Delicious dust: There’s a soft spot in my heart and a forever place in my pantry for an often underappreciated and polarizing item: nutritional yeast.
This delicious golden powder doesn’t get the respect it deserves in the home kitchen. It’s about time nutritional yeast got the PR hit it deserves so we can look past the unattractive name and finally embrace the umami-packed ingredient for what it really is: a delicious dust that deserves a place in every kitchen.
I prefer to call it “Nooch” rather than its first name, both for the obvious fun of the word and because who wants to be reminded to sprinkle nutritional yeast on avocado toast? Never put the words “nutritional” and “yeast” together again. From here, it’s Nooch.
What’s so great about Nooch?
Somewhere along the way, Nooch became synonymous with vegan and dairy-free sauces and cheese substitutes. Sure, it’s probably thanks to its naturally cheesy flavor without the cheese and ability to melt into a gooey yellow nacho-looking sauce. Nooch also appears in the early organic cookbook Diet for a Small Planet and has long been a staple in vegan cafes and health food stores. Almost every recipe that attempts to recreate a menu item from Erewhon Market, the core of LA’s “wellness” culture, is loaded with Nooch.
However, gold powder offers much more. Nooch is far from a musty powder relegated to the mysterious shelves of hippie pantries or the spice menu of independent cinemas. It’s more than just the dairy-free cashew mac on crunchy cafe menus.
The powder is made from the same yeast that makes yeast dough bubbly and fluffy cinnamon rolls (called Saccharomyces cerevisiae). To make Nooch, the yeast is fermented in a giant tank with sugar to feed on, then harvested and dried into storage-stable flakes.
Unraveling the Mysteries and Health Benefits of Nooch
What makes Nooch truly great is the coveted sixth taste of umami. You may not be able to describe umami specifically, but you know it when you taste it. Imagine the taste of a grainy piece of Parmesan cheese, a long-cooked marinara sauce, or a sparkling kimchi. That deeply spicy je ne sais quoi you taste is umami, and it’s likely to make your palate sing. And unlike many other sources of umami, delicious dust is stable and can be sprinkled on anything.
Not to mention the nutritional breakdown (it turns out its legal name has a reason, after all), Nooch is an impressive source of essential minerals. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), a 10-gram serving (two tablespoons) contains more than 200% of the recommended daily value of niacin, riboflavin, and vitamins B6 and B12. (B vitamins play a vital role in metabolism and energy production.)
There’s also a few milligrams of iron and potassium per serving, plus 5 grams of protein (11% of your daily value) and 2 grams of fiber (7%), though those numbers will vary slightly by brand.
What is the best way to use Nooch?
Nooch has a nice cheesy flavor, but that doesn’t mean it’s only good as a cheese substitute. It can also enhance the spicy, salty cheesiness of a more traditional dish like lasagna or nachos. But plenty of unexpected foods benefit from a nooch boost, too.
The powder dissolves beautifully into a creamy coconut curry sauce, is fantastic whisked into scrambled eggs, added to a coating on crispy chicken or tofu, or added to a peanut or almond butter sauce for dipping dumplings, fresh rolls, or crudité.
If you’re heading to the store, my favorite brands are Bob’s Red Mill and Bragg, both of which have fine, delicate flakes that melt and spread easily and a consistently fresh taste. You can also find some fun flavored Nooch seasoning blends like Parma! A vegetable parmesan that I love on roasted vegetables and salads.
