Although I assume that most of the non-vegans who read my blog are familiar with things like tofu and chickpeas, it’s occurred to me that there may be a few questions surrounding some of the lesser-known vegan/health food ingredients. So with that, I’ve added a new section to my blog called What’s That?, and every now and then I’ll write about one of these ingredients, and link to it when my recipes call for it.
I’m going to start with Nutritional Yeast. Because it is used to imitate the taste of cheese, it is adored by most vegans despite the fact that many (lacto-ovo) vegetarians may not even be aware of it because they get their cheese-fix from dairy. It’s not something that you see used in a lot of commercial food products (to the chagrin of us vegans), so you kind of have to be “in-the-know” to have heard about it or used it. But it’s not that difficult to find and it’s even easier to use, so I really encourage you to try it if you haven’t already.
Nutritional Yeast, a.k.a. “Nooch”
Facts
- It is a deactivated yeast and a fungus.
- It is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses for a period of 7 days, then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging the yeast.
- The flakes are bright yellow in color.
- It is a complete protein, meaning it contains an adequate proportion of all nine essential amino acid that we need to function.
- It is a good source of protein and B vitamins. (If you’re vegan, you should seek-out a brand that is fortified with B-12.)
- It is low in fat and sodium and is free of sugar, dairy and gluten.
- It has a strong nutty/cheesy flavor that can be added to any dish to impart a cheesy taste.
- You can buy it at most natural food stores, or from online retailers. (I get mine from Aussie Health Products – they’re super nice people and no, I’m not being paid to say that!)
- It is sold as “savoury yeast flakes” in Australia and Brufax in New Zealand.
- Do NOT confuse it with Brewer’s Yeast, which is a by-product of the brewing industry. (MANY health food store employees have tried to sell me this in the past so be vigilant!)
- It is affectionaly called “Nooch” by those who love it (If you’ve ever seen that term, now you know what it is!)
Uses
- Grind with blanched almonds to mimic Parmesan – great sprinkled on pasta!
- Add a tablespoon or two to risotto, quiches, manicotti, stuffed mushrooms – anywhere you would normally use Parmesan or other cheese
- Sprinkle on popcorn
- Blend it with nuts to make “full-on” cheese items, known as “cheeze”, such as cheeze dip, cheeze sauce, and soft or hard cheeze
Tips
- This is a great alternative for those who are lactose-intolerant or trying to cut-back on dairy and/or fat.
- When trying nutritional yeast for the first time, you may want to start by sprinkling it on pasta and tomato sauce (to mimic parmesan) or in other savory dishes, like those mentioned above.
- I wouldn’t recommend going all-out and making a “cheeze sauce” your first time, as some first-timers might initially find the smell/taste a bit strong.
- In my experience, the longer you’ve been vegan, the more likely you are to think that this tastes like “real cheese”. However, if you’re not a long-term vegan, just think of it as a way to add savory complexity to your meal.
Recipes
Here are a few of my favorite recipes using nutritional yeast:
 Homemade Vegan Cheese |
 Vegan Caesar Salad |
 Vegan Mac & Cheese |
Full list of all my nutritional yeast recipes
Good luck on your Nooch adventures! Feel free to ask me your questions below and I’ll do my best to answer them!
Ps. According to Wikipedia, some movie theaters offer nutritional yeast as a popcorn condiment. Have you ever seen this? I would die and go to heaven if I ever saw that!!
I LOVE these magical vegan flakes! I try to add it to as many sauces and other dishes that I can like my hash brown casserole and (as you know :) ) the cashew cheese pasta. It’s always great in Alfredo sauces, too. I will have to see if our local theaters offer it for popcorn–that’s so cool!
Thanks for your feedback! I’m posting a link to your cheeze sauce later this week. It’s a life-changer. For reals, it’s gotta be on my top-5 vegan recipes of all time. You rock!!
Would love to know how you include vitamin b12, iron and protein etc. I’m a new vegan and seem to be stuck with these.
Hi Antoine – That’s a good question! Check out this awesome post on my friend JL’s site: http://jlgoesvegan.com/vegan-101-planning-healthy-vegan-diets/ – That should be enough info to get you started. I personally try to include a lot of fresh veggies in my diet, as well as beans and tofu everyday. I also take a multi vitamin and a B12 supplement. But check out that article and let me know if you have any other questions. You can do it – Good luck!
Thanks for putting this info up, I’m pretty new to veganism and have been coming across this ingredient a lot. But not sure where I can buy it. I live in Melbourne, and can see that your in Sydney, any ideas of where I could find it? Supermarket, health food shops?
Thanks!
Hi Charlotte – So sorry for the delay! I had a really tough time finding it in Sydney. Shopkeepers kept trying to sell me brewery’s yeast, which is NOT the same thing. Read above for the link to Aussie Health Products – that’s who I often ordered from. Hope that helps!
Great idea for a page on your site! I think I sometimes forget that all the ingredients that are now so “normal” to me are probably mysterious to most other people.
What DON’T I love nooch on?! ;) I love it so much, but especially on popcorn – though I have never seen it in movie theatres!! That would be AMAZING.
Hi Jess – thanks for your comment. Yeah, I think we do take our “secret ingredients” for granted so I thought it might be nice to share with the “others”. And apparently, there are some vegans who’ve never had it. Shocking I know, but it’s really not that popular here in Oz so I have to order it online as the local health food stores don’t stock it (and I’m in a major city). I would have to say that my love/use of nooch has definitely increased over the past year… it goes into virtually everything these days. And yeah, I would fall over and die if I ever saw nooch popcorn at the movie theatre. Would make the $7 price tags almost bearable! ;)
Very cool… I’ve seen this called for in vegan recipes before, but never really knew what it was meant to do. Now I know!
Hi Ian – thanks for your comment and I’m happy to hear that this was helpful ;)
It took me awhile to “like” nooch. But I’m slowly getting on the bandwagon ;)
I like the idea of pulsing with almonds for a vegan Parmesan cheeze!
Thanks for your comments, JL! Yes, it’s definitely an acquired taste, but even in small quantities, I find that it adds a nice complexity to recipes. Parmesan cheeze rocks – you can make a bunch and just leave it in the fridge in a shaker jar ;)
I’ve been loving nooch mixed through plain, firm, cold tofu. Methinks my body is craving savoury protein after too much chocolate and nut butter of late…
What brand of nooch do you use? I think mine is Marigold Engevita or something like that?
Ooooh wow, that’s pretty hardcore! I thought I was a rarity for eating raw tofu (on my salads), I use the Lotus ones here: http://www.aussiehealthproducts.com.au/super-foods.php?id=6354&Lotus-Savoury-Yeast-Flakes-200gm – I’ve never seen your brand, where do you get them?
If I ever finally get myself to Oz (I do have friends in Tassie and Brisbane), I’ll bring a BIG container of it for you! It’s so easy to get here in the US and especially in Tucson, where I am. I’ll bring back a BIG container of Vegemite (love that stuff)!
Aww thanks so much Julie! You should definitely make it over to Oz, especially if you already have friends here. It’s such an amazing place – beautiful landscapes (and seascapes!), friendly people, and great food (and wine)! So you’re a Vegemite fan, huh? I only tried it once, years ago before I lived here, and I haven’t been brave enough to try it again since…
I’m new to the whole vegan diet. Stumbled on this article. It’s just great. Informative, yet totally engaging. Great writing. I’m gonna go Facebook like you. Look forward to updates!
Hi Megan – Welcome to the world of veganism! Glad to hear that you found this helpful and thanks for the kind words about my writing. Let me know if you have any questions, I’m happy to help :)
Hi : My wife is a 4th year practitioner of Quantum Reflex Analysis, the tutors fly out from Texas, once a year. She has been informed that most supplementry B vitamins, from the chemist shops, etc, are derived from the petro chemical industry, and we should NOT be taking them !
The naturally fermented flake yeast / savory yeast, is much better for us.
The cheapest source, that we have found, so far, in New Zealand, is at Bin Inn.
Cheers,
Dennis
.
Yes, I’ve heard that at well. Most B-12 is sold as “cyanocobalamin”, which is in the cyanide family. I prefer using methylcobalamin myself, and of course, eating as much nutritional yeast as possible! Thanks for your input!
I am a lacto-vegetarian and I have rediscovered nutrirional yeast (or “Flavor Grains” or “Tasty Flakes”) as I refer to it. Although I do eat dairy foods, I like “nooch” on popcorn or in recipes. I don’t think of it as a cheese substitute or a substitute for anything. I think of it as an ingredient and flavoring aid in its own right
Awesome! I wish more people would check it out, it adds such a cool flavor dimension to foods.
I am trying to find out how I can make this. I live in a developing country (Thailand) where it is not available and importing it from Australia is not really a sensible option -financially or environmentally.
I can’t get any info anywhere on making it.
Sorry to hear that. Where do you live in Thailand? I know that there are some pretty good health food shops in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ko Samui…
I’m allergic to Baker’s Yeast and Brewer’s Yeast. Is this the same thing? If it is, is there an alternative to Nutrional Yeast I can use for flavor?
Hi Sandra, It’s not the same thing, however it is a yeast, so you may want to check with your doctor. There really isn’t anything quite like it to compare taste-wise…
After trying more and more recipes from your site I’m coming back to this one (think I’ve trawled every page on your site and pinned a bunch to cook!) and thinking it’ll be a great addition to the panty. Now to get ordering, thanks for the link earlier in the comments :)
Start off slow with it because it’s definitely an acquired taste. Matty doesn’t notice it in most recipes, but he hates the Mac n Cheese because it’s very prominent in that recipe. But in small quantities, it adds a deep nutty flavor and has a great nutritional profile. Good luck!
Good tip thanks!
Thanks a lot for this. Very helpful.
I’ve just gone vegan and am trying to figure out what’s available in Bangkok and what’s not (surprisingly, even though soy milk is everywhere in Thailand, soy yoghurt seems to be impossible to get here).
Had heard of nutritional yeast but wasn’t sure what to use it for. Thanks to you, now I know :) Now all I have to figure out is where to buy it in Thailand.
Hi Rachel! I’m so glad to hear that was helpful for you. I love Thailand and spent a month there last year. You may want to give Mai Kaidee a shout (http://maykaidee.com/) – I met her in Bangkok and she’s awesome! She may be able to point you in the right direction for the nutritional yeast :)