This vegan cashew Parmesan cheese is the perfect pasta or veggie topper – it has the right texture and taste to rival traditional Parmesan cheese.
I tested many dairy-free seasonings for the ultimate cheesy flavor, and found a blend of brewers yeast and nutritional yeast works best.
This minimalist recipe for vegan Parmesan is a staple in my pantry: just 5 ingredients + 5 minutes.
Key ingredients for vegan Parmesan
Most recipes you’ll find online for vegan Parmesan cheese just use nutritional yeast (aka “nooch”). But I prefer to use half nooch and half brewers yeast. I think this gives it a more traditional cheesy flavor.
You can find both of these seasonings at most grocery stores these days, or here on Amazon:
Nutritional Yeast
Brewers Yeast
I recommend cashews over other nuts or seeds because have a good, neutral base that blends well with seasonings. Cashews also have a great texture that’s well suited for faux grated Parmesan when pulsed in a food processor.
Ideas for using cashew Parmesan
The vegan cashew Parmesan cheese will stay fresh in the refrigerator for weeks! I almost always have it on hand as a topper for almost anything that needs a little texture and flavor kick.
Sprinkle vegan cashew parm on:
- Truffle Parmesan Brussels sprouts with lemon garlic aioli
- Pasta with mushroom lentil “meat” sauce
- Caesar salad
- Spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles
- Sauteed asparagus with lemon juice and olive oil
- Breaded eggplant Parmesan
Cashew Parmesan Cheese
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 0 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/4 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp brewers yeast*
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse several times until desired consistency. Do not blend, or else the mixture will turn into more of a paste.Â
Notes
*You can omit the brewer’s yeast and just use 4 tbsp nutritional yeast instead, but I like to use half nutritional yeast and half brewers yeast for a more traditional cheesy flavor. You can find both at most grocery stores these days, or here on Amazon:
Nutritional Yeast
Brewers Yeast
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