How to Make Cashew Parmesan Cheese

It’s made from whole foods, vegan, and comes together in just a few minutes.  The homemade vegan parmesan cheese is easy to make and will even last for weeks in the refrigerator.  Try it on vegan creamy tomato pasta or if you sprinkle it on pizza before it goes in the oven it’ll brown up a little. 

It's not a perfect match for substituting parmesan.  It doesn't melt but it adds a salty, nutty, slightly cheesy flavor to savory dishes.  It also adds a rich flavor and crumbly texture to your favorite dishes. 

What is cashew parmesan?

Cashew parmesan is a vegan substitute for parmesan cheese.  Now it won’t melt like cheese, but it will still add a salty slightly cheese flavor like grated parmesan does.  It’s made with cashews, because of their neutral yet buttery flavor, nutritional yeast for umami and cheesiness, garlic powder and onion powder for more flavor, and salt for saltiness of course.

Ingredient notes

Only five basic ingredients are needed to make this cashew parmesan in just a few minutes.

Raw cashews are used for the bulk of this recipe to carry the flavor from the other components.  They're soft which makes them easy to grind up.  Raw cashews also have a neutral flavor, which makes them an easy choice to use as a base for vegan cheese recipes.  They will add a slightly sweet and nutty flavor to the dairy-free cheese.  Use raw unsalted cashews for this recipe.

For more vegan recipes with cashews try vegan chipotle dressing, vegan dijon cashew dressing, or cilantro cashew dressing.

Nutritional yeast flakes (nooch) are an inactive yeast that gives a nutty, cheesy, umami flavor.  It’s used in vegan meals to sometimes add a cheesy savory flavor, like in this vegan nacho cheese recipe.  Although it's yeast, it cannot be substituted with baker’s yeast.  It can also be sprinkled on top of cooked potatoes, soup, pasta, pizza, or roasted vegetables.

Garlic powder and onion powder help add more depth of flavor.  These additional seasonings are not normal components of regular parmesan cheese, but the flavors do add some complexity to this vegan cheese.

Salt because parmesan has a salty flavor.

Tips

• If you have an allergy, you can try sunflower seeds in place of cashews in this dairy-free parmesan.
• Don’t over-blend the cashews with the ingredients, just until the cashews are crumbly.

How to make cashew parmesan

The vegan parmesan recipe is ready in minutes and super easy.

1. Add all of the ingredients to a food processor.  A blender will also work, but some blenders are more powerful so you’ll want to be careful to not over-blend.  Over-blending will create cashew butter instead of a crumbly texture.  A small single-serving blender also works well. 
2. To get the perfect texture, pulse the cashews until they become finely ground.  Stop occasionally to stir the ingredients around so none of them get too finely processed.  The cashews should be ground up small so there are no large chunks of nuts.  Don’t puree too long or you’ll be heading into cashew butter territory.
3. It's now ready to sprinkle on your favorite recipes.
4. Store leftovers in the fridge in a sealed container. They will stay fresh for a least a few weeks.

Serving suggestions

This dairy-free option can be used in a variety of ways, but here are my favorites.

• Sprinkle the vegan cashew parmesan over vegan 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, like vegan creamy tomato pasta.
• Add a little cheesiness to roasted vegetables, like roasted broccoli.
• Try a sprinkle of it on vegan toast.

Frequently asked questions

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I hope you enjoy this easy vegan parmesan cheese recipe!  If you like it, feel free to rate it and leave a comment.