It’s so easy to make your own vegan parmesan cheese. And it’s so tasty you’ll want to sprinkle it on everything! Simple 4 ingredient recipe ready in 5 minutes.
Yep, you’ll definitely want to sprinkle this on everything.
And I mean everything.
We sprinkle it on baked potatoes, on salads, on roasted veggies, on the no-cheese thin crust pizza take-outs we buy, on pasta dishes (of course) and whatever else we can think of.
If it’s a savory dish then chances are it’ll be even more delicious with a sprinkle of this on top.
And for more delicious homemade vegan cheese check out our vegan cheddar cheese, our sliceable cashew cheese and our cashew cheese sauce!
So what is Vegan Parmesan?
Well, you can buy vegan parmesan that you can grate over things and that is delicious. But this homemade version is made from cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and sea salt. The nutritional yeast, along with the garlic powder and salt combine to make those cashews really taste cheesy! It’s kind of amazing really.
It’s not something that will melt or anything like that, but it’s wonderful as a sprinkle and it tastes wonderfully cheesy.
How To Make It
All you need to make your own vegan parmesan is a food processor. You simply put in the S blade, add in your cashews, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder and pulse it until it’s super fine like you see in the photos.
Pulse, don’t blend.
You don’t just want to run the food processor on this one because, ya know, cashews when processed for too long can start to turn into cashew butter, which you definitely don’t want here.
So pulse it. Don’t set it and forget it.
Does It Need To Be Refrigerated?
No it doesn’t. You can keep it in a sealed container at room temperature for a few (3-4) weeks. However, you also can keep it in the fridge if you like. As long as it’s in a sealed container, either/or is fine.
What can I use instead of Cashews?
If you have a cashew allergy you can make this with walnuts. It also works amazingly well! Use walnuts in the same quantity as the cashews and you have a great alternate version of this vegan parmesan.
More Vegan Cheese!
- Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
- Creamy Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Vegan Cream Cheese
- Vegan Ricotta
- Vegan Feta
- Vegan Cottage Cheese
Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes (15g)
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ¾ tsp Sea Salt
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to the food processor and pulse it on the S blade until it reaches a fine consistency.
- Keep it in a sealable jar in the refrigerator where it will keep for weeks!
- Sprinkle it on pastas, pizzas, casseroles, salads and anywhere else you can possibly think of!
Video
Notes
- If you have a cashew allergy you can also make this with walnuts. Just use walnuts in the same quantity (1 cup).
- Keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge. It will last for a few (3-4) weeks.
- This recipe was first published in January 2016 and has now been updated with new photos and text.
Is this recipe something you could freeze?
Yes you can freeze it! 🙂
I am a 77-year-old man and a huge meat eater that just turned vegan 8 days ago and looking for recipes. I love to cook and look forward to trying some of your recipes. Thank you for making them so easy to follow. I have been experimenting on my own so far but need some guidance. Looking forward to getting the ebook. I never dreamed of being a vegan, but I am so glad I am now. It is delicious and fulfilling. I eat less and never hungry. I am amazed. Originally it was for health reasons, but now I’m hooked. Robert and Debbie
Hi Robert! So happy to hear you are enjoying your new vegan lifestyle, it is an awesome food adventure! Hope you enjoy the recipes in the free ebook as well! All the best! 🙂
I am really happy with this recipe except I’d cut the salt a bit next time.
Thanks for sharing Lee!
Can this be made with toasted cashews?
Yes! 🙂
will it work with Nutritional Yeast Powder? I don’t have in flakes..
thankyou!
It should work fine. 🙂
Was great over mushroom risotto! My husband, who is not vegan, liked it too! Thank you!
Thanks Marina!
Love this recipe. I’ve made it several times. Now it is something I will probably always have in my refrigerator.
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the great review Kim!
My husband loves this! We used our vitamix which just is amazing tbh. This was easy and delicious!!!
Thanks Nura!
This is a new staple for my fridge. Brilliant.
Thanks Michelle!
I have a nut allergy can I use seeds instead?
Hi Renel, Cookie and Kate have a recipe that uses hemp seeds. 🙂
A totally indispensable stable, and adaptable, too! When I ran out of cashews, I made this with blanched almonds to great success.
Agreed! And thanks for the great tip about blanched almonds Hannah!
I ADORE every single one of your recipes ! Simply THE best!!!
Thanks so much Celeste! 🙂