What is Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast is one of my secret ingredients for creamy, cheesy vegan recipes. Learn more about this magic ingredient below.

You’ve seen it on salad tok; you’ve seen it in many of my recipes. Nutritional yeast. Nooch. It’s creamy, cheesy, and best of all, vegan.

But what exactly is nutritional yeast? I get this question all the time on TikTok (and even overhear it in the Baked by Melissa office kitchen from time to time), so I wanted to give you some answers! Let’s talk nooch.

What is nutritional yeast?

Nutritional yeast, it turns out, isn’t all that different from yeast that we use for baking or brewing beer. They’re all the same strain of yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The main difference is that it’s heated and dried, which deactivates the yeast and creates a dairy-free, gluten-free product without the same bitterness of other yeasts.

Benefits of nutritional yeast

Health-wise, nutritional yeast is packed with B vitamins and amino acids, which are must-haves for anyone who eats mostly plants. Amino acids are the proteins found in meat, so nutritional yeast gives vegans and vegetarians supplemental nutrition without meat-based protein.

Nutritional yeast also contains beta-glucan and chromium, which respectively may help reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

With so many benefits, you might think I’m spooning it out on everything I eat. While it is one of my most-used ingredients, like everything, it’s best enjoyed in moderation!

Why I love nutritional yeast

I’ve been adding nutritional yeast to my recipes for a few years, and now I can’t imagine living in a kitchen without it.

It’s a great recipe staple for vegans or anyone who wants to add an extra boost of flavor without loading up on cheese—I use it in many of my favorite salad dressings to make it richer and creamier without dairy. The savory umami flavor is a tough one to match, and it adds extra depth to my recipes.

What brands of nutritional yeast I trust

When nutritional yeast first became popular, I researched brands to find ones I liked and trusted. Many food products nowadays contain trace metals, so I try to shop organic as much as possible to minimize my family’s consumption of unwanted ingredients.

That said, I always have some Bragg Nutritional Yeast on hand, and recently got a huge bag from Whole Foods to try out.

My one caveat for shopping for nutritional yeast is to read the labels carefully—it’s easy to accidentally buy seasoned nutritional yeast, and I prefer to season it myself. The nutritional yeast that works best for you also depends on what you’re looking for, as some are fortified with B12 (like Bragg), but others aren’t.