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.
Daniel
Hi Sophia,
This looks amazing and has awesome reviews!
I’m wondering if I can use roasted cashews instead of raw?
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Daniel! It really is delicious. Roasted cashews have a different flavor than raw. The raw flavor isn't pronounce like the roasted so you won't get the same end result, and the other ingredients can't be increased because you need very little liquid in order to get the right consistency. You can always give it a shot but make sure you know it will turn out different.
Nicole
This looks great. My question is: did you have to look up how to spell grateable in the dictionary ??? 😜
veggiesdontbite
Hahaha!! Thank you!! And yes, that was a tough one because it really isn't found easily as a word!
Athena
This recipe is amazing! I’ve never made my own Parmesan and only ever used the store bought ones, but I just didn’t think they were good enough to warrant buying. I’m so glad I tried your recipe!
As always when making something for the first time I followed your recipe exactly and am just blown away with the flavour (I had to stop myself testing the crumble to finish it off, I can barely wait for it to firm up) I really think if following the recipe exactly people trying this won’t have an issue.
I made a second batch with the addition of miso because I happened to have some and read your note about people trying that, I also enjoyed that flavour, but don’t think it’s necessary as the recipe is great as is.
Thank you for sharing such a great recipe, and anyone making it for the first time, follow it exactly and you can’t go wrong. 10/10
veggiesdontbite
Wow, thank you so so much for your awesome review! I am so happy you liked it! I appreciate all the details and I know others will too. Thank you for being here!
Ashley
Hello,
This looks amazing but I am allergic to nuts. Can you recommend anything else I can sub the cashews for? Maybe dried beans of some sort? Thanks so much xx
veggiesdontbite
Hi Ashley! I'm so sorry to hear about the allergy. I wish that I could tell you that something else would make this just as good but it honestly won't. The closest thing I can think of is using pumpkin or sunflower seeds. I am not sure of ratio, but start with the same. It definitely won't taste as good but it's something. I also don't know if you'll be able to make it grate-able so you may want to stop at the pulsed version. Let me know what you end up doing!
Elyse
Love love love this! We've made what we call "cheesy powder" with ground up nuts (usually cashews), nooch, garlic powder and salt and used that as our parmesan substitute but this blows doors on that. My youngest asks for it for everything: rice, veggies, soup, you name it. I just love the taste and the mere action of the grating somehow adds to the (not to be too over the top) experience. Thank you!
Meg
This is terrific, and it really does grate wonderfully! I made it according to recipe the first time, and it was tasty, then I tweaked it according to other vegan parm recipes I make and I liked it even better. I used all lemon juice and added a clove of garlic and a half teaspoon of nutritional yeast. I love the grateability of this cheese -- now I really feel like I'm not missing regular parmesan cheese at all. Many thanks for the recipe!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Meg!! I am thrilled you liked it!
Mark
Do you think, apple cider vinegar might work instead of white vinegar?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Mark!
I talk about this in the notes. White distilled vinegar has a sharp flavor that really contributes to the flavor of this. You could use apple cider vinegar but it won’t have as sharp or tangy of a flavor.
Hannah
How would you freeze this? I've never froze anything. Also can I just roll in into some parchment paper & use twine to keep it covered. Nervous about new things here. 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Hi Hannah! I just put it into a glass container and keep it in the freezer! If you cover the cheese with plastic wrap as well, it will help prevent freezer burn. But we use ours pretty quickly so no problem there. Parchment paper would work ok if you put it into plastic or glass. You don't want it to dry out.
Debbie Diamond
Just made this. I made the molded version and had to force myself to quit spooning this in my mouth. Seriously this is the Holy grail of vegan parms. THANK YOU!!!
veggiesdontbite
Haha!! Happy to hear you liked it as much as we do! Thank you so so much for the review!
Emilie
I love this stuff!. I tried some before forming the wheel, and didn't want to let it be overnight (just wanted to eat it all up)...but I did wait and it came out excellent; grated just fine. Just had some on pasta, and it's fabulous!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much Emilie! We love it too and always keep it stocked!
Emilie
I'm going to keep some on hand as well. So easy to make. You are currently my go-to recipe site. There are several I like, but lately I come here first for ideas. WIsh I had more time to cook! Made your miso soup yesterday. Just wondering, will there be another cookbook? 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Awe, thank you so much!! There is no other book at the moment. It was so much work, and currently I am really enjoying simply creating recipes for my blog, and I am getting back into working with brands to create recipes with their protects and sharing these favorites with my readers!
Linda
I made this parmesan cheese and it looks beautiful and the taste is great, however, I find it a bit moist and wondered if anyone has tried to put it in a dehydrator for a few hours to dry it out and getting a more cheese like consistency?
Emily Kemp
Hi Linda, Sophia's on vacation at the moment until the 12th July. I'll try and find out the answer for you in the meantime and get back to asap. Thank you!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Linda! Sorry it took a bit to get back to you, I am slowly getting back into my blog after being away. So the cheese should dry out a bit once put in the fridge overnight. It does soften if left out after a while though due to the natural ingredients and no fillers. I'd be very interested to see how it works if you try it in a dehydrator! Let me know!
Amy
My son has a cashew allergy and I cannot have them in the house. Is it possible to make this recipe using almonds? Have you tried it? Are there other nuts (besides cashews or pistachios) that work well in vegan cheese?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Amy! Sorry to hear about your son's allergy. I would definitely give it a try with another nut! Try almonds, they are mild as well. You may have to play with the other ingredients to get the flavor to where you like it but I think it can be done. I have other parmesan type toppings (although this recipe really is my favorite), that work well in a pinch too. Here are a few:
Pumpkin seed parmesan: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/creamy-butternut-squash-lasagna-roll-ups-with-pumpkin-seed-parmesan/
Hemp almond: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/hemp-almond-parmesan-potato-chip-rounds/
Hemp pine nut: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/zucchini-ravioli-low-carb/#wprm-recipe-container-10220
Sue
I tried another similar recipe with dried sunflower seeds, they go to a fluffy powder in the processor, the cheese will look dark in colour.
veggiesdontbite
Yes, seeds will give you a different texture and color for sure.
Estee
I made this fabulous parm for a baked ziti I made and wow it was fabulous. I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing out of the blender...see my tag on IG. Thanks for creating this luscious recipe. I think I'll be putting the leftovers on everything this week ?.
veggiesdontbite
Hahaha!! Thank you so much Estee!! I'm so thrilled you love it as much as we do. I keep it stocked in the freeze in bulk because I can't imagine not having it around when I need it at a moments notice. I am off to look at IG!! I unfortunately miss so many tags on there now!
Jen @ sweetgreenkitchen.com
Genius! I am so excited to try this. I typically make parm style crumbles with hemp seeds, walnuts and sesame seeds plus some nutritional yeast, miso , lemon zest and salt. I love the idea of yours shaping it into a wheel and grating it!
veggiesdontbite
Awesome!! You will love this, per some of the comments here you can see that others have added nutritional yeast and/or miso as well. I didn't write the recipe using these ingredients because I wanted to keep it simple, but you can certainly add them. Hope you enjoy it!
JD
Hello, This sounds intriguing. One thing I have just started to use in my dairy-free sour cream creations is lactic acid. I purchased Druids Grove lactic acid through Amazon (this is a vegan product). I still am experimenting so I cannot provide the best ratios but the tang it produces is more reminiscent of actual sour cream since that is the kind of acid that is produced naturally in sour cream and cheese. Sometimes using lemon juice and vinegar lend a tang that is not typical in dairy products so I was wanting to try something that will result in a more authentic tasting copy of the original item. The Druids Grove lactic acid is a powder so some water would have to be added to provide some moisture.
JD
veggiesdontbite
Hi there! Yes, I have tried lactic acid before. It definitely has a nice tang! I do think though that lemon and vinegar (especially white distilled) give a great tang as well. I try and focus my blog recipes on using whole food ingredients anyone can find at a grocery store so this is why I don't use things like lactic acid or other things that aren't in the everyday grocery store. Miso is about as "crazy" as I get. Haha. And even that I rarely use. Let me know if you give your lactic acid a try and how much you used! I don't have much experience with it so I really can't tell you a ratio. Thanks for being here!
Peggy
Also, green olive juice, instead of regular vinegar, gives it a....more traditional cheezy flavor, as well?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Peggy! Yes! I love using brine from things like pickles and olives. Have you seen my queso recipe? It uses the juice from the jar of nacho jalapeño slices! SO good!! https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/vegan-queso-blanco-mexican-white-cheese-dip/
Holly
Can this be sliced or does it fall apart? I like eating apples w parmesan cheese slices and thats the only cheese item I really miss now that I'm plant based.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Holly! I think it would slice somewhat if sliced thicker but maybe not a whole piece? It grates quite well so I would freeze it, then allow it to soften just a tad then try. Let me know if you try it!