Vegan ‘cheese’, anyone?

Recently I’ve seen a lot of buzz in the online world about nutritional yeast. Not only does this vegan product add a cheesy flavor to whatever it is you’re cooking, but it is also fortified with B vitamins (which may be lacking in a vegan diet). It’s low in fat, and high in protein and essential amino acids.

So the stuff definitely passes the “Is it good for me?” test. But how does it taste? I recently decided to find out. I tried out some of the many recipes I’ve seen online, such as this one for Melty Nutritional Yeast ‘Cheese’ Sauce. I also experimented a little on my own, trying to come up with creamy ‘cheesy’ sauces that contained less oil then most of the recipes out there. I found that even a simple combination of soy milk, nutritional yeast, and black pepper heated and stirred on the stove can produce a useable sauce.

I mainly consumed my experimental sauces over various cooked veggies, such as broccoli or brussels sprouts. I also tried it over pasta. Turns out, this stuff isn’t bad! There’s little chance of me confusing it with actual cheese, but the taste and texture are quite appealing. Throw in the fact that it’s healthy, and I see plenty of reasons to make nutritional yeast an occasional part of my diet.

Next up, I plan to give this recipe for Lunch Box Fondue a try. Do you think the Swiss will deport me for this?