Nutritional yeast is the GOAT for adding big, cheesy flavor to plant-based dishes, and our beloved “nooch” is long overdue for its moment in the sun. If you’re less familiar with this pantry superstar, we get that the name can be a bit off-putting, but nutritional yeast has been a staple of nondairy diets for decades. So what exactly is it?
Nutritional yeast is a dried, inactive form of baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It’s grown in large tanks of sugary liquid, fermented, rinsed, and then heated to deactivate the yeast. The resulting flakes won’t make bread rise, but what they will do is add a savory, umami-rich sprinkle anywhere you want a Parmesan-like boost. In addition to a well-earned rep as “nature’s Cheeto dust,” nooch also has a pretty impressive nutritional profile. One 2-tablespoon serving has 600% of your daily vitamin B12, which is typically hard to come by on a plant-based diet, and 5 grams of complete protein. In need of some inspo for what to do with those flaky friends? We’ve got you covered.
One of our favorite ways to use nutritional yeast is in Caesar dressing. The traditional version includes egg yolks, Parmesan, anchovies, and Worcestershire sauce, so when we fell hard for a plant-based version in a restaurant, we wanted to recreate it. That one was made with nutritional yeast, seaweed, and spirulina algae. Ours has evolved to be more pantry friendly. We tap silken tofu for creaminess (and a protein boost), capers for tang, and nutritional yeast for cheesiness and umami. It all comes together in the blender in seconds before it’s ready to bathe a bowl of greens, or, in today’s case, a picnic-perfect pasta that wants to be a salad. It’s the best of both worlds—and gets even tastier on day two.
Caesar Pasta Salad
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
- Caesar Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup silken tofu
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Pasta Salad
- 2 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and dried
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for pasta
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 16 ounces short cut pasta, like penne or fusilli
- 10 cups chopped kale
- ½ cup store-bought or homemade seasoned breadcrumbs
- Nutritional yeast, for topping
Procedure:
- For the Caesar dressing, add all ingredients to a blender and purée until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, lemon, or nutritional yeast to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a baking sheet, toss chickpeas with ¼ cup olive oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp; set aside to cool.
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally. Drain well. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking and let cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, massage the kale with about half the dressing for a few minutes until it wilts. Add the cooled pasta, roasted chickpeas, and the rest of the dressing. Toss to coat. Top with breadcrumbs and extra nutritional yeast.
Notes and Substitutions:
- The recipe makes enough for a small gathering, like pasta salad should, but it can easily be halved to serve fewer people.
- For a more traditional Caesar vibe, you can swap the kale for chopped romaine. No need to massage.
- Wanna add more flavor to store-bought breadcrumbs? Toast them up in some olive oil or plant butter until golden, then sprinkle with salt.
- To air-fry the chickpeas, toss them in the fryer basket and cook for 12 to 15 minutes at 390 degrees, shaking a couple times, until crispy and golden.
5 ways to get more "nooch" in your life
In 1975, The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook featured an entire chapter devoted to nutritional yeast, including a recipe for mac and cheese, a common gateway dish for nooch newbies. Today, it’s hard to find a nondairy version of any cheesy dish that doesn’t include it. But this savory, shelf-stable seasoning can do so much more than macaroni. These are some of our favorite ways to harness its cheesy power—including a couple super-simple ideas for first-timers.
1. Fun dip for your veggies
Ready for an easy way to make fresh veggies disappear? Dunk them in a savory riff on sugary Fun Dip. Sohla El-Waylly’s mix of nooch, ground pistachios, and ranch seasonings—what she calls Ranch Fun Dip—is a playful shelf-stable version of a crudités centerpiece, and a clever way to get kids (and adults) to down more raw veg. It lasts for weeks in a sealed jar and makes for a stellar creamy dip when stirred into yogurt or sour cream.
2. Plant-based cheeses
There are plenty of ways to add creaminess and heft to simple nondairy cheeses, but they’re nothing without nooch. Blitzed together with cashews, it’s the star of our plant-based Parm. Blended up with cashew butter, miso, and chipotles in adobo, it makes a killer queso for your nachos, “cheese” fries, or pretzels.
3. Pasta sauces
Nooch is pretty dang essential for getting any pasta sauce its fair share of cheesy goodness. (Even one of our favorite boxed macs uses it.) It’s the key to giving plant-based bechamels a satisfying tang, but you can also add it to vodka sauce or blend it up with herbs for a dairy-free pesto.
4. Soup thickener
In addition to its umami superpowers, nutritional yeast also has textural muscles to flex. It’ll help thicken up broths, dressings, and dips. We love using it to fortify brothy beans or veggie stock with extra nutrients and added creaminess. Just stir a few tablespoons into the simmering liquid and let it work its magic.
5. Popcorn topper
More and more snacks are hitting grocery store shelves pre-dusted with nooch, but simple home-popped popcorn might have to be our favorite vehicle for the cheesy, salty sprinkle. You can add any additional seasonings you like (we particularly love a dash of dried rosemary and red pepper flakes), but a basic flavor weapon is as simple as nooch, salt, and coconut oil.
