How To Make Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Oh my goodness we my daughter and I just made this and it is awesome!! We taste tested it with the store bought vegan Parmesan cheese and we both agreed it is so much tastier. Guess I will be saving some money by making my own from now on. Thanks so much!

I made this with raw pumpkin seeds which I dry roasted myself and it came out great! I used a little less of the pumpkin seeds, about 1/2 a cup. I made it with Pumpkin seeds because of sensitivity to Cashews and Almonds. Thank you Dana for the inspiration.

Easy peasy. Love this.

Wow! Simply amazing. Even my non-vegan family likes it!

I made this last night and learned that it’s not helpful to soak the cashews as I normally do in water for a few hours. They went in wet to my food processor and the result was a gummy mess. It still tastes great but doesn’t have the consistency or texture of Parmesan cheese. I’m not giving up though! I’ll try this once more with dry cashews.

Absolutely fantastic!!! Thanks for sharing!!

OMG don’t soak the cashews first :(

I was making a bunch of cashew recipes and most of them say to soak them, so I have cheesy cashew butter :(

But the flavor is excellent! I can’t wait to try this again without soaking them lol.

I didn’t have garlic powder so I substituted both the salt and the powder for a tbs of garlic salt, still delicious.

Just made this again. So tasty, so easy, so great to just have around. Better than the “original.”

I made this tonight and it was sooo easy and sooo delicious! My husband and 6 year old sprinkled it on everything (veggies and pasta) and we all agreed it tastes better than real parmesean. Thank you for the recipe!

This is amazing. Has a perfect texture and the flavor is incredible! Great recipe.

Absolutely perfect! A delicious substitute that I’ve made over and over again. Thanks for sharing, it’s SO GOOD!

I put this on popcorn. AMAZING.

I was a little skeptical but decided to give this recipe a try as we use Parmesan often in our cooking – not hearth healthy, I know. I tastes amazing, not the same as the real deal but I totally see myself using it in my cooking on a regular basis.

So happy we discovered this! My husband and I love this and put it on/in EVERYTHING! Perfect topping for pizza, salad, soups…literally I would love to just eat this with a spoon. Thanks for the recipe. I did sub a clove of finely chopped garlic for the garlic powder because that’s what I tend to have on hand.

Thank you Dana this is delicious!! We always keep it on hand now. I also use it to make my 2 year old daughter’s vegan mac&cheese. We blend 2 Tbsps of it with 2 Tbsp EV Olive Oil + 1/4 cup unsweetened organic soy milk + tumeric (for color and health). She would eat it everyday if I let her.

I substituted almond meal as i did not have the proper equiptment

I used a touch less nutritional yeast as I hate the stuff normaally but it tasted fine in the meal. I also added a couple of drops of lemon juice.

Both vegans and non vegans agreed it was good.

Boiling spaghetti as i write this.

Your recipe Dana was perfect as is, as always. I wanted to experiment a little and, added half cashews and half almonds. It was so, so GOOD!!!!!

Your recipe Dana is perfect as always. However, I experimented a little. I added half cashews and half almonds. It was so tasty!!!!! Thank you again for another perfect recipe..Love Parmesan xoxo

I substituted the cashews hews for pine nuts (allergies) and it worked so well. Doubled the garlic powder and used onion salt instead of plain salt. Beautiful and will be used regularly in to kitchen!

Maybe because I’ve only recently given up dairy, but this didn’t really taste like Parmesan cheese to me. Having said that, it was delicious in its’ own right (I caught myself eating some by itself by the spoonful). And talk about easy! Less than five minutes, start to finish, including measuring the ingredients and dragging out my mini-prep processor from the cabinet. This is a keeper.

Delicious ? Doesn’t taste like Parmesan cheese but so so do tasty

I have made this so many times but I wanted it a little different this time to more easily get omega 3s. This time I subbed walnuts in an exchange for cashews and it was a delight. I loved it! I can’t say that is as delicious as the cashews but it still tuned out really good tasting in my opinion.

I love this recipe and make it weekly. My husband loves it and puts in on everything! Thanks for the Delicious!

I was surprised at how well this worked! Thanks!

OMG I would have never believed this could taste like Parmesan but it actually does!!! I used half slivered almost nds half cashews as she thought cashews alone would be sweet. AMAZING. thank you so much for sharing!!

Oh my word, this is just a game changer!!!

Thank you for sharing! I am newly vegan and made this to go with my mushroom risotto, delicious!

I usually have a batch of this in the fridge as it’s a staple for me. I love it. I have discovered a new way I like even more. I add a fresh clove of garlic (or two) with or without the garlic powder. Then you get these cheesy/garlicky clumps in your pasta and it is to die for. Thanks for this fabulous recipe!!

Made this and it was lovely. My 9 year old loved it as well and he’s picky.

I LOVE this vegan parmesan. Not exactly like real parm of course, but adds that extra taste I was missing! Flavorful and totally addictive!
Thanks so much!!

I love this stuff so much, I could eat it by the spoon full. Great on cauliflower pizza, pasta dishes, even mixed into a bowl of leftover quinoa or brown rice for a quick little snack!

This is AMAZING!!!! I’m mak meatless meatballs!!!! Thank you Dana!!! My amazing lifesaver!!!!

Super-picky family loved this. One vegan kid, one “regular” kid, and two gluten-free/dairy-free people gave it the thumbs up! Yay! I haven’t had too many “wins” yet with this new way of eating.

This is amazing! Perfect balance. Everyone loves it!

I was really missing parmesan cheese after making a diet change. This recipe is excellent. I first tried on plain ole spaghetti and sauce, and it was quite satisfying. It added a nice texture and put back that savory added taste I was missing after cutting out real cheese. I then made a cheese-less pizza. Bought some dough at the Italian grocery store, added some sauce, sautéed onions and garlic, oregano, pepper, olive oil, chopped up sardines (no added salt in spring water), and then the vegan “cheese” from your recipe. Came out really nice. I did not miss the mozzarella cheese too much. Didn’t burn the roof of my mouth either! Thank you for the great recipe.

Hey, y’all! I just found this blog and recipe. Not sure if anyone has already related this but in case they haven’t, for all the ALMOND users, you’re doing too much work….just use the almond meal already processed and you won’t risk over-processing the almonds (or any other nut for that matter when you purchase that particular nut in a “meal” or “flour” grade). It works great.

Great blog! Thanks!

I was making some pasta and remembered reading this (have recently discovered your blog!) and thought “well – why not throw it together”… and that’s all it took and the whole family is hooked! It’s so incredibly quick and easy (and rather guilt-free since – it’s so healthy). We’ve been pushed down the road to more and more vegan eating by our kid’s deadly allergy to milk… so this is amazing. Totally satisfies the other kid and our old cravings. Very yummy!

This “Parmesan” has become a staple in our house. It is utterly delicious and I find myself sprinkling it on just about every savory food! Nutritional yeast offers numerous health benefits so for those of you who are asking about omitting it from the recipe, it is worth tracking it down for that reason, in addition to the flavor it adds.

I made three batches of this before i finally settled on a combination i felt comfortable with. I used ‘NOW’ brand de-bittered brewers yeast and with 3Tbsp the ‘cheese’ was very bitter. I was worried about making my famous chicken parm (all the work of making my homemade tomato sauce) and having a strange bitter aftertaste. *BLEH* – so i tried dropping it down to 2 Tbsp — a little better. Still there was that bitter aftertaste. And then i dropped it to 1 Tbsp, and while it’s def milder and less cheesy at least it’s not extremely bitter.

I also upped the garlic and salt by about 1/8 tsp.

I may wind up skipping the ‘parm’ in my chicken parm — i’m going to try it both ways, i’m just not sure this ‘cheese’ will add the proper flavor quality. I’m still worried about it tasting bitter. And without the yeast it’s just nuts and garlic *rolling eyes*

I’m making the sun-dried tomato and basil pinwheels, definitely going out on a limb (making for an omnivore crowd, and I’ve only been a vegan for 3 weeks). This vegan parm was a culinary adventure for me, and I have to say, it’s yummy! It has a rich, savory flavor with a softly crunchy melty (in the way hard cheeses melt) mouthfeel. I was the manager of the cheese department in a grocery store for 3 years, so I know my cheese. This would not pass for parm (it lacks that sour milk odor and taste), but it is definitely delish as a vegan alternative! Can’t wait to taste the pinwheels, and to use this yummy cashew parm on, well, anything! Thanks for the recipe!! :)

This is my “go to” recipe for vegan parmesan and I love it, as do all of the non-vegans that I share it with. No need for any other recipe – this one hits the spot.

Just made this, it is delicious and so simple! Made it in my vitamix!

Literally just made this and so I haven’t used it on anything, but I taste tested it and I am dying! It is AMAZING!! When I was told I should go dairy free, my biggest frustration was losing out on cheesy deliciousness. This recipe may have just rocked my world! Thanks!

Just made this and can’t believe how yummy it is! I’ve made some cashew Brie recently and had a strong taste of cashew but this tastes just like Parmesan. Thank you

I can’t stop eating it! So good.
I made one adjustment: added one extra tbspoon nutritional yeast.

Great recipe! My kids loved it. Thank you :)

Just made this.

Not exactly sure how I’m supposed not to eat the whole thing in one go. It’s just divine.

Delish!

I made this the first time exactly as written and it was marvelous. A great topping to have on hand and so easy to make. I just made it again, using walnuts instead of cashews, and I really like it this way, too! Not sure if I can choose :-) Thank you for the recipe.

Trying so hard to give up dairy and I have just made this Parmesan substitute following the recipe to the letter. I can hardly believe it. It is excellent! Though nothing compares with the real thing I am very happy with this and look forward to making it again using other nut types. When I bought the ingredients for this I also bought a ready made parmesan substitute which is nowhere near as good as this. Thank you Minimalist Baker.

Okay, I’ve had enough time to recover and feel I MUST share my thoughts…THIS IS, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE BEST VEGAN PARMESAN CHEESE I’VE EVER TASTED! I couldn’t stop tasting it…over and over and over. I am so grateful to you for sharing this with us, thank you.

OH MY GOD!!! The only thing I´ve been missing since becoming a vegan was parmesan. Well, not anymore. This recipe is mind-blowing, the vegan version tastes as good as the real thing. Even my mom, who is not vegan, mistook it for actual parmesan. Thank you so, so much!!!

I think I pulsed this too long.. it become very mushy. It also tastes like cheese whiz? I’ll try another batch soon and report back!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! We just found your site and are relatively new to the vegan scene. I’m so glad we found you!!! Thank you Dana, for making recipes that actually TASTE like they sound! Well done…

Great!

I have been playing with vegan nut based cheese recipes and have had good results. Several posters have inquired about a substitute for the nutritional yeast. I have had concerns about the glutamic acid in nutritional yeast and try to minimize using it. I have had success using 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika. My wife and I love your site. Thank you for being here!

This was so easy and delicious!! I found it a teeny bit too salty, so I’ll use less salt less time. But it was so so good. I can see myself adding this on so many things that I eat. Thanks for sharing this recipe!