Vegetarian Homemade “Chicken” Bouillon
August 1, 2020
Laura
Vegetarian Homemade “Chicken” Bouillon

When you explore food, it’s always an adventure. From bubbling ferments, discovering different grains, or just coming up with a perfect soup recipe, excitement always abounds. I’ve had so many “I can’t believe that worked” moments, and this latest experiment is no different.

I’m on a mission to incorporate foods which help with some health challenges I’m facing. I heard of nutritional yeast, and my interest was peaked, so I bought a jar. It’s an interesting product – dark gold flakes which sort of smell like cheese. In fact, vegans use it to make a cheese-like sauce. However, the cheese smell doesn’t always translate into a cheese flavor – it did not in my bouillon.

According to the UNMASS Medical School Center for Applied Nutrition:

“Nutritional yeast is a species of yeast known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is the same type of yeast that’s used to bake bread and brew beer. While brewer’s, baker’s and nutritional yeasts are technically made from the same species of yeast, they are very different products.

  • Baker’s yeast: Baker’s yeast is purchased alive and used to leaven bread. The yeast is killed during cooking but adds an earthy, yeasty flavor to bread.
  • Brewer’s yeast: Brewer’s yeast can be purchased alive and is used to brew beer. The dead yeast cells leftover from the brewing process can be consumed as a nutritional supplement but have a very bitter taste.
  • Nutritional yeast: This yeast is grown specifically to be used as a food product. The yeast cells are killed during manufacturing and not alive in the final product. It is used in cooking and has a cheesy, nutty or savory flavor.”

Nutritional yeast is not for everyone – for instance, if you have migraine issues nutritional yeast could be a trigger for headaches. However, nutritional yeast is high in Vitamin B12, and supports your immune system, and some studies show it can reduce long-term blood glucose. It’s also rich in folic acid. There are several brands of nutritional yeast, and each brand will differ, so read the labels and choose the one best for you. I bought the Bragg brand.

In reading reviews of nutritional yeast, I saw some use it as a bouillon substitute base. It certainly is the color of bouillon, so that helps. This was interesting to me, because I’m trying to save room in my pantry and decided to stop keeping a large portion of boxed chicken and beef stock – it’s just a space hog. I like Better Then Bouillon and keep extras on hand, but I wanted something taking even less room. Making chicken bouillon from pantry staples is pretty appealing. Yes, I make homemade stock but I use it so much, I don’t have enough chicken bones to furnish my needs. Also, I buy my spices in bulk, so this helps me employ what’s on hand.

This bouillon is just another option, and I’m excited to have this in my pantry, especially since it’s all-natural. I really wasn’t sure this would work, but I’m excited with the results, and I hope you will be as well.

Vegetarian “Chicken” Bouillon

1 cup nutritional yeast
2 TBSP fine salt
1 TBSP garlic powder
3 TBSP dried parsley
3 TBSP onion powder
2 1/2 tsp celery seed
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp paprika
1 1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground pepper

Combine all ingredients.

Grind in food processor, then again in a spice grinder if your bowl is too big to incorporate all ingredients.

This is after being ground in my smallest food processor bowl:

 

,This is after going into my spice grinder (or coffee grinder):

To use, put 1 1/2 tsp to one cup of boiling water.

 

 

 

 

 

4 Comments

  1. Jenny

    Very interesting. I’ve been reading about the nutritional yeast, but didn’t understand what it is. I might have to look into the migraine portion a bit more. What else can you use it for?

    Reply
    • LauraM

      People put it on popcorn, and make cheese sauce out of it. I’m excited to play around with it, although I probably won’t do the cheese sauce thing.

      Reply
  2. Nancy

    This is such an interesting piece, I mean bouillon out of a specific type of yeast? Great info, thanks!

    Reply
    • LauraM

      Thank you for reading!

      Reply

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