Veggies Don't Bite

Cooking with plants and lovin' it...and ditching the gluten and {refined} sugar along the way!

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Grateable Vegan Parmesan Cheese

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Grateable Vegan Parmesan like you’ve never seen. 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to freshly grated Parmesan every night of the week!

Pile of grated vegan parmesan cheese in front of a grater

Vegan Parmesan after vegan Parmesan and then even more Parmesan. I had to add to the madness because when I accidentally made this version (after the invention of my vegan Cotija cheese), I had found a winner. There is nothing like a freshly grated Parmesan cheese and this vegan variety is no different!

The food police are not welcome!

I always find it funny when you get those people yelling at the internet upset that people call vegan varieties of cheese, cheese. They want you to spell it cheeze, or call it something else entirely. Last time I checked, on my blog and in my business I can actually call it what I want.

And guess what? If you look up the latest definition of cheese on the Merriam-Webster site (aren’t they like the inventor of the dictionary?), it actually has definition 2 that states “Something resembling cheese in shape or consistency.” Well that my friends is what I bring to you today.

Front view of wheel of vegan parmesan cheese on a piece of parchment paper

It’s legit vegan parmesan cheese!

Looks like a cheese wheel to me! And did you see that grated pile in the first photo? Yep, looks just like the dairy filled parmesan you see at the store. But how about flavor? Well, I have had several people eat it (some knew it was vegan and some, did not). But none, I repeat none, questioned it.

Parmesan is often mixed in, topped, crusted, coated…and for all of these things, this vegan variety is amazing. It gives you that creamy, salty and tangy flavor you’re looking for. I am not saying that if you eat it side by side with dairy filled parmesan you won’t be able to tell which is which, but I am saying that it is pretty darn close and it will definitely fill that void and then some 😉

Front view of triangles of vegan parmesan cheese piled on each other

I’ve never seen anything like it!

In my long search to see if anything similar was out there, I couldn’t find a single recipe that was like this, this simple and using only whole food easy to find ingredients. So excited to have discovered this fun new way to make an easy grateable Parmesan!

So if you’re reading this and want to include it in your own recipe, it would be great to refer others to my recipe instead of copying it and posting it elsewhere. Thanks for supporting recipe creativity!

More Cheesy Vegan Dishes You Might Like;

4.71 from 17 votes
Grated parmesan in a pile with a cheese grater behind it
Print
Grateable Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Prep Time
3 mins
Cook Time
2 mins
Total Time
5 mins
 
Grateable vegan Parmesan like you've never seen. 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to freshly grated Parmesan every night of the week!
Course: Topping
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: homemade parmesan, non dairy cheese, vegan cheese
Servings: 20
Calories: 35 kcal
Author: Sophia DeSantis
Ingredients
  • 1 cup raw cashews , do not soak
  • 2 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons distilled white vinegar (see note)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt , can use up to ¾ teaspoon
  • pinch ground mustard
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
  1. Place dry cashews in a food processor and blend until they are a fine crumble.

  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until incorporated. Stop here if you prefer not to grate this but simply use it in crumbled form.

  3. If you are shaping it into a wheel to grate, then you can keep blending until smooth. It should come together into a ball, almost soft and dough like.

  4. Shape into a wheel and refrigerate overnight. You can use plastic wrap to store it in or shape with your hands and store in an airtight container.

  5. It will be ready to grate in the morning, but if you can't wait keep checking for hardness every few hours!

  6. This also stores very well in the freezer if you know you won't use it all within 7 days.

Recipe Notes
  • Keep cheese cold in the fridge until ready to grate. It will soften and not grate well if left out. It also stores very well in the freezer for extended periods of time.
  • The white vinegar is what gives this recipe the sharpness and tanginess of Parmesan. If you sub it then you will not get the same flavor.
  • You can also just use this crumbled straight from the food processor or store crumbled in the fridge if you don’t want to grate it. If you simply store it crumbled, it will harden as crumbles in the fridge.
  • This makes 1 wheel about 5 inches by one inch, or a little over 1 ¼ cup grated. Serving size is 1 tablespoon.

 

Update: I have had a few readers add some miso and/or nutritional yeast to this for added sharpness and flavor. While I like it as is, and wanted to keep this a simple recipe with easy to find ingredients, if you have either of those give them a try if you want to change it up!

Nutrition Facts
Grateable Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Amount Per Serving
Calories 35 Calories from Fat 18
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 3%
Sodium 58mg 2%
Potassium 42mg 1%
Total Carbohydrates 1g 0%
Protein 1g 2%
Vitamin C 0.3%
Calcium 0.2%
Iron 2.4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you like this recipe, please consider rating it with the star rating system and leaving a comment below. I love hearing from you and seeing your awesome remakes! Find me on Instagram and tag me @veggiesdontbite and #veggiesdontbite, or you can also find me on Facebook, and Pinterest. Thanks for helping me spread the word about delicious food!

Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate. Please read more about that here.

This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For more information on this, please click here.

 

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Comments

  1. I’ve been making my own vegan cheese for a few years now, but I never made the hard versions of it. Plus I can’t eat Parmesan cheese due to my intolerance to lactose (and I’m Italian 😶). But seeing this recipe made my day, I’ll definetely try it during the Easter period.

    Btw, can I use apple cider vinegar or ume plum seadoning instead of white vinegar?

    Reply

    • Thanks Faith! I hope you enjoy this. The white vinegar is what give this it’s characteristic tang. So other vinegars can work but it won’t taste the same. Let me know if you try it!

      Reply

  2. This sounds great and I want to make it now but have no cashews, so am going to try the walnuts and brazil nuts I’ve had in the fridge that need to get used, hope they work! If it doesn’t hold together I still have crumbles!

    Reply

    • Thank you Daniel! It really is delicious. Roasted cashews have a different flavor than raw. The raw flavor isn’t pronounce like the roasted so you won’t get the same end result, and the other ingredients can’t be increased because you need very little liquid in order to get the right consistency. You can always give it a shot but make sure you know it will turn out different.

      Reply

  5. This recipe is amazing! I’ve never made my own Parmesan and only ever used the store bought ones, but I just didn’t think they were good enough to warrant buying. I’m so glad I tried your recipe!

    As always when making something for the first time I followed your recipe exactly and am just blown away with the flavour (I had to stop myself testing the crumble to finish it off, I can barely wait for it to firm up) I really think if following the recipe exactly people trying this won’t have an issue.

    I made a second batch with the addition of miso because I happened to have some and read your note about people trying that, I also enjoyed that flavour, but don’t think it’s necessary as the recipe is great as is.

    Thank you for sharing such a great recipe, and anyone making it for the first time, follow it exactly and you can’t go wrong. 10/10

    Reply

    • Wow, thank you so so much for your awesome review! I am so happy you liked it! I appreciate all the details and I know others will too. Thank you for being here!

      Reply

  6. Hello,

    This looks amazing but I am allergic to nuts. Can you recommend anything else I can sub the cashews for? Maybe dried beans of some sort? Thanks so much xx

    Reply

    • Hi Ashley! I’m so sorry to hear about the allergy. I wish that I could tell you that something else would make this just as good but it honestly won’t. The closest thing I can think of is using pumpkin or sunflower seeds. I am not sure of ratio, but start with the same. It definitely won’t taste as good but it’s something. I also don’t know if you’ll be able to make it grate-able so you may want to stop at the pulsed version. Let me know what you end up doing!

      Reply

  7. Love love love this! We’ve made what we call “cheesy powder” with ground up nuts (usually cashews), nooch, garlic powder and salt and used that as our parmesan substitute but this blows doors on that. My youngest asks for it for everything: rice, veggies, soup, you name it. I just love the taste and the mere action of the grating somehow adds to the (not to be too over the top) experience. Thank you!

    Reply

  8. This is terrific, and it really does grate wonderfully! I made it according to recipe the first time, and it was tasty, then I tweaked it according to other vegan parm recipes I make and I liked it even better. I used all lemon juice and added a clove of garlic and a half teaspoon of nutritional yeast. I love the grateability of this cheese — now I really feel like I’m not missing regular parmesan cheese at all. Many thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    • Hi Mark!

      I talk about this in the notes. White distilled vinegar has a sharp flavor that really contributes to the flavor of this. You could use apple cider vinegar but it won’t have as sharp or tangy of a flavor.

      Reply

  10. How would you freeze this? I’ve never froze anything. Also can I just roll in into some parchment paper & use twine to keep it covered. Nervous about new things here. 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Hannah! I just put it into a glass container and keep it in the freezer! If you cover the cheese with plastic wrap as well, it will help prevent freezer burn. But we use ours pretty quickly so no problem there. Parchment paper would work ok if you put it into plastic or glass. You don’t want it to dry out.

      Reply

  11. Just made this. I made the molded version and had to force myself to quit spooning this in my mouth. Seriously this is the Holy grail of vegan parms. THANK YOU!!!

    Reply

  12. I love this stuff!. I tried some before forming the wheel, and didn’t want to let it be overnight (just wanted to eat it all up)…but I did wait and it came out excellent; grated just fine. Just had some on pasta, and it’s fabulous!

    Reply

      • I’m going to keep some on hand as well. So easy to make. You are currently my go-to recipe site. There are several I like, but lately I come here first for ideas. WIsh I had more time to cook! Made your miso soup yesterday. Just wondering, will there be another cookbook? 🙂

      • Awe, thank you so much!! There is no other book at the moment. It was so much work, and currently I am really enjoying simply creating recipes for my blog, and I am getting back into working with brands to create recipes with their protects and sharing these favorites with my readers!

  13. I made this parmesan cheese and it looks beautiful and the taste is great, however, I find it a bit moist and wondered if anyone has tried to put it in a dehydrator for a few hours to dry it out and getting a more cheese like consistency?

    Reply

    • Hi Linda, Sophia’s on vacation at the moment until the 12th July. I’ll try and find out the answer for you in the meantime and get back to asap. Thank you!

      Reply

    • Hi Linda! Sorry it took a bit to get back to you, I am slowly getting back into my blog after being away. So the cheese should dry out a bit once put in the fridge overnight. It does soften if left out after a while though due to the natural ingredients and no fillers. I’d be very interested to see how it works if you try it in a dehydrator! Let me know!

      Reply

  14. My son has a cashew allergy and I cannot have them in the house. Is it possible to make this recipe using almonds? Have you tried it? Are there other nuts (besides cashews or pistachios) that work well in vegan cheese?

    Reply

  15. I made this fabulous parm for a baked ziti I made and wow it was fabulous. I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing out of the blender…see my tag on IG. Thanks for creating this luscious recipe. I think I’ll be putting the leftovers on everything this week ?.

    Reply

    • Hahaha!! Thank you so much Estee!! I’m so thrilled you love it as much as we do. I keep it stocked in the freeze in bulk because I can’t imagine not having it around when I need it at a moments notice. I am off to look at IG!! I unfortunately miss so many tags on there now!

      Reply

  16. Genius! I am so excited to try this. I typically make parm style crumbles with hemp seeds, walnuts and sesame seeds plus some nutritional yeast, miso , lemon zest and salt. I love the idea of yours shaping it into a wheel and grating it!

    Reply

    • Awesome!! You will love this, per some of the comments here you can see that others have added nutritional yeast and/or miso as well. I didn’t write the recipe using these ingredients because I wanted to keep it simple, but you can certainly add them. Hope you enjoy it!

      Reply

  17. Hello, This sounds intriguing. One thing I have just started to use in my dairy-free sour cream creations is lactic acid. I purchased Druids Grove lactic acid through Amazon (this is a vegan product). I still am experimenting so I cannot provide the best ratios but the tang it produces is more reminiscent of actual sour cream since that is the kind of acid that is produced naturally in sour cream and cheese. Sometimes using lemon juice and vinegar lend a tang that is not typical in dairy products so I was wanting to try something that will result in a more authentic tasting copy of the original item. The Druids Grove lactic acid is a powder so some water would have to be added to provide some moisture.
    JD

    Reply

    • Hi there! Yes, I have tried lactic acid before. It definitely has a nice tang! I do think though that lemon and vinegar (especially white distilled) give a great tang as well. I try and focus my blog recipes on using whole food ingredients anyone can find at a grocery store so this is why I don’t use things like lactic acid or other things that aren’t in the everyday grocery store. Miso is about as “crazy” as I get. Haha. And even that I rarely use. Let me know if you give your lactic acid a try and how much you used! I don’t have much experience with it so I really can’t tell you a ratio. Thanks for being here!

      Reply

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