Vegan Cashew Parmesan is one of the super-easy-to-make homemade staples. You'll only need three ingredients! Make some vegan Parmesan now because it's perfect for pasta, pizza, risotto and so much more! It keeps for a long time.
It is so simple, you've got no excuses NOT to try it.
I always, always, always have a batch of homemade vegan parmesan in my pantry, because I love to sprinkle it over risotto, spaghetti, lasagna or really any pasta dish. I've added my favorite recipes to sprinkle cashew parmesan on at the end of the post!
The Ingredients for Vegan Parmesan
You'll need:
- cashews (raw, unsalted, unroasted)
- nutritional yeast flakes (adds a cheesy flavor! Nutritional yeast is deactivated yeast and can be bought in the form of powder or flakes - not to confuse with regular yeast for baking!)
- salt
How to make Vegan Parmesan
Making vegan Parmesan couldn't be easier.
Toss all the ingredients in your food processor ...
... and pulse until fine. Tada!
Use immediately over pasta, pizza, risotto etc. or store it in an airtight container at room temperature for months!
How to store Vegan Cashew Parmesan
If you're using raw cashews, nutritional yeast, and salt to make the cashew parmesan (like in this recipe), you can keep the vegan Cashew Parmesan in an airtight jar (I love Weck jars!) at room temperature for months. I've actually never had cashew parmesan turn bad.
The Alternative: Almond Parmesan
If you're more into almonds, also check out my Almigiano (Vegan Almond Parmesan) recipe. It's just as easy to make and it's great if want to change things up!
Sprinkle the vegan parmesan over...
- Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
- Tomato Olive Pasta
- Quick Date-Night Pasta with asparagus
- Fruity & Purple Spaghetti Bolognese
I hope you will enjoy this parmesan as much as I do! Let me know if you give it a try!
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Cheers, Bianca
Vegan Cashew Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until fine.
- And it's ready to use! Sprinkle it over pasta, risotto, pizza, etc.!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was first published on September 2, 2014. Updated on September 7, 2018.
Mariah says
could another nut be used instead of cashew? like walnut?
bianca says
walnuts, almonds, even sunflower seeds will work!
waw bat says
i just wanted to pop in to say that YES, you can use other nuts (i've tried them) but cashews just have this buttery way of making this taste REALLY cheesy. It's worth the extra money to use them, in my opinion. Love your pictures, btw, very soft and beautiful in their simplicity
Bianca says
Thank you so much for joining in! And I totally agree with you. I prefer cashews for the parmesan too and it yields the best cheesy results.
& thank you so much for your kind words, I appreciate it!
mumi says
I can only find liquid cheese yeast here,could that work with this?And is it vegan?
Bianca says
liquid cheese yeast? I've never heard of that! so I don't know, sorry.
mumi says
Yes,they are the only ones here the ingredient is 'mucor rennin' mucor is some kind of mold.
Randi Nonsense says
I think what you are looking at is the mold to make dairy cheese. It's added to make the aging process go quicker (or something like that). So no, that would no be vegan. Nutritional yeast is dry flakes and can be purchased online and shipped to almost anywhere. It stays a really long time in a tightly sealed container in a dark closet or cabinet with out humidity.
Melanie Hicks says
should it be refrigerated ? mine came out kind clumpy I guess from the oil in the nuts...
thank you for the yummy recipe..☺️
Bianca says
Hi Melanie, that's weird.. it never turned out clumpy for me. Maybe you processed it too long? Usually I takes quite a while until the nuts release the oil.. I don't refrigerate the vegan parmesan.. I keep it in my pantry for weeks and months and never had problem with it going bad :)
Melanie Hicks says
Bianca,
I love the taste it is amazing ..I can't do dairy and this helps in place of Parmesan cheese...
I put in the fridge last night and the clumps went away....Maybe it got to warm or something...
thanks again it is so yummy......?
Melanie ..
..p.s. I made a batch and added some hemp seeds also for protein it was great with that addition too....
Bianca says
Ah, good to know the clumps went away after leaving it in the fridge! :)
Added hemp seeds sound yummy too! I'll have to try it some time!
Alex says
Hi, I'm allergic to yeast, just found out, so not sure if nutritional yeast is ok or not, will recipe work without it?
Thank you!
Bianca says
I was researching a bit if nutritional yeast is ok when being allergic to yeast but unfortunately wasn't able to find a clear answer. The nutritional yeast gives the vegan parmesan all the cheesy flavor, so it will be more like a nut sprinkle than a vegan parmesan sprinkle, but it's still good :) I've had store-bought vegan parmesan not too long ago and it consisted mostly of soy flour, so you could add a bit of soy flour to the nuts, it might give it a cheesy flavor you like :)
Alex says
Thank you! I appreciate it!
Vicki Lapp says
It's great to see the nutrition facts. Can you say what the portion is that the Nutrition Facts represent? Thanks!
Bianca says
In this case, the nutrition facts are for the whole cup of parmesan. :)
Karen says
I just made this. I'm new to plant based eating and was just using nutritional yeast in place of parmesan. Really felt like I was missing out while the rest of my family enjoyed the real thig. Not anymore. This recipe is simple and right on the mark. Thank you for sharing!
Bianca says
So glad you like the parmesan, Karen! I can't get enough of it! I still sprinkle it over pretty much anything :D
Ria says
Delicious, thank you.