Not necessarily vegetarian/vegan uses for nutritional yeast, please.

January 10, 2007 6:50 AM

So, I bought a container of nutritional yeast. Now what do I do with it? (Other than put it on popcorn.)

I'm not a vegetarian or vegan. I am not particularily interested in making vegany-vegan "cheese sauce" substitutes, which seem to be the most common recipe on the internets.

Smoothies, popcorn, and sprinkled on toast w/butter are about all I've come up with.

I find the taste pleasing, but overwhelming in quantities higher than "sprinkled." I do love the nutritional aspect, but I'm coming up short on ways to work it into my diet deliciously.

posted by desuetude to Food & Drink (23 answers total)

Best answer: I put it in salad dressing. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a little maple syrup or honey, some nutritional yeast, and herbs of your choice. Whisk or shake it up well, and the yeast keeps the oil and vinegar from seperating. Magic!
posted by bonheur at 6:57 AM on January 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Here's some recipes, including soup, bread sticks, and tofu scramble (mmm) among others.
posted by beaucoupkevin at 6:58 AM on January 10, 2007

I usually use it in things I want to make a little cheesy. Usually, just adding a heaping tablespoon into a bowl of soup or chili. Other than that, most of the places I use it is in recipes for cheese sauces and the like.
posted by chrisroberts at 6:59 AM on January 10, 2007

I've heard that it's good mixed with a little flour or corn starch as a coating for things you're about to fry, but I haven't tried it myself yet.

Generally you might just try it as a seasoning for anything that needs a little tangy flavor.

I've found that there's a world of difference between the powdered form and the flakes, and the flakes are (IMO) much better -- if you've been using the powder you might find the taste of the flakes less overwhelming.
posted by AV at 7:28 AM on January 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

On toast, with olive oil or melted butter. Mmm.
posted by bingo at 7:44 AM on January 10, 2007

Best answer: If you're making vegetarian soups, it's a lifesaver - it makes the broth so much richer. I also eat it on rice sometimes & groats (buckwheat kasha, hippie breakfast food) always - any grain, really.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:38 AM on January 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

I like a tablespoon in a small glass of orange juice. In fact, plain OJ has something missing now, I find. Might take a glass or two to get used to it, though.
posted by Listener at 8:43 AM on January 10, 2007

Anyone know a good place to buy this stuff in the Washington, DC area?
posted by dcjd at 8:45 AM on January 10, 2007

Best answer: On potatoes. Potatoes with loads of butter and nutritional yeast = heaven.

I also add a scoop or two when baking-- you can't taste it all, in my experience, particularly not if you've got something else fairly substantially flavored. I made some ass-kicking muffins the other day using nutritional yeast, and the oats and dried fruit I tossed in there on top of it all covered the yeasty flavor right up.
posted by WidgetAlley at 9:12 AM on January 10, 2007

The Grit in Athens, Georgia (a spectacular restaurant) uses it liberally on their Golden Bowl. I make my own Golden Bowl at home - sauteed tofu cubes liberally coated with nutritional yeast. It's delicious.

You can purchase The Grit's cookbook from Pitch-A-Tent Records.
posted by NationalKato at 9:13 AM on January 10, 2007

Oh, and I should add: go ahead and sprinkle the yeast liberally on the tofu starting about halfway through cooking. I've used a little and a lot and never had bad results. I also use a bit of soy sauce, but that's personal preference.
posted by NationalKato at 9:17 AM on January 10, 2007

Make gravy with it by dissolving some (2-3 Tbsp?) in water (3-4 c?), add seasonings and dark soy sauce, heat to boiling, then add corn starch dissolved in cold water and stir until thick. Delish.
posted by mezzanayne at 9:28 AM on January 10, 2007

Response by poster: dcjd: If you don't have any natural/healthy/hippy grocery stores near you, you can find it at Whole Foods. It's in the supplements section. (Don't get Brewer's Yeast instead, it's quite bitter.)

AV: I'm using flakes. Good to know that the powder is more overwhelming.

Tofu. Erm, I only seem to like tofu when other people make it. NationalKato, can you make some Golden Bowl and bring it over?

I tried adding a healthy spoonful to my tomato sauce the other night, but it was too much, I guess...the mineral-y taste was too strong. How big a dose are you folks using?
posted by desuetude at 9:38 AM on January 10, 2007

I use it to make gravy. Its thicker than chicken gravy, but tastes about the same. You will need a little vegetable oil, soy sauce and one part whole wheat flour for every two parts yeast. I’ve tried using white flour for this and the end product was pretty bad. Use a heavy cast iron pan if you have one.
Lightly toast 1 level tablespoon of flour over medium high heat while using a fork to break up lumps and stir, being careful not to burn. Reduce heat and stir in 2 level tablespoons of yeast. Next use the fork to work about 1 ½ teaspoons of oil into the dry mixture. I’m guessing at the oil quantity here because its not critical and I just do it by eye. You need to work in just enough oil to uniformly darken the dry stuff. Now pour in about 2/3's of a cup of water (watch out because the pan should be hot enough to produce an instant boil) and whisk with the fork to break up any lumps. Simmer and stir as the sauce thickens. Add soy sauce to taste and more water as needed for consistency.
I also do a variation of this with a chicken breast pan fried in a little oil or butter. Deglaze the hot pan with about 2/3 cup of water then stir in yeast, followed by flour. This stuff gets a bit lumpy and requires a fair amount of whisking.
posted by Huplescat at 9:39 AM on January 10, 2007 [2 favorites]

I sprinkle it on just about everything except breakfast.
posted by iurodivii at 9:58 AM on January 10, 2007

desuetude: only if you have a cheesesteak and soft pretzel waiting for me.
posted by NationalKato at 10:04 AM on January 10, 2007

Best answer: A favorite recipe for any powdered nutritional supplement.
posted by nanojath at 10:22 AM on January 10, 2007

It's fantastic on popcorn.
posted by mkb at 10:40 AM on January 10, 2007

my cat goes nuts for this stuff. i dip in a finger and he licks it off, or we sprinkle a bit on a plate for him.
posted by twistofrhyme at 10:40 AM on January 10, 2007

It's really good for pets. One of our cats gets itchy skin and nutri yeast seems to help a lot. We just sprinkle it on their kibble.
posted by bink at 11:44 AM on January 10, 2007

Dang, I was just about to say, "Give it to the cat." It will make him shiny too. For some reason Germans love David Hass- err- I mean, cats love yeast.
posted by Area Control at 11:45 AM on January 10, 2007

Response by poster: bonheur: I am so trying that tonight.

NationalKato: Let me know when you'll be here. I usually get preztels on the way home from the bar at 2 am, hot from the oven.

My cat resides in another state now, alas. But good to know.

iurodivii: Do you love the way it tastes? Or are you just used to everything tasting kind of mineral-y?
posted by desuetude at 12:44 PM on January 10, 2007

This is probably an acquired taste, but I've long loved having french toast or waffles with yogurt, honey, and nutritional yeast sprinkled on top.
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:16 PM on January 10, 2007