What Is Nutritional Yeast?

If you read enough health food blogs or follow any vegans on Twitter, you are sure to read about nutritional yeast or see it listed in recipes.  I wasn’t aware of it until the past year.  Nutritional yeast flakes look a lot like goldfish food.

If you are like me, you read recipes and begin to count in your head the number of ingredients you can omit before you no longer think the recipe will taste as it should.  I know what is in my pantry and I don’t like to buy more than one or two ingredients in order to try out a new recipe – first for the cost and second because if I don’t like it I’m stuck with a weird ingredient.

If you have been overlooking nutritional yeast in your recipes, you should reconsider.  It’s not just about the taste and texture it provides to foods.  Nutritional yeast is one of the few non-animal sources of Vitamin B-12 which is incredibly important to your energy levels, concentration, and more as I wrote in this earlier post.  It is also rich in folic acid and lots of other nutrients and amino acids.

Here is the nutritional breakdown.  Notice how high it is in protein and fiber while being low in fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugars.  1 ounce equals 2 Tbsp.  I also copied the paragraph from NutritionData.com that reads “The Good” but you should know there was not a paragraph titled “The Bad.”  This stuff is just very healthy!

Vegans use it to create cream sauces and it is delicious on popcorn!  You don’t need to buy store popcorn and worry about the unhealthy ingredients in the bag.  Just put 2 Tbsp unpopped kernels in a brown lunch bag and roll the top over a few times.  Microwave it for 2 to 3 minutes and stop it when the pops are further apart.  Mist or drizzle your popcorn with a teeny bit olive oil and sprinkle with nutritional yeast.  Really yummy and nutritious snack!  No oil needed in the bag.

I also used nutritional yeast in this very super healthy recipe for Raw Red Pepper and Tomato Soup.  I had to change up the recipe a bit though because when I made it the first time it just tasted like drinkable salsa to me.  And I am not a fan of raw onion.

So here is my reworked recipe that I just love with cooked onions – I’ll call it Not Completely Raw Red Pepper Soup.

I served my Not Completely Raw Red Pepper Soup with these fantastic Sweet Potato & White Bean Burgers.  I have been wanting to find a veggie burger that doesn’t make me gag.  This one did the trick!  It had great texture and a super satisfying flavor.