Name: Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup raw cashews ((140 grams)); 1/4 cup nutritional yeast ((20 grams)); 1 teaspoon salt ((8 grams; plus more to taste))

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Vegan Parmesan Cheese is made with 3 simple ingredients, and is the perfect non-dairy substitute in your favorite recipes. You can make it in just minutes!

Ingredients You’ll Need

What is Vegan Parmesan made of? All you need is 3 ingredients!

Cashews
Nutritional yeast
Salt

The nutritional yeast is responsible for the “cheesy” flavor here, just like it is in my famous Vegan Mac n’ Cheese recipe.

How to Make It

To make this cashew Parmesan cheese, you’ll need to process the ingredients into fine powder. You can use a blender or food processor to do this!

Since real Parmesan cheese is quite salty, I’m pretty heavy-handed with the salt in this vegan recipe, so you can use it just like the original.

You won’t need much to add a nice punch of flavor. But, if you’d like a less-salty cheese, you can always use less salt.

How to Use It

You can use this vegan Parmesan cheese just like you would regular Parmesan, but keep in mind that it won’t melt. Here are some suggestions for making the most of it!

Use it on top of Lentil Bolognese.
Add it to your favorite pesto recipe.
Sprinkle it over Vegan Stuffed Shells.
Add it into Vegan Lasagna.
Sprinkle it on a Caesar Salad.
Use it on top of Vegan Pasta.
It’s also great on a pesto pasta salad!

How to Store Vegan Parmesan

Vegan Parmesan can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 month, as long as you keep it free from added moisture. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months, and use it straight from the freezer.

Since it doesn’t have any added liquid, it should stay crumbly, even when frozen.

Substitution Ideas

Need to make a swap? Here are my best guesses when it comes to substitutions.

Cashews. You can swap cashews with hemp hearts, for a nut-free alternative. I use hemp hearts as a substitute in my vegan ranch dressing all the time! You could also use macadamia nuts, for a similar texture.
Nutritional Yeast. This deactivated yeast gives this recipe its cheesy flavor, but you can leave it out if you need to. The salt will still add flavor, and you can boost that even more by adding in other spices, like garlic or onion powder, for a variation.

I hope you’ll enjoy this Vegan Parmesan soon, and I can’t wait to hear what you think!