Make your own nutritional yeast

1/9/2014

photo: Wikimedia Commons

Have you ever run across a recipe calling for nutritional yeast and you didn't have any? Maybe didn't even have access to some? Or maybe you attempted to make a batch of bread and the yeast wasn't working anymore?

Too bad I didn't know, a month ago, what I'm about to tell you. I threw away an entire pound package of baking yeast (Saccharoymyces cerevisiae) because it wasn't raising my dough. Sad.

First of all, what IS nutritional yeast? It's deactivated yeast, frequently the strain used is Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Totally dead yeast. Usually it is cultured in something sweet for a few days, then heated to deactivate it. It adds a nutty, savory, almost meat-y depth of flavor to recipes. (The term is 'umami'). It also contains B vitamins and is a complete protein.

I've been studying a new (to me) breadmaking book (more on that later!), and in it, the author, Peter Reinhart, gives instructions for making your own nutritional yeast:

Put 1/4 c. active dry yeast in a hot skillet. Toast over med-hi heat until it turns a medium shade of brown.

That's it.

Now, was my dysfunctional pound of yeast ready to be used as nutritional yeast without toasting? No. It was only partly dead. Or maybe 'mostly dead', to quote a favorite movie. But it needs to be totally dead before you consume it. Besides that, toasting brings out flavor.

Ways to use nutritional yeast:

as a topping on popcorn
sprinkle on top of things in place of cheese
mix into mashed potatoes or scrambled eggs in place of cheese
add to soups or white sauces to improve flavor (the flavor acts similar to adding bouillon or broth)
use in this recipe for dairy-free buttery spread
sprinkle on top of homemade crackers or breadsticks before baking
make your own vegetable broth recipe, on this post. Tastes like chicken. :)

44 Comments

samantha

6/9/2014 03:04:13 pm

I've read all of Peter Reinhart's books on making bread and I cannot find anywhere in the books of his that I have what you mentioned above. Where did you read that?

Rhonda link

7/5/2014 10:14:42 am

Samantha,

Peter Reinhart's "Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor" has this information on page 294 in a sidebar about toppings for his recipe for Seeded Crackers. The information can't be found by looking through the index.

Almond

5/25/2017 03:45:49 am

This does not make sense, you cannot culture totally dead yeast. It does get heated after being grown on the medium but it cannot be before, or any fermentation happening would be from wild microbes. Also, if you were just toasting bread yeast that would get pretty expensive in comparison to buying nutrional yeast. It is also not fkakey... That cannot be the process.

Amber

6/6/2017 01:42:48 am

Hey!
I've tried to make it with instant dry yeast as I couldn't find active in the store.... but it hasn't really worked for me. How long does it normally take on the skillet? Is there another step I should introduce before I 'kill' the yeast?
Thanks for your time

Crystalina

9/16/2014 04:56:31 am

Is there a way to grow it?

the sir

3/19/2015 07:39:56 am

Indeed, you could make beer. But the hops in the trub would give it an off flavor, however there are youtube videos on "washing yeast" to reharvest for another batch of beer. Presumably you could put this on a cookie sheet and toast on an oven's lowest setting to get rid of the moisture. And if you do grow your own yeast, you really do want to "wash it" since any process that ferments quickly will produce congeners and various compounds that are not healthy. I imagine a 2 month aging process would be overkill and uneccessary, further, since there is no wort to be concerned with you could oxygenate with an aquarium pump without having to worry about oxidation. I'm going to try this eventually. Yeast needs oxygen to grow initially, and a little throughout fermentation. If you use a yeast that floats, you may be able to reuse the same solution over and over so that you are not wasting sugars. idk

Nancy

10/13/2014 03:27:14 am

Thank you for this timely 'recipe' for nutritional yeast. Simple, easy, cheap!!! May the Lord bless you richly for your endeavors.

Essie

1/5/2015 02:10:11 pm

I'm wondering what it taste like. Does it have the cheesy flavor everyone raves about?

Katherine

9/5/2015 01:21:26 am

I smells yeasty, it tastes yeasty on it's own, however it does give a cheesy flavor when mixed into things.

lisa

4/26/2015 08:38:51 pm

Thank you so much! for this information your kindness of sharing will never be forgotten I am a Mom of 7 too with 5 still in the nest I have a catering business and a big Vegan party to do and I was raised with the same values ''make do and share may God continue blessing you and your family thank you so much I have a life time tip for you burnt toast/activated charcoal is good for stomach aches, diarrhea, bee stings, food poisoning, and acne it pulls toxins out of your system with no side effects. In the store you will pay about $10.00 for 100 capsules or you can burn toast to keep on hand. It is the Amen in my family and the little ones eat it like it's nothing. Sometimes I put the capsules in grape juice you don't have to use the whole capsule you can open it up and sprinkle some on top of the juice but it works fast!

Rhonda link

9/26/2015 03:34:44 pm

Thanks, Lisa! Very resourceful.
I remember reading a story years ago in the Readers' Digest about a captive with dysentery who was cured by burning a sweet potato and eating it. Sounds like a similar idea.

Nadim

1/4/2016 03:36:40 am

What is the idea of burning toast? It does not contain that much yeast

LiberMama

7/7/2016 04:12:33 am

Nadim, Lisa was referring to the ingenuity which the blog owner had said was instilled in her. Its an indirect comment not related to Nutritional Yeast. This is what she said,

" I have a life time tip for you burnt toast/activated charcoal is good for stomach aches, diarrhea, bee stings, food poisoning, and acne it pulls toxins out of your system with no side effects. In the store you will pay about $10.00 for 100 capsules or you can burn toast to keep on hand. It is the Amen in my family and the little ones eat it like it's nothing. Sometimes I put the capsules in grape juice you don't have to use the whole capsule you can open it up and sprinkle some on top of the juice but it works fast!"

Which is also a great tip. I hope this explanation helps.

JaniceS

4/12/2020 08:30:09 am

Thank you. I am marveled once again. God Bless.

Taylor

10/26/2015 01:04:14 pm

You should mention that when mixed with a little turmeric& tony chachere, you can make scramble tofu.

Gabrielle

12/7/2015 10:16:46 pm

Thank you so much for this... I have some really old dry yeast and will give it a try. It's good to know, because nutricional yeast is not very cheap... Thanks!

Rebecca

2/22/2016 02:41:22 am

The dea of eating burnt toast or a blacened sweet potato to help stomach and gut ailments is because you are essentially eating small amounts of activated charcoal, which is a marvelous sponge for absorbing toxins and any other inflammatory elements in the digestive tract.

SUSAN BASKETT

5/4/2016 02:54:39 am

Thank you, I have just learned something very useful today my questiion answered at last.

Cyndi Bird link

9/19/2016 06:37:16 am

HE HE HE mostly dead! I love that movie.

Thank-you for the information and the smile :)

Carol S. Lawson

9/21/2016 06:35:01 am

How do you get the yeast to flake?

Rhonda Hair link

8/19/2021 10:57:59 pm

It doesn't flake. The regular nutritional yeast comes in flakes because of the way it is produced. The point of using baker's yeast is only to (1) give another use for it and (2) to provide a substitute that will help give a similar savory flavor to foods.

Tommica

10/8/2016 04:39:09 am

My question is this cause I'm still a little confused or probably to simple to believe.

All I have to do is toast the yeast and that's it?

Patricia

3/28/2017 07:50:05 am

Thank you for this easy recipe!

Danit

4/5/2017 03:43:16 am

This is a great intro to nutritional yeast, thanks so much! Is there a way to make nutritional yeast with sourdough starter? Or am I just wishful thinking?

Judith

6/29/2018 03:43:57 pm

I wonder the same idea.

Priti

5/13/2017 04:55:03 am

Can i use this nutritional yeast for making vegan mozzarela?

Matt

12/29/2017 04:15:40 pm

You can, but it won't have the B12 vitamins that vegans need. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutritional_yeast#Nutrition

Charmain

11/21/2017 04:19:12 pm

Wow THANK YOU SO MUCH

Amber

3/21/2018 10:40:21 am

Hey there! Did it work for you? Making the yeast flakes as said above?

I live in a country where this strand of yeast is not widely available but if this methods works I will order the yeast online to cook up to make yeast flakes (super expensive to buy here too).

Thanks in advance!

Rhonda link

4/12/2019 07:03:48 am

Amber- this will not make yeast flakes. The shape and texture of the yeast itself doesn't change. What this does is deactivate and brown the yeast, leaving behind its flavor-enhancing ability rather than the leavening ability.

Matt

12/29/2017 04:14:28 pm

One additional tip is you should serve vegans store bought nutritional yeast and not this variety. The store bought nutritional yeast is fortified with B12 vitamins that vegans generally do not get enough of. Making yeast this way will give you the flavor so it's fine for meat eaters, but please give fortified nutritional yeast to vegans.

dodie

2/3/2018 02:49:55 pm

am using baking yeast that's over a year old, if not more. i just more. so recipe asked for 3 teaspoons, i use 1.5 Tbsp. works great

Howard

3/23/2018 09:07:49 pm

Can you consume to much of this yeast in a single day.
Also it said that you can use this yeast in recipes an also in mashed potatoes an on cookies an crackers an it will help if you have acheing joints an lower back pain, an that after a couple of months you have consederably less pain, do you know if this is true also.

nandi link

4/5/2018 11:07:50 am

its very surprising news about making nutritional yeast thanks a lot i m going to try this to use in seitan recipe .if this is done in properly wll inform you

Dennis

5/31/2018 10:41:47 pm

Please place me on your list. Thanks D

Claudia link

6/12/2018 02:27:57 am

From the book mentioned above (Peter Reinhart)

Or toast ¼ cup
instant yeast in a dry skillet until it
turns a medium shade of brown.
(Toasting yeast turns it into
nutritional yeast as it kills the
living cells and leaves behind the
nutrient base.)

Colleen

8/26/2018 11:40:27 am

Your favorite movie happens to one of mine as well.... Did we just become best friends? "The Princess Bride" am I right?
Also you freaking rock for sharing this recipe!! I'm a vegan and line i
Outside a small village in central Mexico where there is not a hope of finding such things... And I really want to make things like cheese !!!! You my dear are an angel!! Loads of love! PS I will look you up on face book!!

Heidi P.

11/17/2018 11:10:27 am

Hello, can you tell me if I can dehydrate the yeast on high heat in my dehydrator rather than on the stove and if it will kill the live yeast! Thank you,

Rhonda link

4/12/2019 07:00:56 am

Heidi, That depends on the temperature your dehydrator can reach. Yeast will completely die (deactivate) at temperatures over 140 degrees Fahrenheit. But the process will be much faster on a stovetop.
My guess is that browning it slightly also adds to the savory flavor, and the dehydrator is unlikely to brown the yeast.

Heidi

3/14/2021 07:44:34 pm

Thank you so much for answering my question above!!

Bloprpy McNonsense

3/7/2019 05:01:31 am

Firstly, I don't think the yeast is intended to be cultured after it is deactivated, but before, which makes sense.

I used to brew beer. For a long time yeast was harvested by scooping up the froth during fermentation and letting the water evaporate , leaving the yeast. Then the enterprising medieval (or older) brewerwould sell the excess yeast to bakers!

You don't have to make "beer" to do this... just toss some yeast into sugar water and let it sit for few days. Then pour off as much liquid as possible and dry out the yeast "sludge" (yum!).

I think the flakiness of store-bought yeast is acheived/could be approximated by drying a fairly thin layer of the yeast...stuff... on a cookie sheet with parment paper in the oven until completely dry.

Then just crumble and store in a dry, airtight jar.

Polona

8/3/2021 07:28:20 am

Wow, this is very interesting. I'm trying to roast fresh bakers yeast in the oven but I'm not so happy with the results.
I wonder if there is any update to this recipe.

Carol van der Merwe

2/16/2022 12:50:16 am

can I use a sour dough starter discard to make nutritional yeast?

Jay Microbiologist

11/8/2022 09:16:16 am

No, sour dough starter is a mixture of wild yeast & bacteria. While it probably does have a strain of Saccharomyces, the other "bugs" are a problem. For 12 semesters I taught college students in a lab to isolate microbial "bugs" from a mixed culture, and then test those to verify the identity of what they isolated... @ 12 labs 2hrs each, with specialized reagents...
If you want to culture your own yeast, you could read up on beer brewing for the techniques (mostly sterilization of equipment) and use a sugar water solution in place of the "wort" and some of your instant dry active bakers yeast (like Fleischmann's Instant Dry Yeast or equivalent) as the yeast to "pitch"... when the ferment stops, decant the liquid and collect the solids (coffee filter maybe???). You would then need to dry and cook the yeast to deactivate it, the "browning" is probably the source of most of the flavor.

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Make your own nutritional yeast

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Make your own nutritional yeast

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One day I may upgrade my website-- but until then, use your web browser search bar. Type in my web address and what you're looking for, like this--
www.theprovidenthomemaker.com pumpkin -- and you should get results.

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