13 Ways You Never Thought To Use Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast doesn't look like much. At first glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's some dry, sawdust-like, tasteless health food powder. But looks, in this case, are very deceiving. Nutritional yeast, or "nooch" as it's affectionately called by its fervent fans, is an extremely versatile, flavor-packed substance that has countless uses in the kitchen, and shouldn't be overlooked just because of its humble appearance and uninspiring name.

As Healthline breaks down, while baker's and brewer's yeasts are active, nutritional yeast is rendered inactive, meaning it won't start the fermentation process like the other two types. Most nutritional yeast you'll find on the market is fortified to pump up its vitamin content — it's a particularly potent source for many B vitamins, as well as protein and minerals. On top of that, it's also packed with antioxidants and has been shown to aid immunity and lower cholesterol.

With all those health benefits, plus its distinctive savory, cheesy flavor, there's no reason not to add nutritional yeast into your cooking and snacking routine. Here you'll find some great ways to do just that, giving your health and your taste buds a boost.

Besides the fact that it's healthy and tasty, another great characteristic of nutritional yeast is that it's gluten-free, according to Healthline. Its nutty, yeasty flavors and aromas are reminiscent of bread and other baked goods, so it's a fantastic ingredient to keep on hand if you've cut gluten out of your diet. Because of its flavor and texture, it's one of the best gluten-free substitutes for breadcrumbs.

The texture of nutritional yeast can vary from powdery to flaky, similar to the way breadcrumbs come in different grains ranging from fine to coarse. Nooch works just like breadcrumbs as a binder in recipes like meatballs and classic meatloaf -– just swap one out for the other to make your dish gluten-free and low-carb friendly. It can also be used as a breading element to make fried or baked chicken, tofu, and vegetables with a satisfying crunchy, crispy exterior, as well as any other dish that calls for a breadcrumb coating (via Organic Authority). Just remember that nutritional yeast has a lot more flavor than your average breadcrumb, so you may want to cut it with an alternative flour to mellow out the strong taste.

Look no further than nutritional yeast to upgrade your popcorn game. Its savory, cheesy flavor and powdery texture make it the ultimate addition to the classic movie theater snack. Add a little nooch to butter or oil and toss the popped kernels to coat them. If you're trying to avoid adding fat, follow the advice from these Redditors and spritz the popcorn with water, soy sauce, or hot sauce instead to get the yeast to stick. And voila — you have rich, flavorful, cheesy and savory popcorn that also happens to be nutritious.

Nutritional yeast is great on its own, but it also plays well with other flavors. Adding it to spice blends gives them a big umami boost. If you like to get super creative with your spice rack, the next time you're crafting a savory seasoning blend, throw some nooch in it to add another dimension of flavor and texture. Or add some to your pre-made blends like taco seasoning, ranch powder, or Italian seasoning –- and don't forget to try them on your popcorn.

Whether you're vegan or lactose-intolerant, or avoiding dairy for other reasons, nutritional yeast can fill that cheese-shaped hole in your life. Its powdery form blends nicely into sauces, so you don't have to miss out on queso or mac and cheese just because dairy is not a part of your diet.

Dairy-free cheese sauces can be made with bases such as cashews, potatoes, or tofu for texture, with non-dairy milk as the liquid element. However, the sauce won't taste cheesy without the addition of nutritional yeast. Its cheese-like flavor adds a savory tang that's reminiscent of the powder that comes with boxed macaroni and cheese, which is why it's such a fitting substitute for the same purpose.

You may be surprised at how close in flavor and texture homemade vegan mac and cheese can get to the store bought stuff. And game day vegan queso dip can be just as satisfying when made without dairy, all thanks to those little flakes of nutritional yeast.

Because nutritional yeast is inactive, it won't react the same way as active or instant yeast in baked goods, so you can't swap out one for the other to make your dough rise. However, it can be used to enhance the flavor of baked goods, just like any other herb, spice, or flavoring element you might add to a dough or batter. 

Because of its intensity, nooch is best suited for breads and other baked goods that are strongly flavored -– it is likely to overwhelm delicate bakes. The nutty taste of nutritional yeast can greatly enhance the flavor of nut or seed breads. Its similarity to cheese makes it an excellent addition to pizza dough, giving it a Parmesan-like flavor boost. You can even use it to boost the flavor of vegan matzah. It can be added to biscuit batter, scones, flatbreads, bagels, or any other savory bake that can use a hit of umami. Just don't expect it to help in the leavening or rising departments.

Italy's full of different styles of pesto. Depending on where you are in the country, when you order pesto, you may get something quite surprising. Pesto Modenese, for example, from the Emilia-Romagna region, is a spread made primarily from lardo, or cured pork fat — quite a far cry from the verdant herby mixture you'll find on most store shelves. That version, which has captured the hearts of the world, is Pesto Genovese. The familiar bright green substance is traditionally made by pounding fresh basil leaves with garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

If you're avoiding dairy, or don't happen to have a wedge of Parmesan on hand, you should try nutritional yeast when you make your next batch of pesto. Its salty, cheesy, umami flavor emulates the taste pretty well, and its texture similarly acts to thicken and bind the rest of the pesto ingredients together. Your vegan pesto can be just as rich and flavorful as the traditional stuff, without the addition of dairy, thanks to nutritional yeast.

Home cheesemaking can be a daunting activity, and making dairy-free cheese even more so. But if you're an adventurous project-oriented cook in the kitchen, there are few things as satisfying, and making your own vegan cheese gives you complete control over your ingredients and flavors.

Making a fresh, farmer-style cheese like vegan ricotta is the easiest place to start. These cheeses don't require molding or aging, making them ideal for beginners. Cashews make a great base, providing fat and richness, while nutritional yeast provides the cheesy, savory depth of flavor. Full-fat coconut milk is another option. A few ingredients and a blender are all you need to create a creamy ricotta substitute, perfect for spreading on bread or stuffing into pasta. And because it's homemade, you can vary the flavor however you want, adding herbs, spices, citrus zest, or anything else your culinary imagination can come up with.

Graduating to other, more complex vegan cheeses takes a little bit more work and expertise, as The Hidden Veggies explains, as firmer cheeses need ingredients and techniques that will help them set properly. But if you're a cheese lover on a dairy-free diet, learning to make your own vegan cheese with nutritional yeast may be a skill worth perfecting.

A dusting of grated Parmesan cheese adds a pop of flavor to a pasta dish, but if you're dairy-free, vegan, or just looking to mix things up, try nutritional yeast instead. A sprinkle of nooch adds texture, umami, a hit of cheesiness, and a salty-savory tang, plus it packs a nutritional punch. Even if the pasta dish itself is full of dairy, nutritional yeast can add an extra bump of flavor to real cheese and cream — don't pigeonhole it to vegan dishes only.

Its flavor goes particularly well with pasta dishes that have nutty ingredients, like walnut fettuccine alfredo or chestnut agnolotti, as the nutritional yeast echoes and enhances the earthy, sweet flavors of nuts. Try it with buckwheat pasta noodles for even more nuttiness. And if you can't live without classic Roman pasta dishes like spaghetti carbonara and cacio e pepe, which feature grated cheese as an essential ingredient, nooch makes dairy-free versions of those recipes possible — just swap out the Parmigiano or pecorino for nutritional yeast. And don't forget to have some in a bowl or shaker on the table so you can add more to taste.

You can sprinkle nutritional yeast on top of salads the same way you can with pasta, as a Parmesan-esque topping. But it's also a great ingredient to include in the salad dressing itself. Nutritional yeast can add layers of flavor to any dressing, whether it's light and tangy or rich and creamy. It can act as a substitute for certain dressing ingredients, or be an added bonus element, boosting the dressing's texture and taste.

Take Caesar dressing as an example. Classic Caesar dressing typically involves non-vegan ingredients like eggs, anchovies, Parmesan cheese, and Worcestershire sauce (most brands are surprisingly not vegan friendly, as they contain fish). Nutritional yeast can act as a stand-in for all of these ingredients — it can enrich and bind the dressing like egg, add a pop of cheesy flavor like Parmesan, and fill it with salty, savory umami flavor like anchovies and Worcestershire sauce. It's hard to imagine any salad dressing that wouldn't benefit from a healthy dose of nutritional yeast.

If you're looking for a way to elevate your breakfast, add nutritional yeast to your morning scramble. It's an easy ingredient to incorporate into your routine without having to think or plan too much before you've had a chance to caffeinate — simply toss a spoonful or two of nooch into your scramble mixture and consider the flavor boosted.

Adding nutritional yeast to scrambled eggs is similar to adding grated cheese, but you also get the addition of nooch's other dimensions of flavor — you may find you don't need to add as much salt, so season cautiously. If you're creating a vegan scramble with tofu, nutritional yeast's rich umami taste adds a necessary dimension to the otherwise neutral dish, as well as a little bit of color to make it look more egg-like (you can also add turmeric to enhance this quality, as well). 

To make your scramble even more savory, pick up some kala namak, a black mineral salt that has a distinct eggy taste. It deepens the flavor of real eggs, and makes tofu taste even more convincingly egg-like. Combined with nutritional yeast, these two simple ingredients are all you need to create a satisfying, intensely flavorful scramble.

There are few things in this world more comforting than a warm bowl of soup. If you ever find your soups to be too thin and watery, or diluted in flavor, once again it's nutritional yeast to the rescue. A few spoonfuls stirred into a lackluster soup can add dimensions of flavor and a heartier texture, whether you're beefing up a store bought soup or refining one of your own homemade recipes.

Nutritional yeast can enrich the texture of any soup, but it complements creamy soups particularly well, whether they're vegan or dairy-based. Its cheesy taste works wonderfully in a silky-smooth potato soup recipe, or swirled into a rich broccoli cheddar soup to either enhance or replace the cheese element. It's a welcome addition to other soup styles, too, like this flavorful and simple black bean soup.

If you are the kind of avid home cook who makes their own stock, nutritional yeast is a secret ingredient for adding extra umami flavor to the long-simmering liquid, according to MasterClass. It's especially useful in vegetable stocks that can sometimes lack depth compared to their meat-based counterparts.

Potatoes and nutritional yeast are two of the most versatile ingredients in the kitchen, so it just makes sense that they'd pair well together. The mellow, neutral flavor of potatoes makes them something of a blank slate for flavors, and a little bit of nutritional yeast can be just what the humble potato needs to be catapulted from bland to scrumptious. 

If you're going the dairy-free route with your mashed spuds, nutritional yeast can add that cheesy, rich layer of flavor and texture in place of butter or cream. For mashed potatoes that are already loaded with dairy, adding nooch will give them even more richness and a deeper, more complex flavor profile. Nutritional yeast isn't just good for a mash — try sprinkling it on baked potatoes along with your other favorite toppings. Mix it into a potato gratin, either in place of or in addition to the Parmesan cheese, and add some on top for good measure. And it's not just for hot potatoes — the addition of nutritional yeast can liven up a creamy potato salad.

Sandwich aficionados know that every layer of a sandwich is crucial to get the combination of textures and flavors just right. If you find a part of your sandwich somehow lacking, the secret ingredient you might want to reach for is nutritional yeast. Its versatility and impact can take a mediocre sandwich and elevate it to greatness, and there are countless ways you can incorporate the ingredient, no matter what kind of sandwich you're making.

Nooch is easy to swirl into condiments to add an extra bump of seasoning and flavor. Add a dash to your mayo or mustard for a quick upgrade. If you've got a salad sandwich on your hands, whether it's tuna, chicken, or egg, mix some nooch into the salad before you scoop it onto your bread. And perhaps the best use for nutritional yeast as far as sandwiches go is adding it to grilled cheese – it can really take it to the next level. You can sprinkle it on the cheese inside your sandwich prior to assembly, or mix it into the butter or mayo spread on the outside of your bread for a savory, parm-like crunch. So the next time a sandwich isn't thrilling you, try adding a little nooch to give it some pep.

Nutritional yeast has many health benefits for humans, and you may be surprised to learn it can help your four-legged furry companions, as well. While its use as a nutritional supplement for dogs and cats may be limited, as Great Pet Care discusses, it has been shown to help boost animals' gut health and immunity. It also tastes good to them, so if you have a cat or a pup with a picky appetite, adding nutritional yeast to their food may entice them to chow down more enthusiastically. 

Award-winning pet food company Because, Animals even has its own line of nutritional yeast-based supplements and treats made with your furry friends in mind, as reported by Pet Food Processing. If you craft your own homemade pet treats, nutritional yeast is an excellent ingredient to include, for its health benefits as well as its flavor, in the same way you add it to your human baked goods.

Of course, before giving any supplement to your pet, you should always consult with your veterinarian. If they have underlying health issues or allergies, nutritional yeast may not be healthy for your animal to ingest.