5 Minute Vegan Parmesan Cheese with Walnuts and Cashews

You'll want to sprinkle this vegan Parmesan cheese on all your pasta dishes, sandwiches, and salads! It's made with cashews and walnuts, but you can use any kind of nuts you like. It's also soy free, gluten free, and only takes a few minutes to make.

Jump to:

• 🧀 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🥣 Equipment
• 🧊 Storage
• 💭 Tips
• 🌱 Suggested Uses
• ❓ FAQs
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬Comments

I've tried quite a few of the vegan Parmesan alternatives on the market, but these store bought products tend to be expensive and the flavor is never quite right.

This vegan Parmesan recipe is so much better (and cheaper!) than store bought and has a nutty umami flavor from the cashews, walnuts, and nutritional yeast. It's not trying to replicate the flavor of Parmesan cheese so it's delicious in its own right, which is where many of the store bought vegan parms fall short.

Whenever I want to zhuzh a dish with a sprinkle of parm, I whip up a batch of this vegan Parmesan!

Besides using this Parmesan as a topping for pasta dishes, it's a key ingredient in pesto (for a variation on basil pesto, try Kale Pesto or Garlic Scape Pesto!), and I use it for my Pesto and Roasted Vegetable Vegan Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta.

🧀 Ingredients

• Cashews
• Walnuts
• Nutritional yeast
• Salt

That's it!

See recipe card for quantities.

Cashews and Walnuts

Make sure to use raw cashews and walnuts (or the nuts of your choice) so the flavor of the nuts doesn't overpower the recipe. I like cashews because they are so neutral and buttery, and the walnuts have some sharper notes, such as the bitterness of the tannins in the skins.

🔪 Instructions

Combine the walnuts, almonds, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor.

Pulse until the mixture reaches a sandy texture, just like parmesan.

Hint: Careful not to process the nuts too long because they will become paste like.

🥣 Equipment

You will need a food processor to make this recipe. I've had my Cuisinart food processor for over a decade and love it! It's perfect for making vegan Parmesan, pesto, and quickly grating vegetables.

I would not recommend using a blender, as it will process the nuts unevenly and possibly turn them into a paste.

🧊 Storage

Store this vegan Parmesan in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

You can also freeze it to preserve for longer. Freeze in an airtight container and use within 6 months for the best flavor.

💭 Tips

• You can use any kinds of nuts you like and experiment with the quantities! I've made a cashew almond Parmesan cheese, sunflower cashew, and a version with just cashews.
• Careful not to process the nuts too long or they may start to turn into a paste.

🌱 Suggested Uses

• Top your pasta dishes or Vegan Lasagna.
• Try it in pesto to add depth to the flavor. Try Kale Pesto Pasta or Garlic Scape Pesto.
• Sprinkle atop appetizers like crostini or Tomato Bruschetta.

❓ FAQs