Nutritional Yeast?

Options
lorrpb
lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What is nutritional yeast and what kind of flavor does it add to a recipe? Is there an approximate substitute? TIA.

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,164 Member
    Options
    It's vaguely cheesy tasting (very vaguely). Substitutes depend on nature of the recipe: Grated parmesan cheese might work in some scenarios, for example, or one of the other hard/aged cheeses.

    If you mention what general type of thing you're trying to make that calls for it as an ingredient, I might have other ideas.
  • kam26001
    kam26001 Posts: 2,799 Member
    Options
    It's cheesy, nutty. You can use it like parmesan cheese. The fortified kind is full of b-vitamins. That's why I used to eat it, to get my B12 as a vegan.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited October 2019
    Options
    It was a warm veggie salad on the MFP blog. Thanks!
  • runningjen74
    runningjen74 Posts: 312 Member
    Options
    Good source of B12 (specifically for vegans who don't have any other sources unless I'm mistaken). Apparently has a cheesy taste - I say apparently as I don't really think it does, or at least not so much that I've figured it out. If you're not vegetarian, I'd add some parmasan cheese to what ever it is that its in - but this will increase calories and you may not need as much.

    I quite like the taste of it, but not fully figured out what to do with it - or how to make a vegan "cheese"sauce. i've added it to popcorn - but honestly, I just prefer a bit of salt.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,623 Member
    Options
    Vaguely umami. I like it on popcorn moistened with butter or soy sauce (so that the yeast sticks to it).
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,164 Member
    Options
    lorrpb wrote: »
    It was a warm veggie salad on the MFP blog. Thanks!

    Then I'd go with the parmesan (or similar cheese), or maybe some finely chopped toasted nuts. I can't think of a lower-fat/lower-calorie option off the top of my head.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
    Options
    I can just say that the nutritional info on our box makes no sense. The grams of protein, fat, and carb added up to more than the weight of the serving. Maybe they've fixed it.
  • neugebauer52
    neugebauer52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Options
    Once in a while I get a small block of fresh yeast from the bakery. I rather like the taste of it.
  • broccolini992
    broccolini992 Posts: 9 Member
    Options
    I eat mostly vegan, but I cannot stand nooch - it tastes so...footy
  • jwoolman5
    jwoolman5 Posts: 191 Member
    Options
    Commercial vegan Parmesan type granulated products nowadays are often made with nutritional yeast and ground nuts/seeds. Parma! used to use ground walnuts, a few years ago they added ground sunflower and hemp seeds. It's really good and can be used on veggies, pasta, salads, even in sandwiches and on pizza. I'm sure there must be recipes galore on the web to get an idea of good proportions to use.

    It does have a cheesy taste because cheeses get their tastes from the microorganisms used to make them. But don't expect an exact match, it has its own taste.

    Nice on popcorn or in mashed potatoes or rice in my experience. I would suggest trying just a little at first to see how you like it and if so, how much you want to add.

    Practically every cat I've known has loved nutritional yeast on top of dry or wet food or mixed in with it. One would eat the nutritional yeast first, then wait for me to add a lot more before eating the food underneath. I spilled a big pile of it once when she was nearby, and it disappeared by the time I came back to clean it up off the floor... She looked unusually happy.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Options
    jwoolman5 wrote: »
    Commercial vegan Parmesan type granulated products nowadays are often made with nutritional yeast and ground nuts/seeds. Parma! used to use ground walnuts, a few years ago they added ground sunflower and hemp seeds. It's really good and can be used on veggies, pasta, salads, even in sandwiches and on pizza. I'm sure there must be recipes galore on the web to get an idea of good proportions to use.

    It does have a cheesy taste because cheeses get their tastes from the microorganisms used to make them. But don't expect an exact match, it has its own taste.

    Nice on popcorn or in mashed potatoes or rice in my experience. I would suggest trying just a little at first to see how you like it and if so, how much you want to add.

    Practically every cat I've known has loved nutritional yeast on top of dry or wet food or mixed in with it. One would eat the nutritional yeast first, then wait for me to add a lot more before eating the food underneath. I spilled a big pile of it once when she was nearby, and it disappeared by the time I came back to clean it up off the floor... She looked unusually happy.

    After reading this, I pulled out the box of nooch to see if my cat would eat it.

    She didn’t care.

    Cats are weird.
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    Options
    I use it to mix into 0%fat cottage cheese if I’m making myself a lasagne (using courgette or aubergine as the ‘pasta’ and a roasted Mediterranean veg tomato sauce). I find using cottage cheese (or ricotta) and nutritional yeast gives me the best mouth feel and flavour to replace the heavier bechamel and cheese sauce. Means I can have lasagne a lot more often than I could otherwise! Win!

    I’ve made cheese sauce (for faux cauliflower cheese) using unsweetened almond milk and nutritional yeast - thickened with cornflour.

    Also made ‘cheese’ with Gram/chickpea/Besan flour which used nutritional yeast and spices to flavour it. I did it out of curiosity but it was pretty good!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited October 2019
    Options
    The flavor, to me, is like some kinds of corn chips. I like it. It's more for the flavor than the substance in most recipes, so you can replace it with anything you want.
  • lorri71
    lorri71 Posts: 95 Member
    Options
    It is a substitute used in vegan cooking (mostly). I have used it to add a 'cheesy' taste to sauces or even mashed potatoes because I am allergic to dairy. It tastes a bit salty. It looks flaky and comes in a tub usually bought in some supermarkets and health food shops. Its ok but I can live without it!

Categories