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Home » Recipes » Basics

Vegan Cashew Parmesan (3 ingredients only!)

Published: Sep 7, 2018 · Modified: Feb 21, 2019 by Bianca · This post may contain affiliate links · 20 Comments

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Vegan Parmesan

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.

Vegan Parmesan
Some people make vegan parmesan with almonds or nut mixes, but I use simply raw cashews. I like it that way the most. It's a super basic recipe, which does not even require to heat up the oven/stovetop.

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

Vegan Parmesan

How to make Vegan Parmesan

Making vegan Parmesan couldn't be easier.

Making Vegan Cashew Parmesan in a food processor
Toss all the ingredients in your food processor ...

Making vegan Cashew Parmesan in a food processor
... and pulse until fine. Tada!

Vegan Parmesan

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.

Vegan Parmesan
I love Weck jars for storing Cashew Parmesan!

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!

Almigiano - Vegan Almond Parmesan | ElephantasticVegan.com
Almigiano - Vegan Almond Parmesan

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!

If you don't want to miss out on any new recipes, subscribe to my newsletter, follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

Cheers, Bianca

Vegan Parmesan

Vegan Cashew Parmesan

Elephantastic Vegan
Vegan 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.
3.84 from 25 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 minutes mins
Total Time 2 minutes mins
Course Basics
Cuisine Vegan
Servings 1 cup
Calories 769 kcal

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

Storage: It is best to store the vegan parmesan in an airtight container, it will last a long time this way. I've never had any problems with it going bad or something like that!

Nutrition

Calories: 769kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 31gFat: 57gSaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 1178mgPotassium: 1151mgFiber: 8gSugar: 7gCalcium: 48mgIron: 9.5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @elephantasticvegan or tag #elephantasticvegan!

This post was first published on September 2, 2014. Updated on September 7, 2018.

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Comments

    3.84 from 25 votes (23 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Mariah says

    April 28, 2015 at 11:20 pm

    could another nut be used instead of cashew? like walnut?

    Reply
    • bianca says

      April 29, 2015 at 7:37 am

      walnuts, almonds, even sunflower seeds will work!

      Reply
      • waw bat says

        July 19, 2015 at 6:14 pm

        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

        Reply
        • Bianca says

          July 20, 2015 at 11:13 am

          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!

          Reply
  2. mumi says

    December 04, 2015 at 8:02 pm

    I can only find liquid cheese yeast here,could that work with this?And is it vegan?

    Reply
    • Bianca says

      December 04, 2015 at 10:41 pm

      liquid cheese yeast? I've never heard of that! so I don't know, sorry.

      Reply
      • mumi says

        December 05, 2015 at 12:11 am

        Yes,they are the only ones here the ingredient is 'mucor rennin' mucor is some kind of mold.

        Reply
        • Randi Nonsense says

          January 14, 2016 at 3:35 pm

          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.

          Reply
  3. Melanie Hicks says

    February 08, 2016 at 10:16 pm

    should it be refrigerated ? mine came out kind clumpy I guess from the oil in the nuts...
    thank you for the yummy recipe..☺️

    Reply
    • Bianca says

      February 09, 2016 at 5:55 pm

      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 :)

      Reply
      • Melanie Hicks says

        February 10, 2016 at 1:37 am

        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....

        Reply
        • Bianca says

          February 13, 2016 at 12:54 pm

          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!

          Reply
  4. Alex says

    May 19, 2016 at 7:08 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Bianca says

      May 19, 2016 at 12:14 pm

      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 :)

      Reply
      • Alex says

        May 20, 2016 at 1:28 am

        Thank you! I appreciate it!

        Reply
  5. Vicki Lapp says

    June 13, 2018 at 7:05 pm

    It's great to see the nutrition facts. Can you say what the portion is that the Nutrition Facts represent? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Bianca says

      June 18, 2018 at 1:20 pm

      In this case, the nutrition facts are for the whole cup of parmesan. :)

      Reply
  6. Karen says

    June 29, 2018 at 2:20 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Bianca says

      June 30, 2018 at 5:08 pm

      So glad you like the parmesan, Karen! I can't get enough of it! I still sprinkle it over pretty much anything :D

      Reply
  7. Ria says

    February 06, 2019 at 4:48 am

    Delicious, thank you.

    Reply

Welcome!

I’m Bianca. On my blog, you’ll find easy & delicious vegan recipes. I create 'meaty', 'fishy', and 'cheesy' recipes because I like to blow minds.

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