This is a great go-to recipe when your meal just needs that cheesy something sprinkled on top. Made with just 5 ingredients and no saturated fats, this is a super healthy alternative to not only traditional dairy Parmesan, but also to many of the other Vegan Parmesan products that are out there.
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- Cashews - Rich in fibre, Heart-Healthy Fats, and Plant Protein. They're also a good source of Copper, Magnesium, and Manganese — nutrients important for energy production, brain health, immunity, and bone health. They are also a source of numerous other essential Vitamins and Minerals, including Protein, Iron, Zinc and Magnesium. They also help to lower LDL cholesterol levels. They're inexpensive when bought in larger quantities (we buy 1kg for £8-£10 depending on special offers or what place we get them from). We like to go to local Health Food stores to get them but they're easily bought online with a quick Google.
- Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Salt - All easily accessible ingredients typically found alongside all other herbs and spices.
- Nutritional Yeast - A favourite among Vegans for giving a cheesy taste food. We also use it in our Cashew Mac & Cheese. I've found that most Supermarkets stock this, and it can be found in almost every health food store. It's usually fortified with Vitamin B12 as well which is a bonus.
Equipment
- Mini food processor (or if you only have a regular sized one, double or triple the recipe).
How to Make it
- Put all of the ingredients into a food processer and blitz until you have a fine crumb.
Storage
You can keep this in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 4 weeks. Alternatively keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.
Serving Suggestions
This is a kitchen staple in our house and an ingredient for us in many of our dishes, including our Coconut Curry Pasta. It's also a delicious topping for most pasta dishes and a nice addition to any risotto, pizza or a salad. We always have a small bowl of this out on the table when eating pizza and pasta.
FAQ's
You can keep this in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 4 weeks.
This one unfortunately doesn't, as it has no meltable ingredients in it. There are Vegan Parmesan products available to buy that will melt, Such as the Prosociano Wedge from Violife.
We personally haven't tried making it with any other nuts yet, but you can try swapping out the Cashews for Macadamias if you like. I'm fairly sure that this will work well, as Cashews and Macadamias are the two most commonly used nuts for Vegan Cheeses. Please let us know how you get on, in the comments section below, if you try this.
Although theoretically this would be ok (from a food safety point of view) we wouldn't recommend it as the texture would soften when defrosted.
Recipe
Vegan Parmesan Recipe
Equipment
- Mini Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cashews
- ⅓ cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
Instructions
- Put all of your ingredients into a small food processor and blitz until you have a fine crumb .1 cup Cashews, ⅓ cup Nutritional Yeast, 1 teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder, ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
Sara says
Simple to make and really tasty. Really handy to have in the kitchen and we use it regularly.