Nutritional yeast is vegan: a deactivated yeast grown on molasses, sold as vegan or vegan friendly by every maker we read. The B12 is another matter. Yeast doesn’t supply it naturally, so it’s there only when the maker adds it, and across the six bags below, 2 tablespoons carry anywhere from 15 mcg to none.
Frontier Co-op sells both kinds under the same name. Its half-pound bag and its 3.6 oz jar list cyanocobalamin, the B12 form, among eight added nutrients. Its 1 lb large flakes list inactive yeast and riboflavin, and nothing else, and so do its 1 lb mini flakes and powder. The large flakes cost $22.46 a pound and the half-pound bag $17.47, which works out to $1.40 an ounce against $2.18 (our arithmetic). So of those two, the cheaper bag per ounce is the one without the B12, and the word on the front is the same. If nutritional yeast is how you cover B12, read the ingredient list for cyanocobalamin or vitamin B12 every time you buy, including from a brand you trust. Whether you need B12 at all is settled in our article on whether vegans need B12; this page is about which bag delivers it.
Which nutritional yeast has B12?
Only the fortified kind, and you find out from the ingredient list, not the front of the bag. NIH lists fortified nutritional yeasts with breakfast cereals as plant foods that carry added B12, and gives about 1/4 cup of fortified nutritional yeast, across several brands, at 8.3 to 24 mcg. The adult Daily Value is 2.4 mcg. That spread is the brands disagreeing with each other, so each bag below gets its own panel figure.
The old version of this page said one tablespoon gives six times the RDA. On Bragg’s panel, the highest B12 figure we could read, 1 tablespoon is half of 15 mcg, so 7.5 mcg, about 3 times the 2.4 mcg RDA for adults (our arithmetic). On an unfortified bag it is none.
The name on the list varies. Bragg and Frontier write cyanocobalamin, Thrive Market only “Cobalamin (B12)”, and Bob’s Red Mill just vitamin B12, so the panel number is what tells you how much is there. NIH says no evidence shows that absorption of B12 from supplements differs by form, which our roundup of vegan B12 supplements takes further.
Folate is the other figure that moves between bags. Bob’s Red Mill lists 975 mcg in 2 tablespoons, 240% of the Daily Value, against 353 mcg DFE, 90%, on Bragg’s. NIH sets the adult upper limit for folic acid and other synthetic folate from fortified food and supplements at 1,000 mcg a day, and sets none for folate that occurs in food. Bob’s panel doesn’t split the two. If you already take a folic acid supplement, read the folate line before you choose a bag, and ask your doctor if the total worries you.
Six nutritional yeasts compared
We read each maker’s own product page in October 2026. Prices are the makers’ store prices on the day; per-ounce figures are our arithmetic.
| Product | B12 per 2 tbsp | Vegan, per the maker | Price on the maker’s store |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bragg Nutritional Yeast | 15 mcg, 630% DV | Vegan | $9.99 for 4.5 oz, $14.99 for 12 oz |
| Thrive Market Nutritional Yeast Flakes | 14 mcg, 580% DV | Vegan | $15.29 for 16 oz |
| Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Yeast | 9 mcg, 390% DV | “Vegan ingredient” | Not listed |
| Frontier Co-op Premium Nutritional Yeast Flakes | Added; amount not printed on the page | Vegan friendly | $9.09 for 3.6 oz |
| Frontier Co-op Nutritional Yeast, Large Flakes | None listed | Vegan friendly | $22.46 for 1 lb |
| Sari Foods Non-Fortified Nutritional Yeast Flakes | None | Vegan | $17.99 for 8 oz, $34.99 for 24 oz |
Bragg Nutritional Yeast
Our pick if B12 is the reason you buy it. Bragg’s panel gives 15 mcg of B12 in 2 tablespoons, 630% of the Daily Value, the highest panel figure we could read, and the list names the form: dried yeast, then niacin, B6, thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid and cyanocobalamin. The page carries a vegan label and tags it vegan and kosher. The 4.5 oz shaker is $9.99, about $2.22 an ounce; the 12 oz and 24 oz bags work out to about $1.25 ($14.99 and $29.99). Skip the shaker unless you want the shaker.
Thrive Market Nutritional Yeast Flakes
The lowest per-ounce price we found with B12 on the panel: $15.29 for a 16 oz pouch, which Thrive itself prices at $0.96 an ounce, with 14 mcg of B12 per 2 tablespoons. Thrive tags it vegan. Two things on the same page argue against it for some readers. The product is made on shared equipment with milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts and wheat, so if any of those is an allergy in your house, buy another bag. And the panel prints the folate as “675mg”, which would be a remarkable amount of folate; the 170% beside it fits micrograms.
Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Yeast
Large flakes in a 5 oz bag, with 9 mcg of B12 and 4 g of protein per 2 tablespoons. Bob’s calls it “a versatile vegan ingredient” and lists the yeast with niacin, B6, riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid and vitamin B12. It also carries the folate figure discussed above, the highest we read. Bob’s page points you to retailers and lists no price. Oddly, a Bob’s article suggests a daily serving of 15 g, about 1/4 cup, nearly twice the 8 g serving its own panel is built on (our arithmetic).
Frontier Co-op Premium Nutritional Yeast Flakes
A 3.6 oz jar with a shaker cap, $9.09, about $2.53 an ounce, the highest per-ounce price of the ones we found. Frontier grows it on beet molasses, calls it Non-GMO Project Verified, and lists cyanocobalamin and zinc sulfate among the added nutrients. The catch is that the page text never gives the B12 amount. Buy it if you want Frontier’s fortified yeast in a small jar, and check the panel on the jar itself.
Frontier Co-op Nutritional Yeast, Large Flakes
The bag without B12. Inactive yeast and riboflavin, $22.46 for a pound. The Mini Flakes and Powder bags carry the same two-item list, while the half-pound and 4 lb bags list cyanocobalamin. Nothing wrong with it as a seasoning. Don’t buy it as your B12. If you shop Frontier, the 4 lb bag lists cyanocobalamin and costs $82.51, about $1.29 an ounce (our arithmetic), less per ounce than the large flakes.
Sari Foods Non-Fortified Nutritional Yeast Flakes
Unfortified on purpose. Sari’s FAQ says its yeast does not contain vitamin B12, and the page says it’s grown in the United States on sugar cane and sugar beet molasses. It costs $17.99 for 8 oz, about $2.25 an ounce, falling to about $1.46 in the 24 oz bag. Its allergen answer says the product isn’t manufactured with gluten, wheat, yeast, soy, milk, nuts, eggs or shellfish, a fine list for a bag of yeast. It’s fine for flavor if your B12 comes from somewhere else. If this bag is your B12 plan, it’s the one not to buy.
How nutritional yeast is made
It’s a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the same species as baking yeast, grown on molasses, then washed, pasteurized and dried with heat so it can’t leaven dough. The makers don’t describe the drying the same way: Bob’s says it is dried at higher temperatures than baking yeast, Sari says a low temperature. Either way it ends up inactive, which is why it seasons rather than rises. I’ll admit I use it as a cheese substitute most of the time.
Organic is a different product. Frontier’s organic flakes list organic yeast autolysate, organic rice flour and sea salt, so they bring salt and no added vitamins, at $45.80 a pound. The Premium jar is sold as salt free.
Flakes or powder comes down to preference. Frontier says the two are typically interchangeable, and that you need about half as much powder: 1 tablespoon of flakes equals 1/2 tablespoon of powder. I like the large flakes’ texture more, which settles nothing.
What to use instead
Brewer’s yeast gets suggested as a swap, and it is a different product. Anthony’s sells a debittered, unfortified brewer’s yeast powder, also Saccharomyces cerevisiae, calls it vegan friendly, and says it is not to be confused with nutritional yeast because it is inactive, which nutritional yeast is too. It costs $14.79 a pound, and its page carries a California Prop 65 warning that names lead among the chemicals. Unfortified means no B12 here either.
For the savory note without the cheesy one, Bragg Liquid Aminos lists vegetable protein from soybeans and water, labeled vegan, with 310 mg of sodium per teaspoon. Neither maker publishes a swap ratio for nutritional yeast, so start with less than the recipe calls for and taste.
If you buy one bag, make it one whose ingredient list names B12, whatever the label calls it, and use our vegan grocery list for the rest of the cart.
Sources
- Frontier Co-op, The guide to nutritional yeast
- Bragg, Nutritional Yeast (ingredients, nutrition facts, vegan label, prices)
- Sari Foods, Non-Fortified Nutritional Yeast Flakes (description, FAQ, prices)
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin B12 fact sheet for health professionals
- Frontier Co-op, Nutritional Yeast 1/2 lb (ingredients, price)
- Frontier Co-op, Premium Nutritional Yeast Flakes 3.6 oz (ingredients, attributes, price)
- Frontier Co-op, Nutritional Yeast, Large Flakes 1 lb (ingredients, price)
- Frontier Co-op, Nutritional Yeast Mini Flakes 1 lb (ingredients)
- Frontier Co-op, Nutritional Yeast Powder 1 lb (ingredients)
- Thrive Market, Nutritional Yeast Flakes (ingredients, nutrition, shared-equipment note, price)
- Bob’s Red Mill, Nutritional Yeast (ingredients, nutrition facts)
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Folate fact sheet for health professionals (upper limit)
- Bob’s Red Mill, Nutritional yeast facts (molasses medium, drying, suggested serving)
- Frontier Co-op, Nutritional Yeast 4 lbs (ingredients, price)
- Frontier Co-op, Nutritional Yeast Flakes, Organic 1 lb (ingredients, price)
- Anthony’s Goods, Brewer’s Yeast Powder (description, price, Prop 65 warning)
- Bragg, Liquid Aminos (ingredients, sodium, vegan claim)
