Vegan parmesan cheese with cashews

When I first started making vegan parm, I’d always use walnuts for the nuts. But over the years, I moved to raw cashews and hemp hearts instead.

Their flavors are more neutral and creamy, which really lets the other ingredients shine.

It’s delicious on pasta dishes or sprinkled over a hot slice of ‘za. It adds cheesy flavor and flaky texture.

In this post:

Here are the simple ingredients you will need for this cashew parmesan cheese recipe.

Raw cashews: Raw cashews have a mild, neutral flavor. They add fat & creaminess without taking over. 

If you can’t find raw cashews, they can be replaced with roasted cashews.

Hemp hearts: Hemp hearts are the tender inner morsels in hemp seeds. They also have a pleasant neutral flavor that lets the nutritional yeast shine.

Find them in the center aisles of the grocery store by the seeds and nuts.

Nutritional yeast flakes: This is what gives the vegan parmesan its cheesy flavor.

Nutritional yeast, also known as nooch, is an inactive yeast with a nutty flavor. (Do NOT use brewer’s yeast or active dry yeast.)

It’s sold in the center aisles of the grocery store, often near the spices or flour. It’s sometimes available in bulk bins. I buy it at Trader Joe’s.

(Read more about nutritional yeast flakes in this post, What is nutritional yeast?)

Salt: A little salt makes all of the flavors pop.

Seasonings: Dried herbs and seasonings add a burst of flavor that works well with the Italian-style dishes typically served with a sprinkle of parmesan.

This recipe includes dried basil, dried oregano, granulated onion, and granulated garlic.

Here’s how to make the recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts and instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Put the following in a food processor:

• Raw cashews
• Hemp hearts
• Nutritional yeast flakes 
• Salt
• Dried basil
• Dried oregano
• Granulated onion
• Granulated garlic

Turn the food processor to low.

Process for 10 to 20 seconds, or until the cashews have been ground into tiny granules.

Don’t blend too long. It will get clumpy if the cashews turn into cashew butter.

You can easily make this recipe your own by varying the ingredients or making some simple substitutions.

Replace the raw cashews or hemp hearts

You can either make this recipe entirely with raw cashews OR hemp hearts. 

Or you can replace either one or both with walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, or pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds).

To make this recipe nut free, use hemp hearts, sunflower seeds, and/or pepitas. In total, you’ll need ½ cup of the seeds of your choice.

Omit or replace the seasonings

If you don’t want additional seasonings & spices, simply leave any or all of them out.

Or replace all of them with 1 teaspoon of your favorite Italian spice blend.

I do NOT recommend making this recipe without nutritional yeast flakes. It’s the dominant flavor and main source of cheesiness.

Change the grinding method

Instead of processing the ingredients with a food processor, use a clean spice or coffee grinder.

Since coffee grinders are small, I recommend grinding the raw cashews and hemp hearts separately.

Then combine them in a bowl with the spices. 

Cashew parm is great anywhere you’d use standard non-vegan parmesan.

• Sprinkle it on pasta with marinara, air fryer lasagna, or roasted gnocchi.
• Use it as a seasoning on air fryer radishes or roasted fennel.
• Add several dashes to a slice of pizza or pizza bagels.
• Use it in the breading of eggplant parmesan. (It’s great with noodles or in an eggplant parmesan sandwich.)
• Add a spoonful to cilantro basil pesto for extra cheesiness.
• Add a sprinkling to veggies like air fryer asparagus or air fryer spaghetti squash.
• Use it as a finishing salt on popcorn.
• Sprinkle a little on creamy vegan tomato soup just before serving.
• Give a jar of cashew parmesan as a vegan food gift along with local pasta and jarred marinara in a basket or colander.

To keep the ground raw cashews and hemp hearts fresh, store cashew parmesan in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. 

It will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. And the freezer will extend it even further (up to 3 months).

I like to store the vegan parmesan in a covered jar or shaker jar. That makes it easy to transport to the table.

Or if you’re freezing it, you can keep it in a sealed freezer bag instead.

Keep the vegan cheese love going with any of these homemade non-dairy cheeses.

• Tofu ricotta
• Vegan feta cheese
• Vegan chili cheese dip
• Jalapeño cashew cheese
• Vegan blue cheese dressing

📖 Recipe

Vegan parmesan cheese with cashews & hemp hearts

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 1 vote

Cheesy and flavorful vegan parmesan cheese is delicious on top of spaghetti, pizza, or anywhere you'd use non-vegan parmesan. It comes together in just minutes, thanks to the food processor.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 4 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute minute

Servings: 12 people

Course: Topping

Cuisine: Italian, Vegan

Keyword: parmesan alternative, vegan cheese

Ingredients

• ▢ ¼ cup raw cashews
• ▢ ¼ cup hemp hearts
• ▢ ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon granulated onion
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• ▢
  Put all of the ingredients into the food processor.
• ▢
  Process on low until the cashews have broken down into fine pieces.

  The time will vary depending on your food processor, but it takes mine about 10 to 20 seconds. Do not over blend.
• ▢
  Move vegan parmesan cheese into a covered jar or shaker container. Store it in the refrigerator (or freezer for longer storage).

Notes

Store in a covered container in the refrigerator or freezer. It will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. In the freezer it will last up to 3 months.

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Nutrition

Calories: 43kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 97mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 22IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg