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how do you use nutritional yeast?

2K views 29 replies 21 participants last post by  nigel 
#1 ·
apart from recipes calling for it, i have no idea how to use it. i tried putting some on a piece of toast and it was alright. i heard you could put it on popcorn?

i also read somewhere on VB that you could coat tofu with nutritional yeast and then bake it?
 
#2 ·
1) I stir it into pasta with olive oil and garlic

2) I mix it with Vegan mayo and butter and soymilk to make Vegan alfredo sauce for pasta

3) I stir into Ramen noodles (without the ramen flavor packet) and add sea salt and some frozen veggies

4) I cover veggies in it and wrap them in pita bread

5) I put it salads...

I like the stuff LOL
 
#5 ·
i second all of the above. i don't like popcorn so i wouldn't know about that, but almost any stew or sauce can benefit from some nutritional yeast, unless it has a very delicate or clashing taste (say if you're making something japanese, or sweet.)

it usually works best blended into something liquidy, so you can try adding it to melted margarine or oil with other flavours for a spread, or use it for a "caesar" style dressing.

i make a lot of vegan risotto and polenta and think nutritional yeast (sometimes with a pea-sized pinch of miso) tastes better in those than store bought fake parmesan.

it's also a great coating for tofu or anything else you want to bread, like vegatables, gluten, etc... if you want a thin, crispy flour coating,

start by marinating the tofu for at least some minutes in soy sauce, broth, or anything you'd like mixed with a bit of nutritional yeast for thickening.

make a mix of 1 part nutritional yeast, 2 parts flour (whole wheat or non wheat work well) with spices of choice and dredge the tofu in it, making sure it's all covered, then straight to the pan or oiled baking sheet.

if you want the tofu breaded or otherwise-crusted, double the amount of flour/n.yeast mixture and blend half of it with warm water in a separate bowl until it's somewhere between water and raw egg in thickness (sorry for the gross imagery.)

start by coating the marinated tofu in the dry flour/n.yeast mixture, continue to quickly dip it in the wet mixture, then coat it with the crumb mixture.

it sounds complicated but it's a fairly quick process and ensures superb breading results.

(the nutritional yeast will lend a very nice taste to the coated tofu and adheres to it well, but the technique i just described should work well with just flour and spices too.)
 
#12 ·
We use huge amounts in this Nacho Cheese Dip recipe from the VeganLunchBox website.
Best stuff EVARRRRRR.

For popcorn, just butter and salt the popcorn as you usually would and then sprinkle a liberal amount of nut. yeast on.

Oh, and use traditionally popped popcorn.

We tried it once, and it doesn't do all that much for microwave popcorn in my opinion, (but then, no one in this household can STAND that crap anyway).
 
#16 ·
I'm not vegan, so I use it mixed IN with cheeses! Makes things even cheesier! I add it to boxed organic mac and cheese (which was a lifesaver while I was morning sick, couldnt cook anything that created an odor!!!) I also LOVE it added to mashed potatoes with margarine/milk. It makes them salty and yummy.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by peacecat View Post

your most welcome t-n-s. all this nut. yeast talk is making me
as we only have a mere soupcon left in our house and the store has been out the last two times i was there.
My store too, only I was all the way out. I've gone through a freaking ton of tings cause I've got major cravings...I'm only in this thread to torment myself
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by MmmmVeggies View Post

1) I stir it into pasta with olive oil and garlic

2) I mix it with Vegan mayo and butter and soymilk to make Vegan alfredo sauce for pasta

3) I stir into Ramen noodles (without the ramen flavor packet) and add sea salt and some frozen veggies

4) I cover veggies in it and wrap them in pita bread

5) I put it salads...

I like the stuff LOL
ive got to try it this way. especially 1 and 2. i LOVE pasta
.

do you put nutmeg in the alfrado sauce?
 
#21 ·
Peacecat, when I was last at the co-op there (the one on Central) they had a TON in the bulk section... 'course they could certainly be out by now...

JJS, the flakes are MUCH better in my opinion. If you try a certain brand and DON'T like it, give it another chance and try another brand, they vary quite a bit in flavor. Some are "cheesy-er", some are more "nutty", some just smell like old socks...
 
#22 ·
I have a great mac and cheeze recipe that uses 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast. It's the first thing I've ever used it in, and I was a bit apprehensive to use that much. But now I am addicted to it! We went vegan 2 months ago and my 3-year-old's favorite food was mac-n-cheese -- and he ate the nutritional yeast version without even batting an eye!

I'm inclined to think nutritional yeast tastes more like chicken than cheese.
 
#23 ·
Umstupid question time. What exactly is nutritional yeast? I bought a bottle of this stuff recently at the local health food store. When I got it home, I discovered much to my chagrin that it was not pure yeast, but a whey and vitamin-fortified product. So is that what nutritional yeast is? Does nutritional mean that it is adulterated with other products? Would brewers yeast taste the same? What about just plain old bakers yeast? Isnt it all just Saccharomyces cerevisiae?
 
#24 ·
Washoe... no stupid questions arond here, any question is a good question.

But is nutritional yeast the same as other yeast products? no, no, no... Nutritional yeast is an entirely different product than baking yeast, or brewer's yeast or the nutritional product you purchased.

I don't know why nutritional yeast is called "nutritional" but it does have B-12 sometimes (yes, that would be added).

I don't know anything more, science-wise, but I don't think it has any of the properties of "live" yeast either.

Perhaps someone else has more details.

Can you do a Google or Wiki search?
 
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