Known for its cheesy flavor and bright-yellow color, nutritional yeast (a.k.a. nooch) is a gluten-free inactive yeast that’s rich in essential nutrients, including protein, B-vitamins and zinc. The consistency of nutritional yeast varies—sometimes it’s flaky, other times it’s powdery. But one thing is certain. It’s always downright delicious!
Who can benefit from nutritional yeast?
Long favored by vegans (did we mention that nooch contains no animal products?!), nutritional yeast is finally making its way to the main stage. After all, who can resist a food with a flavor that closely resembles savory Parmesan but contains a fraction of the fat and sodium and none of the dairy?
Needless to say, nutritional yeast is not only a vegan staple, but a fabulous find for folks who crave the taste of cheese but seek a healthier alternative as well as those who have dairy allergies and cannot tolerate lactose.
Tempting your taste buds with nutritional yeast
There are seemingly countless ways to add the rich, umami flavor of nutritional yeast to your diet. Sprinkle this cheesy golden dust over salads and popcorn or mix into rice, mashed potatoes, doughs and batters. To get you started, here are 16 of our favorite vegan recipes that call for nutritional yeast:
1. Vegan Spinach Dip
2. Butternut Squash Cheese Sauce
3. 10-Minute Chili Hash Browns with Vegan Sour Cream
4. Roasted Cauliflower Popcorn
5. 10-Minute Black Bean Pasta & Salsa
6. Roasted Buddha Bowl with Kale Pesto
7. Goldenberry Salad with Hemp Dressing
8. Sweet Potato Mac & “Cheese”
9. Wild Rice-Stuffed Mushrooms with Fresh Rosemary
10. Coconut Cream Pasta Sauce
11. Baked Kale Chips
12. Taco Salad with Walnut Meat
13. Vegan Falafel Corn Dog
14. Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers with Vegan Ranch & Bacon
15. Hemp-Tofu Burgers
16. Oven-Baked Carrot Falafel & Creamy Green Tahini Dressing
