7/8 Nutritious? Sure. Delicious? Maybe.

Category: Recipes, Vegan Challenge

From what I have heard and read, Nutritional Yeast appears to be a pantry staple of any self respecting vegan.  We had the hardest time finding it until we found it. Then we saw it everywhere, like buying a Diet Coke.

The first health food store we looked in had Brewers Yeast labelled as Nutritional Yeast, which I found incredibly confusing. Brewers yeast is used to make beer silly, not as a Parmesan Cheese replacement!! Turns out, Brewers Yeast in its  inactive form is sold as Nutritional Yeast.  So much to learn.

Anyway, Nutritional yeast  is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses, then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging the yeast. It is most often sold in flakes, but is also available  in powder. The flakes are a generous  source of protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals, while being low in fat. Everyone I have talked to has said it has a cheesy, nutty flavor that is delicious on popcorn, potatoes and pasta. Sounds like a super food or in the very least, a must have condiment.

I have to be honest with you, I have only tried it once (on a salad) since we have had it in the house. I searched for it like it was the last pint of O Negative blood on the planet, but now that it is in our pantry, I am having a hard time warming up to it.

If you are already friends with Nutritional Yeast, please share some of your tips. If you are ready to stick your toe in the water like me, lets just do it. Here is a recipe for a Potato Fritatta with Nutritional Yeast from our friend Jolinda at About.Com.

Potato Fritatta

By: Jolinda Hackett

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 green onions, chopped (separate the greens from the bottom)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper, divided
  • 1 12 oz package firm tofu
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • (Soy) Cheese (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large frying pan, sautee the onions, garlic, and bottoms of the green onions in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add potatoes, salt and pepper, and sautee for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until potatoes are golden brown.Blend tofu, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast in a food processor or blender until well mixed. Mixture will be somewhat thick. Add green onions and potatoes and pour into a greased pie pan.

Cook 45-50 minutes, until top is firm and cooked all the way through. Sprinkle the top with cheese if desired, and enjoy!

You can find several other recipes from Jolinda using Nutritional Yeast at:  http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/nutyeast.htm: Thank you Jolinda.
We can do this. As soon as I have tried a recipe with the Nutritional Yeast I will share my unbiased opinion. Please do the same.
Have a delicious day.
*Basic Nutritional Yeast and Brewers Yeast info from Wikipedia, WiseGeek and About.com

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July 8th, 2010
6 comments so far

Please leave a comment

  1. j Says:
    July 8th, 2010 at 7:20 am

    I think the nutritional yeast is much better in warm dishes where it’s able to “melt” Something about the flakes loose, scares me.
    I won a jar of it at Veg Fest and a cookbook to go along with it. Otherwise, I’m not sure if we would have it. I think I have seen it in bulk at Whole Foods, though.

  2. Jennifer Says:
    July 8th, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    It is something I always have in my fridge, but not really sething I use more than once a week or so. It’s kind of yummy as the last ingredient mixed into a tofu scramble, or in a spinach-artichoke dip. One thing I found after I had been vegan a few months was that I no longer had a taste for any cheese analogs. So once I got to that point, I didn’t really use it in much. There are other, tastier sources for B vitamins. Good luck with your frittata! :)

  3. GiGi Says:
    July 8th, 2010 at 6:38 pm

    Truth be told, I am a bona fide nooch lover. I use it on everything from popcorn to Vegan Caesar Salad. I actually have four recipes on my Veganville blog that uses this much maligned substance. May 3- White Bean, Vegie Sausage and Spincah soup, June 8- Eggplant Rollatini May 25- Stuffed Chokes, and May 21 Roasted Eggplant and Spinach Lasagna. I think it’s a must if you are whipping up vegan ricotta. Thanx for scouting it out, Sherry! I think you’ll like it.

  4. Sherry Says:
    July 8th, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    That is SO funny and random. Who wins Nutritional Yeast??? I think you are probably very right about it needing to be warm. For my very first taste I was ad libbing and threw it on a salad. I think the experience tainted me, but I will try again.

  5. Sherry Says:
    July 8th, 2010 at 10:49 pm

    Thank you Jennier for the tips. I am looking forward to making the potato frittata when we return from the retreat. I would also like to know how you make your tofu scramble and spinach dip. Please. We all need to know.

  6. Sherry Says:
    July 8th, 2010 at 10:54 pm

    Thank you Gigi for the amazing sounding recipe tips. I want to give myself the best possible start with it and am looking forward to trying it again in a more tasty way. I love Caeser Salad and would love to have it vegan. I am very curious to see if our vegan chef on the retreat this weekend will use the nooch.