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: