Posted on March 23, 2020 by Kate Halsall

Nutritional Yeast? Unless you’re vegetarian or vegan, you have probably never come across this before. Well I have a big unopened vat of the stuff in my cupboard and vowed to find something to do with it when my husband threatened to put it on our porridge! Urgh. I’ve never used it before. The stuff I have in my cupboard was given to me as a gift. But as ingredients are currently scarce and we’re forced to be cooking from our cupboards (like my lentil recipe) last week; let’s give nutritional yeast a go!

What is it?

Nutritional yeast is the same sort of yeast as that which is used to make bread and beer. But unfortunately I won’t be getting my baking or brewing kit out just yet! It’s not “alive” like the yeast for bread. As such it’s generally used in cooking to add a cheesy, nutty or savory flavour. It’s also FULL of B vitamins (especially B12) and is actually a complete protein (it contains all 9 essential amino acids) – so it’s very good for you!

How do you use it?

At it’s simplest, you add it to soups and stews, or on top of pasta (the chance would be a fine thing!) as a “cheese”. I’ve even seen things suggesting it as a topping on popcorn! Funnily enough – no one has ever suggested putting it in porridge though!

Recipe – Crispy Tofu Fingers

I have to thank the internet for this scrummy recipe! Everything I searched for with nutritional yeast suggested fake “cheese” sauces – and I’m not a fan of those to be honest. But give me something that makes tofu nice – and I’m there!

Ingredients:

  • A bowl with the bottom covered with nutritional yeast
  • Firm Tofu – I just used one block. Pressed and cut into slices (you should get around 12 slices from one block)
  • Spices of your choice – I’m using salt, pepper and dried chilli (of course!)

Method:

  1. Coat the tofu in the nutritional yeast – like you were coating something in breadcrumbs.
  2. Season with your preferred spices.
  3. Place on a baking tray (I put some baking parchment on the tray just in case of stickage), put it in a nice hot oven until crispy! I put it in a fan oven for 30 minutes.
  4. Serve as a snack or add vegetables to have it as part of a meal. I served it with steamed green beans and sugar snap peas as I have those in the freezer!

Now’s the time to step out of your comfort zone guys – give it a try!! If you’re after more Tofu recipes – try this crispy baked tofu one for size.

Official nutritional yeast recipe here.

Picture from Pixabay.