Plant-Based Parmesan

This plant-based parmesan recipe with cashews is a great alternative to parmesan cheese.  The cashews and nutritional yeast add a unique cheesy taste when it's added to pasta or pizza.  We usually add it to pizza before it goes in the oven and it browns up a little. 

Now it won’t melt like cheese, but it is still delicious. It's quick, easy, and will last for weeks in the refrigerator.  

How to Make a Dairy-Free Parmesan Cheese Substitute

Just place all of the ingredients for the vegan parmesan into a food processor, then blend until you get your desired consistency.  I prefer the cashews to be grounded up small so there are no large chunks of nuts.  Don’t puree too long or you’ll be heading into cashew butter territory.

Ingredients

Cashews are used for the bulk of this recipe to carry the flavor from the other components.  They also add a slightly sweet and nutty flavor.

Nutritional yeast (nooch) is a deactivated yeast that gives a nutty, cheese-like flavor.  It’s used in vegan meals to sometimes add a cheesy savory flavor.  Although it's yeast, it cannot be substituted with baker’s yeast.

Garlic powder and onion powder help add more depth of flavor.  They’re not normal components to parmesan cheese, but the flavors do add some complexity to this vegan cheese.

Salt because parmesan has a salty flavor.

Uses for Vegan Cashew Parmesan

• Sprinkle over homemade pizza before placing it in the oven.
• Add it to the top of your vegan Mac and cheese.
• Sprinkle the vegan parmesan over pasta dishes.
• Add a little cheesiness to roasted vegetables, like roasted broccoli.

How to Store

Store in an air-tight container such as a clean jar with a lid or a storage container with a lid. It can be stored for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

I hope you enjoy this recipe for plant-based parmesan!

This recipe was originally published on August 19, 2018, and updated on February 22, 2022.

More Vegan Cheese Recipes

• Vegan Nacho Cheese

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