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!
- Place dry cashews in a food processor and blend until they are a fine crumble.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse. (Stop here to use as is in crumbled form.)
- If grating, shape into a wheel and refrigerate overnight.
- 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
There are many versions of vegan parmesan cheese out there. Many include cashews or seeds, seasonings, and nutritional yeast. This recipe uses simply cashews, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and ground mustard.
There are store-bought vegan parmesan cheeses, but it's so easy to make your own at home! That way you can customize the flavor, and know you're only eating real whole foods.
In my humble opinion, this one! It's simple to make with easy to find whole food plant based ingredients and tastes absolutely fabulous! Plus, it has that classic hard texture that's perfect for grating!
While many cheeses are vegetarian, parmesan cheese is not one of them. Some cheeses, including parmesan cheese, use rennet which is not vegetarian.
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
Equipment
Ingredients
- 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
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.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Jennifer
OK, dedicated omniivore here - only a dairy allergy would have driven me to cheese substitutes. But I just put my mix in the freezer to harden for grating, and just from my lick test from the Nutri-Bullet: O. M. G. I don't know if it would fool me straight (I used to slice paper-thin slices of aged parm to eat w/ my red wine), but I think grated on pasta, I'm not going to be able to tell the difference. I added the miso (because I have it in the fridge & it keeps forever) and the nutritional yeast, as one of the other reviewers suggested, and that def helps - but I think you're right: I'm going to start using a lemon juice/white vinegar mix in other vegan cheese recipes instead of cider vinegar, to see if that changes the profile. Thanks for this - I had just about given up!
veggiesdontbite
AHHH! I am so happy you love it and I could help change your mind! I am going to add the miso and nutritional yeast in the notes since a few of you have tried it, I did not want them in my recipes because I was trying to create a recipe that any every day person will have ingredients for, and also I don't really like nutritional yeast. GASP! I know I'm probably the only person. LOL! But I'm glad it worked for you and that you have something to use in all your meals!
Michelle M Blackwood
This is definitely the real deal, thanks for sharing!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much Michelle! It's really a great option for those that don't eat actual dairy Parmesan.
Trinity Bourne
Wowzers!!! Vegan food has come along way over the years. This is just genius - I love it.
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Trinity! I love creating things in new ways!
Linda from Veganosity
This is so close to real parm! You nailed the flavor and the texture, Sophia! Thank you!!!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Linda!!
Lynne
Would this work if baked afterwards? I’m trying to convert a butternut squash lasagna recipe that uses parmesan cheese both in and on top.
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Lynne! Yes! You can use it for baked dishes. I top many baked dishes with it along with using it inside!
Becky Striepe
I love this recipe so much! Perfect replacement for dairy parm!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you! It really has changed our pasta nights!
JD
This has been the answer to all my Parmesan cravings! You know how much I love my pasta and now I can have it all.
The Vegan 8
I absolutely LOVED this recipe and had to tell you again that we've made it several times! It grates absolutely perfect and melts almost immediately when putting it on soups or chili or burritos, which is AMAZING! Melts just like true cheese. I love the salty, tangy bite it gives to food, yet it's totally healthy. Thank you for providing such an incredibly easy and SIMPLE recipe. People really should make it exactly as written because it is perfect!
The Vegan 8
Oh, also add that I keep a block in my freezer and I just grate it right before I use it and it's perfect!
veggiesdontbite
YES!!! I added that to the notes because I make it in batches to keep in the freezer until I use it. It has so few ingredients that if you change one, it will change the flavor for sure. Unfortunately this has happened to a few readers and they have been disappointed but it really should be made as written for the true flavor I intended.
Susan
I had high hopes! But this didn't grate or taste like parmesan to me. I don't eat white vinegar, so I subbed apple cider vinegar. Maybe lemon juice would work better, or a combo? I give up on vegan substitutes for cheese, they just don't come close, no matter what I've tried. If it works for you, great-enjoy!
veggiesdontbite
Hi again Susan. Like my last comment on the other recipe you tried, this recipe did not work for you because you didn’t make it as written. The white vinegar is a key component to this recipe. The sharpness and tang it provides mimics that of Parmesan. Apple cider vinegar is not as sharp but has a sweet undertone. So unfortunately it won’t give the same flavor. As for the grating, this will grate if you put it in the fridge overnight as stated. It needs to be hard. I find it frustrating when readers don’t follow directions and substitute ingredients then rate a recipe low. That is not a reflection of my true recipe.
Myriam
I have made this now a couple of times and every time my husband is beyond excited! I do tend to add a tablespoon of miso for the cultured taste and and one nooch (because, well,.. a vegan cheese without nooch? 😉 )
It is really a game changer. I think it is the mix of dry cashew and vinegar which is so important otherwise.
Thanks you.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Myriam! Thank you so much for the great review! Yes, miso would definitely add a little more cultured flavor to it (I use miso in a few of my sharper cheese sauces) but my goal for this was to keep it super simple with ingredients anyone would be able to find or have at home. But I'm sure it tastes great with it! As for nutritional yeast...I'm sure you know how I feel about that. Hahaha!!! I wish I could say I liked it but alas it is not my thing. Thank you for being here and trying my recipes!
lillian
I made this for my no noodle zucchini lasagna and I think it's a winner! Thanks for the recipe.
veggiesdontbite
Ah!! Yay! Thank you so much!! I am so happy you loved it!
Diane
It looks so so delicious! Love it! Definitely a 5 out of 5 recipe.
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much!!
Paayel Agarwaal
Can i use apple cider vinegar instead of distilled white vinegar?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Paayel! I experimented with both types of vinegars. Distilled white vinegar has a pure acidic flavor that really contributes to the sharp bite this recipe has. When I used apple cider, it didn’t give that sharpness I was looking for. However, you can still use it and the recipe will turn out fine. It just won’t be the exact same taste as it is with distilled white vinegar so keep that in mind when you taste the final product. Let me know what you think when you try it!
Jennifer
Read, made, tried and fell in love with this all within 5 minutes! Genious!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Jennifer!! I so appreciate your awesome feedback! Really happy you loved it!
Nissrine
Holy smokes! That's it?? I was expecting some fancy complicated recipe. Need to try this asap.
veggiesdontbite
It is! LOL! I know! That was my goal, something quick and easy and all whole foods ingredients you can get anywhere!
Richa @ VeganRicha
There should shocked emojis on comments! It cannot be this easy!!!
veggiesdontbite
Haha!!! Thank you Richa. It was an accidental recipe and man am I glad I followed through!