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  • Γ—
    Home Β» Vegan cooking resources

    Is yeast vegan?

    Updated: Jan 7, 2025 Β· Published: Apr 3, 2013 by Cadry Nelson Β· This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Β·

    Text: Is yeast vegan? Bowl with spoon and packets of yeast.

    Yeast is something that confuses people. Is it a plant, an animal, or something else? Is yeast vegan? As I explain in this post, yeast is from the fungus family, like mushrooms.

    Vegan grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup.

    When I was a kid, there were always stacks of old comics around the house. Little Lulu, Archie, Richie Rich…

    And in the back of the comics was my favorite part – the advertisements.

    In my fantasies I’d shop amongst those last pages buying X-ray glasses, hand buzzers, Sea Monkeys, and a machine that you could use to make your own money.

    That one seemed the most useful. After all, with that, I could buy everything else on the list.

    There were just two problems.

    One, these comic books were very, very old. Most likely, they weren’t even selling those items anymore.

    Two, my mom wouldn’t give me any money to buy my own dollar-making machine.

    Didn’t she understand you have to spend money to make money? Without the extra cash, how could I hope to raise a small Sea Monkey family of my own?

    Advertisement for Sea-Monkeys.

    I made my pitch. For only $1.25 I could raise a barrel of… crustaceans.

    For a mere 50 cents more, I could get them rushed to me in case I was suffering from a Sea Monkey-related emergency.

    I’d feed them a steady diet of spirulina and eagerly watch their antics. But my mom wouldn’t hear of it. Even showing her the well-accessorized mom, dad, and two adorable kids depicted in the ad didn’t help.

    Coincidentally, do you know what else they put into the Sea Monkeys’ food packet, in addition to spirulina? Yeast.

    That brings me to today’s question, which surprisingly enough, does not involve brine shrimp. It is instead…

    Is yeast vegan?

    Red Star Yeast packets with bowl, spoon, and mason jars.

    Perhaps it is dreams like my childhood one involving Sea Monkeys that confuses people where yeast is concerned.

    Maybe they imagine getting a little packet of yeast, adding some food of sugar and warm water, and watching the contents come to life.

    β€œSurely,” they say, β€œthere are some microscopic Yeast-A-Beasts down there wearing tiny red bows of their own.”

    But unlike Sea Monkeys and their crustacean brethren, yeast is from the fungus family, like mushrooms.

    Even though when yeast is given sugar and warm water it looks like they’re throwing an impromptu foam party, it’s just an illusion.

    They don’t even have a central nervous system, let alone the ability to put together a good dance mix.

    While most cooking mavens refrigerate food to prevent fungus growth, when a baker is using this fungus for bread, warm water is best.

    Yeast feeds on sugar, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide. That carbon dioxide makes the bread rise.

    Cooking destroys the alcohol and yeast. The bubbles that are left behind make the bread soft. Yeast gives bread part of its signature flavor and delightful smell.

    Salad with tofu feta, tomatoes, and grilled garlic bread.

    Avocado toast with nutritional yeast flakes on top.

    In addition to bread-making, yeast is also used in fermenting beer, wine, and soy foods like tempeh and miso.

    Of course, nutritional yeast flakes (an inactive form of yeast) are a staple in many vegan kitchens.

    (What is nutritional yeast?Β <—— Read this post to find out.)

    For those among you who are still dreaming of a little plastic home for your Yeast-A-Beasts, you could build a Sea Monkey-style dwelling for your microscopic fungi. But I think they just call that a terrarium.

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    About Cadry Nelson

    Cadry Nelson is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer behind Cadry’s Kitchen, and the author of Living Vegan For Dummies, 2nd Edition. Since launching her blog in 2009, Cadry has been making plant-based cooking approachable, and reimagining classic comfort foods. Her work has been featured in NBC News, Buzzfeed, Yahoo, Parade, VegNews, and more. She regularly appears on local TV shows, demonstrating to a broad audience how easy vegan cooking can be.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jenn

      September 28, 2015 at 10:03 am

      I got a little nervous there for a minute before I actually read the whole post. πŸ™‚ Thank goodness!

      • Cadry

        September 28, 2015 at 11:25 am

        Ha! Sorry to scare you! πŸ™‚

    2. Katherine

      November 05, 2014 at 2:30 pm

      I was never really sure what yeast was made out of- but I did wonder whether it was being taken from some animal or plant or what it was made out of.. I recently also began baking and making goodies and next on my list was bread. I knew that there are many people who use eggs/milk in baking, therefore I had to find out first if bread was even vegan, and whether yeast was also vegan.. good to know that they both are πŸ™‚ I bought some a few days ago… and will be baking some bread in the next few days! YummM! πŸ™‚ I look forward to it!

    3. Maggie Muggins

      April 06, 2013 at 3:48 pm

      Ha! I used to love those ads, I use to dream about my very own sea monkey family too, until I found out they were nothing like the ad would lead me to believe. Talk about crushing some childhood dreams! lol
      With all the beer and bread me and my husband make, I’m pretty sure our house is perpetually filled with yeast. I never really got the whole “yeast isn’t vegan” thing, but I have have been asked if things like coconut milk and peanut butter were vegan, so yeah, it doesn’t really shock me that someone would make that assumption.

      • Cadry

        April 10, 2013 at 11:33 am

        I’m sure there were many disappointed kids who were surprised at how very different brine shrimp look from the drawing on that ad!

    4. Richa

      April 04, 2013 at 12:20 pm

      those yeast-a-beasts have a permanent home in my house. i have 2 lb package in the freezer. I might have to look at it and see if there is party going on..
      I looked this up long time back because i bake so much of my own bread. Even though i knew it, it was good to confirm :))

      • Cadry

        April 10, 2013 at 11:31 am

        Somehow I’m not surprised that your Yeast-a-Beasts get their own spare room! With all of the baking you do, you need the back-up! πŸ™‚

    5. Bobbie {the vegan crew}

      April 03, 2013 at 6:01 pm

      Who wouldn’t go for a yeast-a-beast? They look so much more friendly and snugly than the sea monkeys!

      Yeast is a new one for me, but I get the “is this vegan” question all the time, so I’m sure it will come up soon. The questions usually come from a good place, but I often have to suppress a laugh. In the last few days someone asked me if tofu was vegan and another person found my site by asking whether “peanut butter and banana for breakfast” was vegan. I sure wish I knew who they were so I could warn them that it’s only cruelty-free after three πŸ˜‰

      • Cadry

        April 04, 2013 at 8:01 am

        Yes, if there’s one thing you can say about Yeast-A-Beasts it’s that they love to cuddle! πŸ˜‰

        Wow, someone asked if tofu was vegan? That seems like the quintessential vegan dish in so many people’s minds.

        So many times I wish that I could write people back who find my blog through random search questions! If only you could have warned them that PB&B is the Gremlins of the vegan world. Don’t get them wet and don’t eat them after midnight! πŸ˜‰

    6. luminousvegans

      April 03, 2013 at 3:36 pm

      Yeah, I’ve gotten that question a lot….”what about yeast..isn’t it ALIVE?”. So, what exactly are sea monkeys? I had those as a kid too.

      • Cadry

        April 04, 2013 at 7:58 am

        I learned a lot about Sea Monkeys while I was writing this post. They’re brine shrimp. In the packages, they sell the eggs, which hatch. Then the shrimp can mate, and the female can either lay eggs or give birth, depending on her health.

    7. Bianca- Vegan Crunk

      April 03, 2013 at 2:29 pm

      Thanks for addressing this! People ask me all the time if yeast is vegan, and I say, yes….but then I can’t really explain why. Now I can just send them this blog post!

      • Cadry

        April 04, 2013 at 7:54 am

        I’m glad to hear that there’s someone else out there getting this question, Bianca! I was beginning to think I was the only one! πŸ™‚

    8. An Unrefined Vegan

      April 03, 2013 at 2:24 pm

      I had no idea that anyone thought yeast was some kind of living (albeit a seriously dried-out) creature. Wow.

      Thanks for bringing back memories. We also had an ancient stack of comic books that I could contentedly read over and over again. We kids were able to convince our mom to let us buy the Mexican Jumping Beans…

      • Cadry

        April 04, 2013 at 7:53 am

        Maybe some of the confusion comes when people say that you can “kill” yeast with water that is too hot. You can kill plants too, but people think of using that term more often with animals.

        That’s sweet that you also had an ancient stack of comic books you’d read again and again!

    9. Andrea

      April 03, 2013 at 1:20 pm

      You scared me for a minute β€” I always thought yeast was vegan but was afraid I’d overlooked something! And by the way, my brother got the sea monkeys, and I can tell you you didn’t miss anything.

      • Cadry

        April 04, 2013 at 6:23 am

        I’m somehow not surprised that the experience wouldn’t have measured up. I’ve seen actual pictures of brine shrimp, and it’s clear that the artist who drew the Sea Monkeys took some significant liberties. πŸ™‚

    10. Sarah

      April 03, 2013 at 8:38 am

      My husband always teases me about yeast and says “isn’t it alive?” Ugh!

      Thanks for a cute post πŸ™‚

      • Cadry

        April 04, 2013 at 6:20 am

        You’re welcome! Thanks, Sarah! πŸ™‚

    11. Abby

      April 03, 2013 at 7:16 am

      That’s something I’ve never really thought about, most likely because I never make my own bread or baked goods. Ezekiel bread is basically the only bread I buy and I love the stuff, but I’m also aware that many others contain eggs or butter at times (hence, I adore Ezekiel bread not only for the taste, but for the security.) It’s worth the extra money to me.

      Look forward to your next post!

      • Cadry

        April 04, 2013 at 6:17 am

        I don’t make my own bread either. I picked up a bread machine at a garage sale a couple of years ago with the thought that I might start. Instead, it’s hanging out in my hall closet.

        My local co-op has a stellar bakery, and so it’s easy to get fresh bread there without any clean-up or baking required on my part. The majority of the bread they sell is vegan, and so that makes it easy. However, Ezekiel used to be our go-to brand, and we’ll still get it on vacations and whatnot.

        • Somer

          April 05, 2013 at 1:25 pm

          You “knead” to break that baby out! Making homemade bread with the bread-maker is so ridiculously easy that it puts going to the grocery for a loaf to shame πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I have a one hour whole wheat loaf recipe somewhere. I’ll shoot it your way if I find it!

          • Cadry

            April 10, 2013 at 11:29 am

            Please do! The one and only time I made bread in it, the recipe turned out less than perfect. I’d love to try your go-to recipe!

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