Nutritional yeast, alongside apple cider vinegar and garlic, gives this dressing an umami-rich flavor you can’t resist. You’ll find yourself wanting to drizzle it on everything!
I’m a huge fan of homemade dressings and have posted a ton over the years! One of my favorites has always been this oil-free zesty tahini dressing with nutritional yeast. And this nutritional yeast dressing is a spin-off of that one, only without the tahini and even more nutritional yeast. I originally created it as a dressing for my kale and cabbage salad, but honestly it’s delicious on just about anything. I like using it as a drizzle for steamed veggies and as a dip for baked chicken tenders.
What is Nutritional Yeast?
Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast made from molasses. It’s yellow in color and sold as flakes, granules or powder and can be found in the spice section or bulk bins of health food stores. I typically buy Bob’s Red Mill large flakes from Thrive Market.
Nutritional yeast has the word “nutritional” in its name for a reason! It is a complete protein – meaning it has all nine essential acids that we need! It is also high in protein (2g per tablespoon) so is a great way for vegetarians and vegans to add high-quality protein to their diet.
It’s also is high in B vitamins, specifically vitamin B-12! Vitamin B-12 is needed for a variety of body functions, including red blood cell creation, DNA production, energy metabolism and healthy nervous system functionality. It’s naturally found in animal products, so vegans can become deficient if they aren’t supplementing (or eating nutritional yeast).
How to Make Nutritional Yeast Dressing
Making a homemade dressing with nutritional yeast is super easy! For this dressing, we’re simply adding the nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, garlic and ground pepper to a blender and blending until smooth. Slowly add in the olive oil with the blender on low. If you don’t have a blender, you can mince your garlic really well and whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl!
If you make this nutritional yeast dressing, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how it turns out. Your feedback is so helpful for the EBF team and other readers.
Nutritional yeast, alongside apple cider vinegar and garlic, gives this dressing an umami-rich flavor you can’t resist. You’ll find yourself wanting to drizzle it on everything!
1/4 cupcoconut aminos (or low-sodium tamari or soy sauce)
3 cloves garlic
pinch of sea salt
ground pepper, to taste
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil*
Instructions
Combine all dressing ingredients except olive oil into a blender. Blend until smooth and slowly add in the olive oil, with the blender on a low setting.
I prefer making this dressing in a blender because it gets extra smooth and creamy, but if don’t have a blender you can easily make it by whisking all the ingredients together as well. Just make sure you mince your garlic really well.
Notes
For an oil-free dressing you can use water in place of the oil. The dressing won’t be as creamy, but still delicious.
Category:Dressing
Method:Blender
Cuisine:American
Nutrition
Serving Size:2 Tablespoons
Calories:95
Sugar:1g
Sodium:110mg
Fat:7g
Saturated Fat:1g
Carbohydrates:5g
Fiber:1g
Protein:3g
Keywords: nutritional yeast dressing
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I am definitely a nutritional yeast connoisseur. But I hadn’t even thought of turning it into a dressing until I stumbled across this recipe while doing research for my own blog post! I just know this is going to be a staple recipe for me. Thank you for sharing!
To say this salad dressing changed my life would be an understatement. I feel like a vampire tasting human blood for the first time. I completely eyeballed every measurement but it turned out perfectly. I would rate this 6 stars if I could.
SOS! I was excited to try this recipe, and I’ve made it twice and have the same problem: a super thick consistency. I’ve added 3x the olive oil, and it’s still super thick.
I’m puzzled by the references to water amongst some of the reviewers, as I didn’t see water in the recipe (unless one subbed out oil and replaced it with water).
Hey Marie – I originally had water and oil in the recipe, but it was too thin. If your dressing is too thick for you, you can always add water to thin it out. I’d start with 1 T at a time until you reach the consistency you’re looking for.
Woot woot!! So glad you enjoyed this dressing, Caroline. Thanks for sharing the tahini sub you made and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It’s super helpful for other readers. 🙂
The taste is great, but mine also is very watery- I did not even add the 1/4 cup of water. I s it possible that there are different densities of nutritional yeast? How many grams are in the cup you used?
This recipe is absolutely delicious! However, I think you might need to adjust the liquid amounts (as another reviewer suggested). Maybe blender differences matter, but using your figures, mine was so watery that I had to add more than a cup of nutritional yeast and additional oil to make it a creamy , regular dressing consistency. I made it a second time and removed all the water and still needed to add nutritional yeast and extra oil. I wonder if you might revisit your amounts?
Yayyy! So glad you tried this dressing and loved it. It’s one of my all-time faves. And yeah, you can definitely use less or more liquid depending on the consistency you are looking for. Thank you for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I really appreciate it, Sophie! <3
Hi Peytn! This dressing is very versatile and can be used on a variety of different dishes. It can be used as a salad dressing, pasta sauce, or dip for veggies, fries or protein. It can also just be drizzled on a sheet pan dish, casserole or steamed veggies. It can really be used with any recipe! Some of my favorite dishes to use this on are: Kale and Cabbage Salad, Baked Paleo Chicken Tenders, Vegan Power Bowl, and Crispy Baked Tofu.
Hi Al. I am so happy to hear you are loving this recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and star rating. It means the world to me!
I was looking for a way to get a daily portion of nutritional yeast and this is it! It is almost identical the the dressing I make but creamy and I can’t taste whatever it is I don’t like about nutritional yeast. THANKS!!
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I am definitely a nutritional yeast connoisseur. But I hadn’t even thought of turning it into a dressing until I stumbled across this recipe while doing research for my own blog post! I just know this is going to be a staple recipe for me. Thank you for sharing!
This is the greatest dressing ever….OMG!! It is so tasty my socks have blown off!!
★★★★★
Ahh that makes me SO happy to hear!! I’m glad you loved this dressing, Matthew. Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
To say this salad dressing changed my life would be an understatement. I feel like a vampire tasting human blood for the first time. I completely eyeballed every measurement but it turned out perfectly. I would rate this 6 stars if I could.
★★★★★
Ahh this makes me so happy to hear, Darcy!! I’m pumped you loved this dressing. Thanks so much for the review. I appreciate it!
SOS! I was excited to try this recipe, and I’ve made it twice and have the same problem: a super thick consistency. I’ve added 3x the olive oil, and it’s still super thick.
I’m puzzled by the references to water amongst some of the reviewers, as I didn’t see water in the recipe (unless one subbed out oil and replaced it with water).
Please enlighten me! Thanks
★★★
Hey Marie – I originally had water and oil in the recipe, but it was too thin. If your dressing is too thick for you, you can always add water to thin it out. I’d start with 1 T at a time until you reach the consistency you’re looking for.
I did not change a thing!
I am a culinary institute of America grad and I LOVE this.
Thank you for sharing this.
★★★★★
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this dressing, Judy. Thanks for the review!
So delicious!
★★★★★
Absolutely love this recipe! I sub out the olive oil for tahini and added the juice of a lemon and it was amazing!! Thanks again!
★★★★★
Woot woot!! So glad you enjoyed this dressing, Caroline. Thanks for sharing the tahini sub you made and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It’s super helpful for other readers. 🙂
I love how savory this dressing is and it pairs really well with kale. I added a little water to thin it out. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
I’m glad you enjoyed this dressing, Sherry! Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I appreciate it!
The taste is great, but mine also is very watery- I did not even add the 1/4 cup of water. I s it possible that there are different densities of nutritional yeast? How many grams are in the cup you used?
★★★★
Thank you so much for this feedback, Sarah. I will test the recipe again to make sure the water content is correct.
Am I missing something? Where does the recipe list water as an ingredient?
★★★★★
I retested the recipe and removed water from the ingredient list because it turned out watery for quite a few people!
Ty!
★★★★★
What would be a good substitute for coconut aminos?
You can use tamari or soy sauce instead of the coconut aminos if you prefer!
This recipe is absolutely delicious! However, I think you might need to adjust the liquid amounts (as another reviewer suggested). Maybe blender differences matter, but using your figures, mine was so watery that I had to add more than a cup of nutritional yeast and additional oil to make it a creamy , regular dressing consistency. I made it a second time and removed all the water and still needed to add nutritional yeast and extra oil. I wonder if you might revisit your amounts?
★★★★
I absolutely love this dressing and all of your recipes! I’m currently working to overcome HA, and I appreciate your site so much!!
Awww, I am so happy to hear that you’re loving the recipes, Ann. 🙂
Beyond delicious – will make this every week. Absolutely love. Only change – might use less / no water for thicker dressing.
★★★★★
Yayyy! So glad you tried this dressing and loved it. It’s one of my all-time faves. And yeah, you can definitely use less or more liquid depending on the consistency you are looking for. Thank you for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I really appreciate it, Sophie! <3
Hi! Can you give me some ideas on what to use this on? Can it be cooked in casseroles or used as a marinade?
★★★★★
Hi Peytn! This dressing is very versatile and can be used on a variety of different dishes. It can be used as a salad dressing, pasta sauce, or dip for veggies, fries or protein. It can also just be drizzled on a sheet pan dish, casserole or steamed veggies. It can really be used with any recipe! Some of my favorite dishes to use this on are: Kale and Cabbage Salad, Baked Paleo Chicken Tenders, Vegan Power Bowl, and Crispy Baked Tofu.
New favorite dressing. I’ll put this s**t on anything.
★★★★★
Hi Al. I am so happy to hear you are loving this recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and star rating. It means the world to me!
I have tried twice and I can’t get this creamy at all. Just a thick liquid. I like the taste but I can’t get the texture!!!
hmmm!!! I wonder why! Are you following the recipe exactly or making any changes at all?
I was looking for a way to get a daily portion of nutritional yeast and this is it! It is almost identical the the dressing I make but creamy and I can’t taste whatever it is I don’t like about nutritional yeast. THANKS!!
★★★★★
I have to say that this dressing is addictive. It tastes so good.
★★★★★
Great dressing! Definitely will be a good one to give things a bold depth of flavor. Tried it today and loved it.
★★★★★
Hi, will this dressing keep for long once made?
Great question. It should keep for about 5-7 days in the fridge.