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Vegan Cashew Parmesan (3 ingredients only!)

Vegan Cashew Parmesan is one of the super-easy-to-make homemade staples. You’ll only need three ingredients! Make some vegan Parmesan now because it’s perfect for pasta, pizza, risotto and so much more! It keeps for a long time.

Vegan Parmesan
Some people make vegan parmesan with almonds or nut mixes, but I use simply raw cashews. I like it that way the most. It’s a super basic recipe, which does not even require to heat up the oven/stovetop.

It is so simple, you’ve got no excuses NOT to try it.

I always, always, always have a batch of homemade vegan parmesan in my pantry, because I love to sprinkle it over risotto, spaghetti, lasagna or really any pasta dish. I’ve added my favorite recipes to sprinkle cashew parmesan on at the end of the post!

The Ingredients for Vegan Parmesan

You’ll need:

  • cashews (raw, unsalted, unroasted)
  • nutritional yeast flakes (adds a cheesy flavor! Nutritional yeast is deactivated yeast and can be bought in the form of powder or flakes – not to confuse with regular yeast for baking!)
  • salt

Vegan Parmesan

How to make Vegan Parmesan

Making vegan Parmesan couldn’t be easier.

Making Vegan Cashew Parmesan in a food processor
Toss all the ingredients in your food processor …

Making vegan Cashew Parmesan in a food processor
… and pulse until fine. Tada!

Vegan Parmesan

Use immediately over pasta, pizza, risotto etc. or store it in an airtight container at room temperature for months!

How to store Vegan Cashew Parmesan

If you’re using raw cashews, nutritional yeast, and salt to make the cashew parmesan (like in this recipe), you can keep the vegan Cashew Parmesan in an airtight jar (I love Weck jars!) at room temperature for months. I’ve actually never had cashew parmesan turn bad.

Vegan Parmesan

I love Weck jars for storing Cashew Parmesan!

The Alternative: Almond Parmesan

If you’re more into almonds, also check out my Almigiano (Vegan Almond Parmesan) recipe. It’s just as easy to make and it’s great if want to change things up!

Sprinkle the vegan parmesan over…

I hope you will enjoy this parmesan as much as I do! Let me know if you give it a try!

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Cheers, Bianca

Vegan Parmesan

Vegan Cashew Parmesan

Elephantastic Vegan
Vegan Parmesan is one of the super-easy-to-make homemade staples. You'll only need three ingredients! Make some vegan Parmesan now because it's perfect for pasta, pizza, risotto and so much more! It keeps for a long time.
3.84 from 25 votes
Prep Time 2 minutes
Total Time 2 minutes
Course Basics
Cuisine Vegan
Servings 1 cup
Calories 769 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until fine.
  • And it's ready to use! Sprinkle it over pasta, risotto, pizza, etc.!

Notes

Storage: It is best to store the vegan parmesan in an airtight container, it will last a long time this way. I've never had any problems with it going bad or something like that!

Nutrition

Calories: 769kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 31gFat: 57gSaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 1178mgPotassium: 1151mgFiber: 8gSugar: 7gCalcium: 48mgIron: 9.5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @elephantasticvegan or tag #elephantasticvegan!

This post was first published on September 2, 2014. Updated on September 7, 2018.

Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn referral fees if you make a purchase through my link. While clicking these links won't cost you any extra money, they will help me keep this site up and running!
Recipe Rating




Ria

Wednesday 6th of February 2019

Delicious, thank you.

Karen

Friday 29th of June 2018

I just made this. I'm new to plant based eating and was just using nutritional yeast in place of parmesan. Really felt like I was missing out while the rest of my family enjoyed the real thig. Not anymore. This recipe is simple and right on the mark. Thank you for sharing!

Bianca

Saturday 30th of June 2018

So glad you like the parmesan, Karen! I can't get enough of it! I still sprinkle it over pretty much anything :D

Vicki Lapp

Wednesday 13th of June 2018

It's great to see the nutrition facts. Can you say what the portion is that the Nutrition Facts represent? Thanks!

Bianca

Monday 18th of June 2018

In this case, the nutrition facts are for the whole cup of parmesan. :)

Alex

Thursday 19th of May 2016

Hi, I'm allergic to yeast, just found out, so not sure if nutritional yeast is ok or not, will recipe work without it? Thank you!

Bianca

Thursday 19th of May 2016

I was researching a bit if nutritional yeast is ok when being allergic to yeast but unfortunately wasn't able to find a clear answer. The nutritional yeast gives the vegan parmesan all the cheesy flavor, so it will be more like a nut sprinkle than a vegan parmesan sprinkle, but it's still good :) I've had store-bought vegan parmesan not too long ago and it consisted mostly of soy flour, so you could add a bit of soy flour to the nuts, it might give it a cheesy flavor you like :)

Melanie Hicks

Monday 8th of February 2016

should it be refrigerated ? mine came out kind clumpy I guess from the oil in the nuts... thank you for the yummy recipe..☺️

Bianca

Tuesday 9th of February 2016

Hi Melanie, that's weird.. it never turned out clumpy for me. Maybe you processed it too long? Usually I takes quite a while until the nuts release the oil.. I don't refrigerate the vegan parmesan.. I keep it in my pantry for weeks and months and never had problem with it going bad :)