Last year when we began to feed Caden solid foods the baby food book I was reading suggested adding nutritional yeast to his oatmeal. My first thought. Ummm…what the heck is nutritional yeast? Little did I know at the time that this flakey substance would soon by one of my kitchen staples.
What Is Nutritional Yeast
Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast that is grown on sugarcane and beet molasses. When the yeast is ready it is deactivated, washed, dried, and packaged. This yeast does not make things rise. It is high in protein and is fortified with vitamin B12 and other vitamins and minerals. Making it a staple in vegetarian and vegan diets.
The Benefits
- 9 grams of protein in 2 tablespoons
- High % of Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid
- Gluten-Free
- Low sodium
- Yummy cheesy flavor
In vegan recipes, nutritional yeast is used for its cheesy flavor. There are so many ways you can use nutritional yeast.
The Uses
- Sprinkle it on popcorn for a cheesy flavor
- When making kale chips sprinkle a layer on before baking
- Stir it it to your mashed potatoes
- Add to roasted veggies
- Sneak in B12 by adding a tablespoon to your salad dressing
- Make french fries extra crispy with a drizzle of olive oil and a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast
- Oatmeal, smoothies, and pasta are other great ways slip it into your diet
Where To Buy
I love this stuff. You will need to go to a health food store, Whole Foods, or vitamin shop to purchase and it can be bought in the bulk section or by the nutritional supplements. I use the Red Star brand.
Even though it looks and smells a little like fish food flakes it is worth adding to your diet, especially if you are vegan, vegetarian, or do not consume animal products on a regular basis. I promise once you add it into your other foods you won’t even notice it. It does have a really nice flavor.
What about you? Do you use nutritional yeast?
Be sure and check back tomorrow because I am sharing how I use nutritional yeast to create a vitamin packed vegan mac & cheese! It has been kid tested and mama approved!
I absolutely love Nutritional Yeast. So glad you decided to highlight it! 🙂
xoxo,
gayle | grace for gayle
I’m a #Previvor!
Yay for Nutritional Yeast! Glad you love it too!
I’m SO glad you posted about this! I’ve heard about it but wasn’t sure how to use it. I don’t eat dairy and my babe (11 months) flat out refuses to eat any meat of any kind. Which I’m ok with since I’m not a big meat eater myself, but I’ve been worried about her protein intake. This will be perfect to add! Can’t wait for your vegan mac and cheese recipe!
I am so happy you found this helpful! I am so excited to share the mac and cheese recipe tomorrow! It is so yummy!
We use it sometime.
Hi Sharon, thanks for replying. We only used it minimally at first until I discovered all the fun things that nutritional yeast could be added too. Hope you learned a new way to use it!