Grateable Vegan Parmesan like you’ve never seen. 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to freshly grated Parmesan every night of the week!
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.
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 😉
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;
- Green mac and cheese
- Vegan Mexican Chili Cheese Dip
- The perfect vegan cheese and dip platter
- Vegan queso blanco (Mexican white cheese dip)
- 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
- Place dry cashews in a food processor and blend until they are a fine crumble.
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.
- 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.
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.
- It will be ready to grate in the morning, but if you can't wait keep checking for hardness every few hours!
This also stores very well in the freezer if you know you won't use it all within 7 days.
- 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.
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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!
Jessica says
So keen to try this out but I was just wondering if it melts at all?
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Jessica! It would soften but it doesn’t melt smooth, But regular parmesan isn’t really meant to melt smooth either. So it depends on what you are wanting to melt it for!
Karen says
So excited to try this CHEESE recipe! I’ve been making “Parmegan” from Sam Turnbull’s Fuss Free Vegan cookbook, which I love. But a solid, grateable WHEEL!? So intrigued!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Karen! Yes! It dries out and hardens more and more as you refrigerate it. Hope you like it!
Robyn says
Hi. Can I grate it straight from the freezer or will it just crumble up.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Robyn! I let it sit for a few minutes then grate. You can grate it frozen it is just a little hard so if you let it sit for a minute it softens up and it’s easier to grate.
Marna says
Has anyone tried this using Brazil Nuts. I have read that they give vegan Parmesan a fantastic flavor.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Marna! Brazil Nuts should work, it will be a little different flavor but they are buttery so it should be great! They are very similar to macadamia nuts.
Jennifer says
HI, I know that this post was created some time back, but I just wanted to send an update experiment. I made the wheel as you recommended, but I subbed a 1/4 cup of pine nuts and 3/4 cup of cashews. I also added more salt than recommended. Being half southern Italian, I wanted to use nuts/seeds that are a regular part of our cuisine, as well as the added salt because we often use Pecorino Romano to grate (sheep milk cheese) which is a much saltier cheese. It seems that there is no way to go wrong with your recipe! It is wonderful! I put just a touch of nutritional yeast (I do not care for that flavor when it too dominant in vegan “cheese” but I find just a touch nice, and ditto for miso when it is over used, but I did not add that, the nuts and seeds have enough moisture already). I even accidentally spilled a little more than “a pinch” of mustard. But you know what? It still tasted fantastic, whether crumbled in the food processor, or smoothed out into the “wheel.” I can not wait to see how it is once it hardens tomorrow. I made it specifically because I would like to make eggplant parmesan, but I can see that it will be delicious for numerous dishes!!! Thank you for your site!
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you so much Jennifer for your sweet comment and for sharing what you did! I actually have also used pine nuts and loved the flavor! I kept this with cashews, mostly due to the cost of pine nuts but I really love that addition! I hope your eggplant parmesan came out amazing!
Stephanie says
Thanks for your comments! We followed your pine nuts/little more salt/little more mustard suggestion to use in our vegan eggplant scallopini for Christmas dinner and it was fabulous!
veggiesdontbite says
So happy you liked it Stephanie! I love creating things and having such a great community here that can share their experience and suggestions!
Marielle says
This recipe is awesome! First time I made this and it just blew me away! I made pesto with it and it totally worked. Thanks for sharing it. I will share it and mention you on my blog when I post my new peppermint pesto recipe Thanks!
veggiesdontbite says
Thanks Marielle! So glad you like it!
Robert Miller says
Miso kicked it just right.
I had to add a splash of almond milk (not quite a tablespoon) to make it smooth. over 20 min in the processor and still grainy. processor was getting hot. That did the trick.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Robert! Glad you liked it! Depending on your processor it may take some time for sure. Mine doesn’t take more than 5 minutes but there are so many kinds out there. I often just make the crumbled version of this to save time. But glad the milk helped!
Aaron says
Which processor do you use?
veggiesdontbite says
I Aaron! I use an 11 cup food processor by Cuisinart. I love it!
Juanita says
Which kind of Miso did you add?
Nina Windhauser says
It was great! I added a little miso.
veggiesdontbite says
Glad you liked it!!
Faith Ukwuomah says
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?
veggiesdontbite says
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!
Kerstin says
Love how easy and delicious this Parmesan is! I added a TBSP nooch. Now it’s a staple at the house.
Thanks for sharing!
veggiesdontbite says
Yay! So happy you like it!
VeggieTater says
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!
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you!! Let me know how it turns out!