Easy, 4-ingredient vegan parmesan cheese! Made in minutes with either cashews or hemp hearts, it is a healthy and delicious option for pasta, soups, pizza, popcorn, salads, and so much more.
This dairy-free parmesan cheese is so darn good. And easy. And fast. And all-around fabulous! Even dire-hard cheese lovers will find it hard to resist.
It’s just that good.
You only need 4 ingredients and a few minutes to make it.
You can make the cheese with either raw cashews or hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds). Hemp hearts are an ideal option for anyone with tree nut allergies. They have a mild to neutral flavor (close to pine nuts) and also happen to be packed with nutrition. Use what works for you!
Simply place all of the ingredients (nutritional yeast lends cheese-y flavor, and onion powder delivers extra umami goodness) in a food processor or clean coffee grinder:
And then blend away until the pieces look like fine bread crumbs or almond meal:
That’s it! This magical topping is perfect for sprinkling on all kinds of foods, including pasta, casseroles, soups, popcorn, breads, pizza and whatever else you think needs a shake of yum.
It keeps for weeks in the refrigerator and months in the freezer. It rarely lasts that long at our house, though :).
Happy eating!
Vegan Parmesan Cheese (made with cashews or hemp hearts)
- Prep Time: 5
- Total Time: 5
- Yield: 3/4 cup 1x
Description
Easy, 4-ingredient vegan parmesan cheese! Made in minutes with either cashews or hemp hearts, it is a healthy and delicious option for pasta, soups, pizza, popcorn, salads, and so much more.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup raw cashews OR 2/3 cup hemp hearts
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (more or less, as desired)
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in a small food processor or clean coffee grinder. Process until finely ground into what resembles fine bread crumbs or almond meal.
- Use as you would traditional Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 weeks, the refrigerator for 2 months, or the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Calories: 51
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 48.5 mg
- Fat: 3.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.6 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Make this all the time, thank you for a great recipe. The onion powder is key. I made some without it (I was out) and it was not the same, went to the store to get more and added it in.
This is a great recipe, Camilla, thank you. I made it with macadamia nuts, it is fantastic. Love it on tomato soup.
So good! making this for years. My food processor broke so I used 3/4 cup blanched almond meal. It works great, too, and no processing required, simply stir it.
This is the best vegan parmesan cheese recipe, thanks, my family loves it.
Thanks so much for the hemp heart option, my kids cannot eat tree nuts! Just bought some, will try this asap!