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Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese

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This Vegan Parmesan is excellent for sprinkling on top of your pasta or pizza. Nutty, cheesy, and super easy to make. And, so close to parmesan cheese your friends may never notice.

Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese


I love covering my food in sauces and toppings. One of my “pre” plant-based favorites was spaghetti covered in grated parmesan. But, deciding to ditch the dairy put an end to that and I’m not gonna lie, there was a brief period of grieving. Well, that was the past and all is right in the world once more. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to make Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “cashews are wonderful little things.” There’s so much you can do with them and one of my favorites is to make cheeses and creams. My Game Day Cheese Dip and Cashew Sour Cream are perfect examples.

Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese


You only need 4 ingredients and less than 10 minutes of your time for this recipe. And, you thought this whole “plant-based, eating healthy” thing was going to be hard. Shame on you…

Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese


What makes this wonderful little topping so “cheesy”? NUTRITIONAL YEAST!  If you’re not familiar with it, now is a perfect time. It will change your life! This stuff is packed with B-vitamins, is full of nutrients and super cheesy.

Beyond the cashews and nutritional yeast, it’s just a little Italian seasoning and salt and you’re good to go!

Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese


Why do I think you’ll love this Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese? Because it’s delicious, savory, super simple to make and CHEESY!

Sprinkle this stuff on top of your spaghetti, veggie pizza, or better yet, my Easy Vegan Lasagna Rolls with Tofu Ricotta. Pretty amazing!

Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese


Be sure and let me know if you make this! Leave a comment; take a picture; post it on Instagram; tag the photo #shaneandsimple; because I want to see your dish. Peace and feast!

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Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese

Plant Based Parmesan Cheese


★★★★★

4.9 from 13 reviews

  • Author: Shane Martin
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cup 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

A simple plant-based parmesan cheese made with raw cashews or almonds, nutritional yeast, a little Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt. It’s great on top of pastas, pizza, veggies and anything else you can think of.


Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of raw cashews (or raw almonds)
  • ½ cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and mix, pulse, mix, pulse until it’s fairly fine and looks like parmesan. If you do want it “chunkier”, blend a little less.

Equipment

Cuisinart Food Processor

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Nutritional Yeast

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Notes

*If cashews aren’t your thing, try raw almonds, brazil nuts or even walnuts. Feel the freedom to experiment. *Feel free to adjust the flavors as you go. If you want a more “cheesy” flavor, add a little more nutritional yeast, etc. It’s your world, do what you want! *You can store this in the fridge in an airtight container for a few weeks.

  • Method: Blender
  • Cuisine: Vegan

Keywords: vegan parmesan, plant-based parmesan, parmesan cheese, vegan parmesan cheese, raw vegan

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @shaneandsimplecooking on Instagram and hashtag it #shaneandsimple

Plant-Based Parmesan Cheese
Previous Post: « How To Make Cashew Sour Cream
Next Post: Becoming A Plant-Based Family »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michael

    February 26, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    Great idea and tasty!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Roger Whight

    September 02, 2018 at 8:32 pm

    This is absolutely delicious. So popular in my house that as soon as one batch is finished, I make another.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      September 02, 2018 at 9:18 pm

      Haha! Thanks, Roger. I know exactly what you mean. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Barbara Wrigley

    January 18, 2019 at 7:13 am

    Hi Shane, I think your recipes are fantastic. Thankyou for sharing with us. I live in the UK so best wishes from a cold winter day.

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      January 18, 2019 at 8:36 am

      Thank you, Barbara! I hope to get to the UK soon. One of my favorite places. Blessings!

      Reply
  4. Suzie

    August 06, 2019 at 4:05 pm

    I cannot thank you enough for your recipes, they taste good and are really so simple. I love you encourage us to change it to fit our taste. (I would do it anyway, but it’s good to know you don’t get offended)

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      August 06, 2019 at 8:34 pm

      LOL! Suzie, I love this message. It encourages me so much. First, I’m thankful and honored you love the recipes. But, I’m even more excited you make things fit to your liking. That’s what it’s all about. And, really…us food bloggers are just taking things we like and making it our own. We should be encouraging others to do the same. Peace and blessings.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
  5. S Moran

    December 31, 2019 at 8:51 am

    OK we are brand new to plant based. A new venture for 2020. Parmesan (or lack of) was going to be my challenge, as it was my low fat – go to for everything. I’m encouraged to find your recipe. Hoping the fat content isn’t too high. Looks easy enough tho! Thanks

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      December 31, 2019 at 10:49 am

      Thank you and hope you enjoy it. Happy New Year!

      Reply
  6. Rebekah Jones

    February 20, 2020 at 1:01 pm

    Hi Shane! Love, love, love your recipes! Is there something I could use to replace nutritional yeast. I don’t REALLY don’t like it! Thanks! Rebekah

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      February 21, 2020 at 3:49 pm

      Hi, Rebekah! And, thank you so much. Unfortunately, nutritional yeast doesn’t really have a substitute. You could try just grinding up the nuts with the spices. I know some people who have done that and really enjoy it.

      Reply
  7. Elizabeth

    February 29, 2020 at 5:24 pm

    Thanks! I looked up Anthony’s nutritional yeast from the picture (you link sends you to Bob’s Red mill). I was so excited to see that Anthony’s has an unfortified nutritional yeast!!

    The more I find out about my health issues, the smarter I need to be. Due to a relatively common genetic mutation, my body can’t process folic acid (synthetic); only methyl-folate (the active form). Neither can it process cyanocobalaman (B12), only methylcobalamon (the methylated form).

    Mine just came in and I am looking forward to trying it in this recipe and my tofu scramble. 🙂 I really missed parm!! Excited to try it.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      February 29, 2020 at 8:18 pm

      Ohhhh, thank you, Elizabeth for letting me know! And, I’m sorry to hear about your issue with B12. I hope you enjoy the recipe. Blessings.

      Reply
    • Colleen

      September 14, 2020 at 11:02 pm

      Elizabeth, thank you for this tip! I have the same mutation (I’m guessing). Can you please provide me with more info on this? My doc recently tested my levels and they were off the chart high – I’m guessing because of nutritional yeast! Do you have any info about this I can read? Thanks!

      Reply
  8. Nicole Willis

    April 05, 2020 at 12:36 pm

    Nailed it! Obviously, this doesn’t taste just like Parmesan…. but it is an excellent substitute. It is also the third version of this I have tried from different food blogs, and it is the best for my personal taste. The Italian seasoning really is a great addition. Thank you so much for keeping these delicious recipes so simple!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      April 06, 2020 at 6:41 pm

      Thank you, Nicole!

      Reply
  9. Julie

    April 12, 2020 at 5:36 pm

    This is so delicious! I made it today for your lasagna tonight. It is so good! Better than any other I’ve made. I now go first to your recipes when I want a guaranteed wonderful meal! Thanks

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      April 13, 2020 at 6:33 pm

      Wow, thanks, Julie! So glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  10. Barbara Martino

    April 13, 2020 at 12:12 pm

    Love everything about this recipe! The simplicity of preparation, the taste and versatility and……cashews! Need I say more?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      April 13, 2020 at 6:32 pm

      Thank you so much, Barbara! Blessings.

      Reply
  11. Emily

    April 24, 2020 at 7:49 pm

    Love this stuff – 2nd time we’ve made it – and my Hubby actually made it this time !

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      April 28, 2020 at 10:18 pm

      NICE.

      Reply
  12. Qweenie

    July 10, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    I made this today and sprinkled some of it on top of the pasta veggie dish I had for dinner. It tastes pretty good. I halved the recipe and still ended up with quite a bit. I was able to fill an 8 ounce maaon jar with an additional 2 spoonfuls left over. As for the time it took to whip this up, it literally took all of a few seconds…two to three pusles in my food processor.

    My only critique is that I found the amount of nooch (nutritional yeast) to be a bit much and I actuallly happen to like nooch, but I found that the nooch overpowered all of the other ingredients. So next time I will cut the amount of nooch in half and then add more, if necessary, based on my taste.

    All in all, this is a good recipe for vegan parmasean. 👍

    ★★★★

    Reply
  13. Mary

    July 10, 2020 at 10:14 pm

    Would this work in a blender? I don’t have a food processor. This is a problem for me with a lot of recipes.

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      July 11, 2020 at 9:19 am

      Yes, you can totally use a blender. Start slow and increase speed. And, you might have to stop occasionally and shake, but that’s normal.

      Reply
  14. Marge Teilhaber

    July 11, 2020 at 1:37 am

    Love this! I put a lot on a large bowl of a stew that I make frequently of DIY broth with tons of seasoning as the liquid for a grain pot cooked with spices (oat groats), beans cooked with spices (black-eyed peas), caramelized onions & mushrooms, and garlic. But still it needs SOMETHING. Sometimes I mix in a few tablespoons of dijon mustard or Trader Joe aioli, But tonight was Shane’s vegan parm and it is GOOOOOOOOD! Pretty sure that I’m fuller due to the nuts. The only tweak was 1/4t salt. I have a no-salt italian seasoning and maybe I’ll up that next time. Love it, Shane!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      July 11, 2020 at 9:22 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  15. Maryo

    September 06, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    I made this tonight for the first time. I am not vegan but it tastes delicious to me. Not exactly Parmesan but just as good. My vegan son loved it I can tell I will be making this many times. Instead of straight nutritional yeast on vegan spaghetti we will use this instead.. Wish I would have found this recipe sooner! Thank you Shane. You have so many delicious recipes.

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      September 06, 2020 at 8:06 pm

      Thank you, Maryo!

      Reply
  16. Colleen

    October 27, 2020 at 2:39 pm

    Love this! It’s delicious, and so easy to make. Can’t wait to try it on your Mac and cheese! I’m allergic to nuts, so I used raw sunflower seeds. It worked great. I made a large batch and put it in a Ball jar in the fridge. Do you think if will last for 4 weeks? I’d like to use it on some of my Thanksgiving recipes.

    Reply
    • Emily

      November 09, 2020 at 11:46 am

      Hey Colleen, I make a batch about once a month or so since it’s just Hubby and I, and it still tastes amazing! Just make sure to keep it in the fridge with a proper lid that seals. Since I used up all my regular (actual) parmesan cheese before going fully plant based, I found out that making a batch and a 1/2 will fill the 8 oz shaker that had the actual parm cheese in it and last a nice long time.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
  17. Rebecca E Davidson

    November 25, 2020 at 7:02 pm

    Hi Shane! Made this to go with the spinach & artichoke dip today! Huge hit in my home!

    What nutritional yeast do you recommend for great flavor? I haven’t really found one I like a whole bunch yet, thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Shane Martin

      November 26, 2020 at 10:52 am

      THAT IS AWESOME!!! Thank you for taking the time to reach out. It means so much!

      Reply

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