Parmesan cheese is a classic Italian cheese that is used in many dishes. It's a flavorful and salty cheese perfect for sprinkling on pasta, pizza, or salad. But if you're vegan, you might not be able to enjoy this cheesy dish. Until now! This homemade vegan parmesan cheese recipe is easy to make and tastes great. You need just four ingredients.
This vegetarian alternative to Parmesan cheese tastes pretty much like real cheese. It’s hard to tell the difference. It is a fantastic recipe calling for parmesan cheese, like eggplant parmesan, asparagus pasta, or mushroom risotto.
You can make this cheese with any nuts. Try to use raw, unsalted salt, but if you can’t, fine-tune the salt suggested in the recipe.
This recipe is one of those preparations that are always available in our kitchen since we use it almost every day, and as soon as we run out of it, we can make it in less than 5 minutes.
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💚 Why you will love it
- Easy to make
- Tastes great
- Healthier choice
- Preservative-free
- Versatile use
🧾 Ingredients
- Raw walnuts
- Nutritional Yeast (see substitutions)
- Garlic Powder (which can be replaced with onion powder)
- Sea salt (skip to reduce sodium content)
Substitutions
| Original Ingredient | Suggested Substitutes |
|---|---|
| Walnuts | Brazil nuts, toasted raw cashews, roasted cashews, almonds |
| Organic Nutritional Yeast | Finely ground dried shiitake mushrooms |
| Garlic Powder | Onion Powder |
| Sunflower Seeds, Sesame Seeds | Check out the seeds parm recipe avoiding nuts |
🔪 Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor.
- Pulse until it reaches the desired consistency.
To get an even texture, I pulse and shake the food processor's low-speed button and repeat. Otherwise, it can turn into oily clumps. It will not affect the flavor, but you may not achieve the powdery texture we are looking for.
Although this non-dairy Parmesan cheese doesn’t melt, it goes very well with any dish that calls for regular parmesan cheese.
💡 Expert tips
Use a food processor to achieve the desired consistency; pulsing in short bursts prevents the mixture from becoming too oily and clumpy.
If you're using salted nuts, adjust the added salt in the recipe to avoid an overly salty flavor.
For a varied flavor, experiment with different types of nuts such as Brazil nuts, cashews, or almonds.
To ensure freshness and prevent spoilage, store the vegan parmesan in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it can last for up to a month.
Check the texture as you blend to prevent over-grinding, which can lead to a pasty rather than powdery texture.
🥢 How to serve
It goes well over pasta dishes like our 3-ingredient pasta sauce, homemade pizza, salads, and lasagna. I regularly use this mixture on vegan salads when I don't use my homemade vinaigrette.
We also use it as a parmesan cheese replacement on our vegan mushroom risotto, saffron risotto, and sun-dried tomato risotto.
We also add it to our favorite snacks, like these fantastic pasta chips, a recipe that we find very original.
We also use this recipe to add it to any cheese sauce or white sauce, like a vegan bechamel sauce.
Sprinkle it on top of our vegan gluten-free lasagna.
Finally, we love using this recipe to replace vegan ricotta cheese on our Argentine spinach empanadas for a change.
🫙 Storage
This recipe is not made with fresh ingredients, so it lasts if properly stored in an airtight container in the fridge. I can’t tell you exactly how much, as I always use it within a couple of weeks, but I am sure it will last at least a month.
🧀 More vegan cheese recipes
If you try this vegan parmesan, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag #ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!
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🎥 Video
📋 Recipe
Homemade Vegan Parmesan Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts unsalted, raw
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Add unsalted walnuts, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt to a blender or a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds. Pulse, open, shake, and repeat. Stop before you think you should; otherwise, it can become oily clumps.
- Taste and adjust flavor. Add more nutritional yeast for “cheesiness” and extra garlic powder for a more intense note.
- Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Nutritional Disclaimer
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice. See our full Nutritional Disclosure here.
Affiliate Disclaimer
Please note that some of the links here are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I recommend all of the products listed because they are companies I have found helpful and trustworthy.
As the lead content writer and recipe developer at Our Plant-Based World, he combines his passion for health and sustainability with a Plant-Based Nutrition Certification to create accessible, delicious vegan recipes. His expertise in plant-based cooking supports the blog's mission of fostering a healthier, environmentally conscious lifestyle through simple and seasonal dishes. His commitment to making vegan cooking enjoyable and inclusive for everyone shines in each recipe and article.
Tayler
I made this vegan parmesan for some friends and they absolutely loved it! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Gus
Thanks for sharing, Tayler!
Dana
You guys are my absolute saviors when it comes to cooking vegan. I have a very good friends who's vegan so anytime she comes by for a meal I always hit up your site and this was my most recent recipe, added to some basic noodles and marinara. Such a hit! Loved the flavor. You're always impressing!
Gus
Hey Dana!, Thank you very much for your review. We live for this kind of reviews LOL. You brought a smile to my face, and I am really glad you are enjoying our vegan recipes! Please keep coming for more!
Tayler Ross
I have vegan friends, so I can't wait to make this for them! I love the simple ingredients!
Casey
My daughter is vegan and loves this "cheese!" She said it's better than the Trader Joes version 🙂
Suja md
Truelly amazing in taste and flavors in this recipe. Will definitely make again, very good recipe!
Gus
Thanks for your review Suja. I am glad you enjoyed our version of vegan parm!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
I was looking for a recipe like this, thank you for sharing! I can't wait to try it soon!
KIM MARIE EVANS
Hi, What kind of nuts can I sub as I can't have walnuts do to an allergy? would pecans work?
Gus
Hi Kim, yes, all types of nuts work. But I would be very hesitant to use any type of nuts if I had nuts allergies. Even thus, nuts that are not "officially" nuts like peanuts may affect people with nut allergies. Have you ever tried consuming pumpkin seeds (pepitas)? They are relatively close to nuts in terms of fats but are not nuts, just the seeds. I have successfully made vegan parmesan with sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, which are not nuts. In botany terms, nuts are a particular kind of dry fruit with a single seed, a hard shell, and protective husk. Chestnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and walnuts fit the true definition of a nut. Peanuts and almonds do not meet the botanical definition of a true nut, but people with nut allergies are usually also allergic to almonds.
Claudia Lamascolo
This is perfect I love a vegan parm make it also but this is easier!
Natalie
Oh wow, I never tried vegan parmesan. Sounds delicious and so healthy. Love walnuts. I can't wait to give this a try
Beth
Oh wow! My son is going to just love this vegan cheese recipe! These days he's been loving the recipes I've made from your site! So excited!
Kay
You have taken Nutritional Yeast to the next flavour level with minimal effort required! We love it!
Elle
This is way too easy to prepare for how tasty it turns out! Great recipe, I have some left for the next couple of days in the fridge (if I don't finish it before the next meal!).
Ann Wycoff
Thank you very much. The picture and link will go live in my next post.
Yes, it is a very good feature. I definitely think it is worth it. Being able to change units is a nice feature too instead of having to manually do the conversion myself. For a convenience standpoint it is very nice.
Ann Wycoff
Sure, the least I can do. Thanks for sharing a great recipe that was easy to throw together.
Gus
hope you keep trying our recipes! We just made a major upgrade to the website in terms of look and feel and user experience, hope you are enjoying it!
Ann Wycoff
I am enjoying the site and the recipes, thank you. I particularly like the feature where you can change the number of servings and it automatically updates the ingredients list.
I'm working on my next blog post. May I grab a picture, with the usual link and photo credit, from your post?
Gus
Sure thing! Please go ahead. Yes, we love that feature. We incorporated it with a plugin we purchased since we have both a Spanish Speaking and English Speaking community, and we also needed the metric/international units conversion. We took a big breath and purchased the not very cheap plugin as an investment for our readers, although as new bloggers, it Is not there, we thought it was worth it! So happy to have that first feedback on that feature 🙂 you make us feel it was worth it!
Ann Wycoff
Will have to give this a try. I already have all of the ingredients for it on hand.
Gus
Sure! It is certainly one of the easiest things to do! I also use it for salads and is lovely! Let us know how it turns out!
Ann Wycoff
I made a half batch of this today (I was low on walnuts as it turned out) and it is really noble stuff. My husband loves it and so do I. I suspect we'll be keeping some in the frig as a regular thing for awhile. As usual, I'll put a link back on my blog for the recipe.
Gus
Nice! Great to hear that you liked it! and thanks for the referral. Really appreciate it!