Leaning Vegetarian

Posts Tagged ‘cheese substitute’

I’ve heard of brewer’s yeast used as a B-vitamin supplement, but wasn’t familiar with the nutritional yeast referenced in many vegetarian recipes.

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast similar to brewer’s yeast. It’s made from a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that is fermented and dried, and is sold in this flaky powder form.

Nutritional yeast can be used as a cheese replacement – I think the flavor is reminiscent of parmesan. It’s high in protein and B-vitamins (B12 may be added depending on the type of yeast you’re using) and is typically low in fat and sodium.

Rachelle’s used it at school as a cheesy popcorn topping. We used it in the seitan we made a couple weeks ago for the nutritional value and also for a little extra savoriness. For vegans, it’s used in recipes like this queso over at VegWeb.