The Best Vegan Parmesan Cheese Recipe

This vegan parmesan cheese is the absolute best recipe! It uses 5 simple whole foods, can be made in crumble form or grated from a block!

Making dairy free cheese using simple ingredients and an easy process is tough. But this dairy free version of traditional Parmesan is simple amazing!

This post was originally published on October 8, 2017.

This recipe is very similar in process to my vegan Cotija cheese. With a few simple changes to nail that salty tangy flavor of Parmesan, I could still shape this into a wheel then allow it to harden for freshly grated vegan Parmesan cheese!

Ingredients

I aim to create easy recipes without a lot of fuss. Many vegan cheese recipes out there need fermentation, or hard to find ingredients. While they taste amazing, it simply isn't practical.

A handful of simple, easy to find, whole food, plant based ingredients is all you need to make this easy cashew parmesan cheese:

• Raw cashews
• Lemon juice
• Distilled white vinegar
• Sea salt 
• Ground mustard

How To Make Vegan Parmesan

I use a very unique process to make this vegan Parmesan recipe. Following these steps is critical in getting the end result!

1. Place dry cashews in a food processor and blend until they are a fine crumble.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse. (Stop here to use as is in crumbled form.)
3. If grating, shape into a wheel and refrigerate overnight.
4. Cut into wedges, grate and use on everything!

Serving Suggestions

This vegan parmesan cheese recipe is fabulous on basically everything! Here are some of our favorite recipes to pair it with:

• Broccoli Pesto
• Vegan Carbonara
• Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
• Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Gnocchi
• Tuscan Ribollita Soup
• Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmesan
• Vegan Moussaka
• Cavatelli and Broccoli
• Caesar Salad
• Or on a homemade pizza with easy pizza sauce!

Preparation Tips

In order to make the best vegan parmesan cheese, make sure to check out these helpful hints:

• The easiest way to shape into a wheel is by wrapping in plastic wrap and press into your desired shape.
• The white vinegar is what gives this recipe the sharpness and tanginess of Parmesan. If you substitute it for another vinegar you will not get the same flavor.
• For added sharpness and flavor you can add some miso and/or nutritional yeast.
• For best grating results wait until it chills overnight in the fridge. If you can't wait keep checking for hardness every few hours!

Storage Tips

• Keep the cheese chilled until you're ready to grate. It will soften and not grate very well if left out of the refrigerator.
• You can also just use this crumbled straight from the food processor. Store the crumbles in the fridge, it will harden up once refrigerated.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 7 days.
• You can also store in the freezer for longer periods of time.

Common Questions

More Vegan Cheese Recipes

Vegan and cheese don't usually go together, until now! If you like this recipe for vegan parmesan cheese, you need to check out these plant based cheesy recipes made with easy to find whole food ingredients:

• Vegan Feta Cheese
• Creamy Vegan Cream Cheese
• The Best Vegan Cheese Sauce
• 4 Ingredient Vegan Cotija Cheese
• Easy Vegan Ricotta Cheese
• Green Mac and Cheese
• Vegan Mexican Chili Cheese Dip
• The Perfect Vegan Cheese and Dip Platter
• Vegan Queso Blanco (Mexican White Cheese Dip)

The Best Vegan Parmesan Cheese Recipe

Sophia DeSantis

This vegan parmesan cheese is the absolute best recipe! It uses 5 simple whole foods, can be made in crumble form or grated from a block!

4.42 from 74 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Shop Ingredients

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course 30 Minutes or Less, Topping

Cuisine Italian

Servings 20

Calories 35 kcal

Equipment

• Food processor

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 cup raw cashews , do not soak
• 2 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 ¼ teaspoons distilled white vinegar (see note)
• ½ teaspoon sea salt , can use up to ¾ teaspoon
• pinch ground mustard

Shop Ingredients on Jupiter

Instructions

 

• Place dry cashews in a food processor and blend until they are a fine crumble.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until incorporated. Stop here if you prefer not to grate this but simply use it in crumbled form.
• If you are shaping it into a wheel to grate, then you can keep blending until smooth. It should come together into a ball, almost soft and dough like.
• Shape into a wheel and refrigerate overnight. You can use plastic wrap to store it in or shape with your hands and store in an airtight container.
• It will be ready to grate in the morning, but if you can't wait keep checking for hardness every few hours!
• This also stores very well in the freezer if you know you won't use it all within 7 days.

Notes

• Keep cheese cold in the fridge until ready to grate. It will soften and not grate well if left out. It also stores very well in the freezer for extended periods of time.
• The white vinegar is what gives this recipe the sharpness and tanginess of Parmesan. If you sub it then you will not get the same flavor.
• You can also just use this crumbled straight from the food processor or store crumbled in the fridge if you don’t want to grate it. If you simply store it crumbled, it will harden as crumbles in the fridge.
• This makes 1 wheel about 5 inches by one inch, or a little over 1 ¼ cup grated. Serving size is 1 tablespoon.

 

Update: I have had a few readers add some miso and/or nutritional yeast to this for added sharpness and flavor. While I like it as is, and wanted to keep this a simple recipe with easy to find ingredients, if you have either of those give them a try if you want to change it up!

Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 35kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 2gSodium: 58mgPotassium: 42mgVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 0.4mg

Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.

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