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.
Another plus of making this plant-based parmesan recipe yourself is usually cheaper than buying it at the store. I make this version with walnuts, nutritional yeast, salt, and garlic powder, making it preservative and additive-free.
You can make this cheese with any nuts. Try to use raw unsalted one, but if you can’t, ensure you fine-tune the amount of 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.
Ingredients
- Raw walnuts
- Nutritional Yeast
- Garlic Powder (can be replaced with onion powder)
- Sea salt (skip to reduce sodium content)
See quantities and full instructions in the recipe card.
How to make vegan parmesan cheese
This is the easiest part. You just need to throw all the ingredients in an immersion blender or a food processor and blend for 30 seconds.
To get an even texture, I pulse and shake the food processor 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.
place all ingredients in food processor
pulse until it reaches the desired consistency
Although this non-dairy Parmesan cheese doesn’t melt, it goes very well with any dish that calls out for parmesan dish.
How to serve
It goes well over pasta dishes like our 3-ingredient pasta, veggie pizza (recipe), dinner recipes, and baked goods. I regularly use this mixture on salads to replace oil-based vinaigrettes, and to make whole foods seasoning.
We also use it as a parmesan cheese replacement on our 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.
Finally, we love using this recipe to replace vegan ricotta cheese, on our Argentine spinach empanadas, for a change.
This recipe is tasty and so good. You only need a couple of ingredients usually available in any plant-based kitchen and a blender to make it. The result will be a versatile and delicious plant-based cheese that will boost the flavor of your dishes.
Storing
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.
Variations
Nuts - instead of walnuts, you could use Brazil nuts, toasted raw cashews, or almonds. We even make another variant of this vegan parm cheese with raw sunflower seeds and sesame seeds; check out the seeds parm recipe and seeds parm recipe avoiding nuts.
About Nutritional yeast
In vegan cooking, where we look at dairy-free ingredients, nutritional yeast is a very important ingredient. It is a staple of vegan cooking, so make sure you get a good quality brand; it will add a distinctly cheesy flavor and saltiness to your meals.
You can use it in many vegan Italian dishes, especially vegan parmesan recipes, pesto sauces and risottos, and vegan cheese recipes like vegan bechamel sauce.
According to WebMed, nutritional yeast is rich in nutrients, often lacking in vegetarian and vegan diets. It’s also free of gluten, soy, and sugar, making it an excellent dietary addition for people with food sensitivities.
However, research shows that its nutritional content can benefit any diet since it also has protein and B vitamins, which are very important to supplement in a vegan diet.
Adding Nutritional Yeast to your diet is a good idea.
More recipes using Nutritional Yeast
Some Recipes where you can use this Nutritional Yeast Parmesan
If you want to try another vegan parm recipe using sunflower seeds, have a look at our recipe.
We also use this recipe for recipes like Ribollita Tuscan soup to give it a final touch, and it works wonderfully!
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag a photo #ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!
Recipe
Homemade Vegan Parmesan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted walnuts 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 or shake and repeat. Stop before you think you should; otherwise, it can turn into 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. It works perfectly as a topping for pasta, pizzas, vegan eggplant involtinis, and adding it to salads.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Food safety
We sometimes take for granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience that the average visitor may not. Add to, or remove from, the list below with health and safety tips.
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking points to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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.
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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!
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
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.
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!).
Kay
You have taken Nutritional Yeast to the next flavour level with minimal effort required! We love it!
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!
Natalie
Oh wow, I never tried vegan parmesan. Sounds delicious and so healthy. Love walnuts. I can't wait to give this a try
Claudia Lamascolo
This is perfect I love a vegan parm make it also but this is easier!
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.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
I was looking for a recipe like this, thank you for sharing! I can't wait to try it soon!
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!
Casey
My daughter is vegan and loves this "cheese!" She said it's better than the Trader Joes version 🙂
Tayler Ross
I have vegan friends, so I can't wait to make this for them! I love the simple ingredients!