it was the nutritional yeast and blamed it on the canned soup I was eating. Then I started eating it almost every day and the reactions came back immediately after ingesting nooch! I’m wondering if maybe I just overloaded on all the B-vitamins it contained and hoping its not a true allergy. We’ll see in a couple of weeks because I just can’t stand the thought of giving it up! Has anyone else had this reaction?
Hi Shana-
I haven’t yet had the pleasure of trying nutritional yeast yet. Can’t wait!
If it has a lot of vitamin B, you could be having a “niacin” flush. I get that when I have a lot of vitamin B. My face, neck, chest get all flushed & hot for about 10-20 minutes. IT’ll go away. It’s jsut the vitamins doing their thing & we must be sensitive to it. NO problem at all-happens to some. Google niacin flush, you’ll see.
Can you get the nooch at Trader Joes????
Thanks! I did come across that (finally) in some research. My flush does not go away in a reasonable amount of time unless I take a benadryl. But I think if I just limit my consumption of B-vitamins, I should be good to go. Also, you can usually get nooch at health food stores if you have one near you.
Just got around to reading this thread - I’ve never heard of anyone having an allergic reaction with b-vitamins! Crazy!
I love Nooch, but have to be careful. I also get the niacin flush if I eat too much. It is not an allergy, I just seem to be extra sensitive to Niacin. It is a very interesting feeling. first my elbows start itching, and then I develop a flush on my face, neck and back which lasts about 30 min. I’ve had the same reaction to energy drinks that have a lot of Niacin. I really love the flavor of Nooch, so I usually cut the amount the recipe calls for by a third.
I just tried nutritional yeast for the first time..I only had 2-3 tablespoons and shortly after my face was tingling and burning, and red. I know this happens with niacin, but I read the label and it wasn’t listed in the ingredients or on the nutrition facts label. (It was used Bob’s Red Mill brand)
This is so weird! I don’t know what it is..
lol My face burns!!
That sounds HORRIBLE! Maybe try a different brand and if it happens again, then I’d say avoid it like the plague!
great post!! i’ve actually been debating whether or not i should buy some..i haven’t bc i wasn’t sure what to put it on. ill have to pick some up!! thanks for the info!
I like to drink nutritional yeast (3 rounded tablespoons in hot water) as a snack and for the first time today, my face got really flushed after drinking it. I did drink this on an empty stomach (wasn’t really “hungry” for lunch), so I’m fairly certain this has something to do with it. Interesting…
I just started cooking with nooch. I cook in larger batches. After you prepare a dish such as a pasta dish with it is it safe to freeze?
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