Making Vegan Parmesan Cheese at home is very easy. It requires minimal ingredients and 5 minutes of your time or less. It is made with cheap sunflower seeds and is equally delicious as the ones made with nuts.
This is the ideal grated vegan cheese recipe to sprinkle on top of your Pasta Alla Puttanesca, Vegan Bolognese pasta, Polenta, or any other pasta you can think of.
This recipe is a variation of our also, plant-based parmesan recipe.
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🧾 Ingredients
- sunflower seeds
- sesame seeds
- nutritional yeast
- garlic powder
- pepper
- salt
🔪 Instructions
Add sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, pepper, and salt to an immersion blender or a food processor.
Pulse for 30 seconds.
Taste and adjust flavor. Add more nutritional yeast for “cheesiness” and extra garlic powder for a more intense note.
📖 Variations
- Garlic powder – you can use onion powder instead.
- Sunflower seeds – we chose to use sunflower seeds in this variant. We like to switch some recipes a bit. Especially those that rely on a typical family of more expensive ingredients, in this case, nuts.
- Nutritional yeast - find substitutes for nutritional yeast.
Walnuts, pecan, and almonds are usually more costly than other less-known but equally nutritional and sometimes cheaper, like sunflower seeds.
Replace sunflower seeds, with your choice of any nut, with a medium to high, healthy fats content, and it will be a good switch, and the texture won’t be affected.
Remember to limit your fat consumption. We should aim to eat no more than 20% of our calories coming from fat.
For your reference, sunflower seeds are on the lower end of fat % on 100 grams, then walnuts and almonds, which are at the upper tier, and sunflower seeds fall at the lower level.
🌻 Sunflower seeds benefits
These small seeds can help to prevent diseases such as heart disease or high blood pressure. Sunflower seeds' benefits include also:
- Improving Heart Health
- Reducing Inflammation
- Boosting Energy Levels
- Supporting the Immune System
- Nutrition
One remarkable thing about sunflower seeds is that they are high in protein and rich in healthy fats and antioxidants. Still, hulled sunflower seeds contain less fat percentage than most nuts.
🫙 Storing
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, or your polentas.
We also like adding it to salads as a no-oil flavor enhancer, replacing a vinaigrette.
⭐ If you try this recipe, let us know! 💬 Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag us @ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!
📋 Recipe
Vegan Parmesan Cheese Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup sunflower seeds unsalted
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds white
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- Add sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to a blender or a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds.
- 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
Nutrition Facts
🌡️ Food safety
- 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 a high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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.
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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.
Angela says
Such an amazing recipe! This tastes just like parmesan cheese. Used it to top my pasta last night. So good!
Blair says
This is just the recipe I was looking for! So simple and fast!
Shashi says
How cool is this vegan parm cheese recipe! Looking forward to trying this soon!
Dannii says
This looks super simple. Perfect for sprinkling over some hot spaghetti.
Jess says
I had no idea just how easy this was to make at home! Total win!
Julia says
This is the best tasting vegan parmesan cheese that I've ever tried. We've been eating it sprinkled on so many things from pasta to jacket potatoes. Seriously good.
Chrissaysnature says
This is a wonderful recipe for vegan cheese! I made a huge batch and everyone loved it! Thank you!
Emily says
I just made a batch and it's so good I could eat it straight out of the container! I love that's it's made with easily available ingredients, all of which I have. I can't wait to try this as a topping, the next time we cook pasta for dinner!
Anaiah says
This vegan parmesan cheese was so delicious and super easy! I normally just add nutritional yeast but mixing seasonings and some sunflower seeds made it taste even more incredible.
Teodora Grujic says
I love all these healthy replacements! Sound very interesting, thank you!
Joshua says
This is great to sprinkle over my pasta. Tastes great. Thank you!
Katherine says
Such a great idea to use sunflower seeds in this vegan parm!
Beth says
My granddaughter is a vegan and I am always looking for something new and different. This is really interesting and I can't wait to try it. I am putting the ingredients on my shopping list. I wonder where I can find the nutritional yeast?