This vegan Parmesan cheese doesn't melt like the real cheese, but it looks and tastes quite similar. It has a nutty, cheesy, and sharp savory flavor with a granular and slightly chewy texture. The recipe makes grated as well as grateable Parmesan, depending on the technique you use. It's vegan (dairy-free, egg-free), grain-free (gluten-free), and soy-free.
Cheese is one of the most sought after ingredients in the culinary realm. Different types of cheese are made from varying types of ingredients and methods, and they are used in thousands of different applications. Therefore, it's important to understand what makes each type of cheese unique.
Since types of cheeses are listed by firmness, moisture level plays an important role in the selection process. Higher moisture content results in a softer cheese, while lower moisture content that is densely packed into cheese molds results in a harder cheese. Sometimes certain types of cheese are freshly made and eaten that day, other times cheeses are left to age for months - even years! The longer a cheese ages, the more complex the flavors become.
While this aging process happens, a hard coating forms around the cheese known as a rind. This rind becomes thicker as the cheese ages or is washed with brine, developing the flavor profile even further. Some types of cheese taste mild and buttery whereas some kinds of hard cheese have a sharp, nutty flavors.
Types of cheeses also differ from each other based on the type of milk used for the production of cheese. This doesn't apply to just dairy-based cheeses, but also plant-based cheeses. There are now more vegan cheese options on the market than ever before - fresh, soft, semi-soft, semi-hard, hard, and even blue-veined!
Types of Cheese
The lines between soft, semi-soft, semi-hard and hard are arbitrary, and many types of cheese are made in softer or firmer variants. However, since there are so many individual types of cheese, it's useful to group them based on shared characteristics.
- Fresh:
- Uncooked, unpressed, unripened
- Rindless
- High moisture content (60-80%) → liquid, smooth or creamy texture (meant for spreading).
- Common types of fresh cheese include Chèvre, cottage cheese, cream cheese, mascarpone, mozzarella, quark, ricotta, sour cream.
- Soft:
- Uncooked, unpressed, and ripened for up to one month.
- Thin, white or cream-colored rind (called bloomy rind) that is soft and edible and sometimes a little fuzzy.
- High moisture content (50-60%) → creamy and velvety texture (meant for slicing).
- Common types of soft cheese include Brie, Camembert, Coulommiers.
- Semi-soft:
- Uncooked, lightly pressed, and ripened for 1 to 5 months.
- Tender rind that ranges anywhere from sticky and thin to coarse and leathery.
- Medium moisture content (45%-50%) → firmer, more compact texture (meant for slicing).
- Common types of semi-soft cheese include Havarti, Muenster (American), Provolone.
- Semi-hard:
- Uncooked, pressed, and ripened for 1 to 6 months.
- Often rindless (as a result of aging in a vacuum-sealed plastic).
- Low moisture content (35%-45%) → firm, slightly springy texture (not soft enough to spread, but not hard enough to grate; meant for slicing or shredding)
- Common types of semi-firm cheese include Cantal, Cheddar, Edam, Emmenthal, Gouda, and Monterey Jack.
- Hard:
- Cooked, pressed, and ripened anywhere from 6 months to a few years.
- Hard, tough rind that naturally develops as the cheese ages.
- Low moisture content (30-35%) → firm, often granular or gritty texture (meant for thin slicing or grating).
- Common types of hard cheese include Gruyère, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, Romano.
- Blue-veined:
- Uncooked, unpressed, inoculated with a species of blue-green mold (Penicillium), and ripened anywhere from 2 months to a few years.
- Rindless (flavors that normally accumulate around the exterior can be found across the entire body).
- Moisture content varies → soft creamy or crumbly texture.
- Common types of blue-veined cheese include Fourme d'Ambert, Danish Blue, gorgonzola, Roquefort, and Stilton.
Believe it or not, most of these cheese are now available in a plant-based form.
Tips for Making Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Ingredients
To make vegan Parmesan cheese, you only need four simple ingredients:
- Cashews: raw cashews works so well in this recipe because they have a neutral, mild flavor. They are also tender and slightly chewy, which makes up for Parmesan’s similar qualities. If you're nut-free, you can use a blend of sunflower seeds and hemp seeds instead. Another great addition are pine nuts, which have a buttery flavor and soft, chewy texture.
- Nutritional yeast: the key ingredient for adding cheesy flavor to vegan recipes is nutritional yeast. This yeast is grown specifically to be used as a food product. Do not mistakenly use baker's yeast (for leavening baked goods) or brewer’s yeast (for brewing beer) - they are not the same thing.
- Garlic powder: while optional, garlic powder offers some extra flavor complexity that helps to make up for all the subtle flavors found in real Parmesan.
- Salt: real Parmesan cheese is quite salty, so salt is an essential ingredient for this vegan version.
How to Make Vegan Parmesan cheese
As I already mentioned, you can use this recipe to make either grated or grateable Parmesan cheese. The difference lays in the way you process the ingredients.
- Process the cashews. Add the cashews into a food processor fitted with an S blade and process them into a coarse meal.
- Process the rest of the ingredients. Add the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt and pulse until all the ingredients are well combined. Be careful not to over-process the ingredients if you want "grated" Parmesan. If you want grateable Parmesan cheese, keep processing until all the ingredients come together into a ball. Stop the food processor as soon as the ingredients come together otherwise the cashews will turn into nut butter.
- Shape the Parmesan (grateable Parmesan only). Using your hands, shape the Parmesan into a wheel (or any other shape you like).
- Chill. Place the Parmesan into the refrigerator and let it set for at least 8 hours. The time will depend on the shape (thickness) of the cheese.
How to Serve Vegan Parmesan cheese
You can use this Parmesan just like you would the dairy-based version - sprinkle it over pasta with marinara, add it into basil pesto, use it as a topping for mac & cheese, pizza, popcorn, or just about anything that needs a mild cheese flavor. It's a great addition to many dishes.
However, if you’re baking the recipe, you might want to reserve the Parmesan for sprinkling until after it’s out of the oven for maximum flavor.
Parmesan Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews *
- 4 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- pinch sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Process the cashews. Add the cashews into a food processor fitted with an S blade and process them into a coarse meal.
- Process the rest of the ingredients. Add the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt and pulse until all the ingredients are well combined. Be careful not to over-process the ingredients if you want "grated" Parmesan. If you want grateable Parmesan cheese, keep processing until all the ingredients come together into a ball. Stop the food processor as soon as the ingredients come together otherwise the cashews will turn into nut butter.
- Shape the Parmesan (grateable Parmesan only). Using your hands, shape the Parmesan into a wheel (or any other shape you like).
- Chill (grateable Parmesan only). Place the Parmesan into the refrigerator and let it set for at least 8 hours. The time will depend on the shape (thickness) of the cheese.
- Store. Leftover Parmesan keeps well in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
**Nutrition information is approximate and may contain errors. Please, feel free to make your own calculations.
Michael
Love your Videos!! Really enjoy listening to your voice it’s so soothing! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes and Beautiful Smile!
PetraScott
Aw, thank you so much for the kind words, Michael. It means more than you know!
Grand
Is it safe to consume cashews raw?
PetraScott
Most so-called “raw cashews” sold in grocery stores are not exactly raw, but instead are steamed to neutralize the toxic cashew shell oil. There are a few brands that do sell truly raw cashews though (for example: nutritionrefined.com/raw-cashews). Raw cashews are processed with extreme cold to freeze and stabilize the oil in the shell. Then the cashew shell is hand sliced and opened using a special knife. This keeps the toxic oil off the nut. Finally, the cashews are slowly sun dried and completely safe to eat.
Mona
Where you get nutritional yeast?
PetraScott
Hi Mona - I either buy it in a local bulk store or get it on Amazon. This is the brand I get: https://nutritionrefined.com/nutritional-yeast (please, note that it's an affiliate link).
Janet Paula
Before making the above recipe, I wanted to know whether the cashews are soaked first. Thanks.
PetraScott
Hi Janet - no. If you want to soak the cashews for easier digestion, be sure to dehydrate them afterwards. You need the cashews to be completely dry. Let me know if you have any questions 🙂
Anessea
Hey can you do a recipe for mozarella and cream cheese please
PetraScott
Hi Anessea - thank you for the suggestions! I will definitely put these recipes on my list. I am working on a cream cheese recipe right now, so hopefully I will post that one soon! 🙂
Jimena
Hi! I just got here through foodgawker . com. I am not vegetarian nor vegan but I like trying new things every now and then... and this was one of them.
I made it yesterday and it was AMAZING!!! I got to put my cheese flavored nutritional yeast -which as a stand-alone ingredient for pasta, works good- to good use. Altogether combined (I used: granulated garlic, cheese flavored nutritional yeast., sea salt, black pepper and cashews) is fantastic.
Thank you for sharing,
PetraScott
Yay! So happy you enjoyed the recipe, Jimena! Hopefully you'll find some more recipes you will enjoy on my blog 🙂
Geraldine
Thanks for an amazing blog. Love the recipes and videos.
When will you bring out the recipe book and if you do please
add the videos with for easy follow and enjoyment.
PetraScott
Hi Geraldine! Thank you so much for the kind words ❤ I thought I would have the cookbook done by the end of December, but now I'm hoping for the end of January. I have to stop being a perfectionist and just get it out!! Yes, links to videos are already added 🙂
Geraldine
Will the cookbook be in hardcover and if what about adding a dvd with the
book for easy handling. Something different. I love your tutorial videos
and the input that Tanner gives. Always nice to have someones positive input.
PetraScott
The cookbook will be in an electronic format (a pdf with links to video files). I might do a hard cover in the future. For now, I just wanted to get the cookbook out and an electronic book was the easiest way to do that. Let me know if you have any more questions, Geraldine. So happy you like the videos 🙂
Faye
Allergic to yeast. Is there a substitute? I might have to use goat cheese. I have a food sensitivity to dairy.
PetraScott
Hi Faye - unfortunately, I can't think of a good substitute for nutritional yeast. The nutritional yeast is what gives the Parm its "cheesy" flavor. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
Satie
Discovered your channel yesterday on youtube and watched some videos...loved what ive seen so far. Im out of nutritional yeast so im on a mission now to get some and try out this recipe!! Will rate it once i try it.
PetraScott
Welcome to Nutrition Refined, Satie! Hope you enjoy the recipes 🙂
Victoria
Thank you for the recipe. Can the cashew nuts be a little bit roasted before putting in a food processor. Thank you.
PetraScott
Hi Victoria - yes, I think it will be just fine with roasted cashews 🙂
Al Ra
what other nuts or seeds can replace cashews? They are crazy expensive where i live
PetraScott
A lot of options - the best would be blanched almonds. Sometimes I mix in some walnuts which give the Parm a buttery flavor. Sunflower seeds are also an option, and probably the cheapest.
jessica scallan
I only have instant yeast here at my house. Do you think it's necessary that I get the nutritional yeast or could I just use this?
PetraScott
Hi Jessica - unfortunately, regular (baking or brewer's yeast) is a completely different strain of fungi and won't give you that cheesy flavor nutritional yeast will. So, I would definitely recommend getting nutritional yeast for this recipe.
Rocío
Delicious!! I can't get enough of it every time I make it, it goes perfect on top of pasta or veggies, love it!! Thank you for your healthy tasty recipes!
Lots of love!
PetraScott
So happy you like the recipe, Rocio! Thank you so much for the feedback and rating!❤️
Elcy
Just tried this using pine nuts instead of cashews to avoid lectins. I haven't used it on anything yet, but the taste test was pretty good, although not very cheesy. Thanks for this recipe!
PetraScott
Thank you Elcy! I really appreciate the feedback!