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    Home » Sides

    Vegan Parmesan

    Published: Feb 16, 2021 · by Nico

    Jump to Recipe

    This recipe for vegan parmesan cheese is my favorite alternative to real Italian parmesan cheese. It's free from dairy, free from saturated fat, and with a lot less salt than real parmesan. Its flavor however is full of umami.

    You can sprinkle this vegan parmesan cheese on top of your favorite vegan pasta, polenta, or risotto, and with any other meal, you would normally add parmesan cheese.

    vegan parmesan cheese
    vegan parmesan
    On this page:
    • Ingredients & Substitutions
    • Equipment
    • How to make vegan parmesan cheese
    • Mistakes I made
    • Tips 
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Storage
    • Variations
    • Similar recipes
    • Recipe

    Check out our best vegan beginner recipe collection!

    My favourite thing about this recipe for vegan parmesan cheese is that it can be made in batches in advance and then kept in the fridge to use throughout the week. Also, it's made with just 4 ingredients and is ready in 10 minutes. I store it in a real old-style Italian parmesan container so that my family doesn't even realise that is 100% vegan.

    Ingredients & Substitutions

    • Almonds: I recommend using peeled almonds because the end result will look a lot more like real parmesan. Almonds with the skin-on yield a parmesan that is too brown and non-vegans might not like it just because of how it looks. You can replace almonds with cashew nuts, or use half half. If you are allergic to nuts, check out our nut-free parmesan in the variation section below.
    • Nutritional yeast: add a couple of tablespoons to give the fake parmesan a mild cheese taste.
    • Soy sauce: this ingredient is very important to add umami and saltiness to the dish. You can replace soy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, however if you do so, you'll need to add a bit more salt.
    • Sea salt: optional, however, if you are cooking for non-vegans salt is strongly recommended. Real parmesan is very very salty and adding a pinch of salt to your fake parmesan will make it taste more like the real deal, especially to non-vegans.

    Equipment

    You'll need a blender or a food processor to turn the almonds into a parmesan like consistency.

    How to make vegan parmesan cheese

    Let's start by preheating the oven to 180C / 360F. Roast the almonds in the oven for 8 minutes. Let cool down for 10 minutes.

    toasting the almonds in the oven

    Add almonds to a food processor and pulse into coarse almond flour. While blending add nutritional yeast, soy sauce, and sea salt. Keep blending till you reach a consistency that is similar to grated parmesan.

    Blend the almonds in the food processor

    Taste it and adjust for salt. You might add more soy sauce or salt based on your taste. TIP: do NOT over-blend the almonds or else they'll turn into almond butter.

    Letting the vegan parmesan dry

    Let dry on a tray for about 30 minutes, then store in a container in the refrigerator and use like if it were regular parmesan.

    Vegan parmesan on top of spaghetti al pomodoro

    Mistakes I made

    • The almonds: the first time I made this recipe I roasted the almonds for too long. The almonds should only be toasted for 7 minutes and should not get brown.
    • The soy sauce: I added the soy sauce while the blender was paused. This creates lumps. It's better to add the soy sauce while the blender is running.
    Vegan parmesan on top of spaghetti al pomodoro
    Pasta with vegan parmesan

    Tips 

    • Get the salt right: real parmesan is really salty food. So if you are serving this to non-vegans that are used to the taste of real cheese you need to make it quite salty. It needs to pop in your mouth when it's on top of pasta.
    • Use peeled almonds: to make this vegan parmesan look more appealing make sure to use peeled almonds so that it turns out almost the same color as real parmesan. This is especially important if you are serving it to non-vegans.

    Frequently asked questions

    Are almonds bad for you?

    No. Almonds (and nuts in general) are one of the healthier foods on planet earth. They should be consumed daily to increase longevity and overall health, and this parmesan is a really handy way to increase your consumption of almonds. Learn more here.

    Do almonds make me fat?

    No. While almonds contain a good amount of calories there is substantial evidence that consuming nuts actually helps you keep your weight in check. Learn more here.

    Is this recipe scalable?

    Yes. You can scale this recipe up or down, but always taste it and adjust for salt based on your personal preference.

    Storage

    This vegan parmesan stores very well and can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. It is perfect to be prepared in advance, for example on a Sunday, so that you have it ready for the coming week. However, we do not recommend freezing it.

    Variations

    Soy-free vegan parmesan

    If you are allergic to soy, or have run out of soy sauce, a great alternative to add umami are sun-dried tomatoes. Sun-dried are packed with flavour and if you blend them together with the nuts you add that umami punch to your fake cheese. Add about 30 grams every 300 grams of almonds.

    Ps. your parmesan will have a slightly red colour but thats completely normal.

    soy-free vegan parmesan
    soy-free vegan parmesan

    Nut-free vegan parmesan

    If you are allergic to nuts or almonds then we have a great alternative recipe for vegan parmesan cheese. Our nut-free fake parmesan is made with stale bread (or breadcrumbs) instead of almonds.

    This is a very old Italian recipe used in the past by poorer farmers that did not have access to expensive parmesan cheese. They would just make a mixture of stale breadcrumbs, herbs, and olive oil, and sprinkle it on top of their pasta.

    nut-free vegan parmesan
    nut-free vegan parmesan

    Nut-free chili-lemon vegan parmesan

    If you want a zestier parmesan flavor, you can make a chilli and lemon parmesan, which works perfectly with tomato pasta.

    This vegan fake parmesan cheese is best served on a light tomato sauce or with our orecchiette recipe served with kale, broccoli, and sun-dried tomatoes.

    chili-lemon fake parmesan
    chili-lemon vegan parmesan

    Similar recipes

    Vegan cheese is a great lazy vegan recipe that adds texture and additional flavor to pasta, vegan risotto, and many easy dinners. If you're curious about trying other types of vegan cheese, take a peek at these:

    • Vegan ricotta cheese: an indulgent and 3-ingredient recipe that works well with pasta and sweets
    • White sauce - vegan bechamel: a creamy and cheesy sauce, it pairs perfectly with salty crepes and lasagna
    • Vegan melted cheese: a reader favorite, perfect with pizza and flatbread
    • Easy tofu cream cheese: a fun and easy vegan appetizer, pair with veggies of your choice
    • Crisp focaccia with melted cheese: crunchy, cheesy and luxurious, this focaccia is great for pizza night and game nights

    Did you try this vegan parmesan? Please leave us a comment and a star rating - feedback helps us improve our recipes, and we highly appreciate it.

    For many more side dishes ideas, check out our sides category page.

    Recipe

    vegan parmesan in a silver bowl

    Vegan Parmesan

    Author: Nico
    This recipe for vegan parmesan cheese is my favourite alternative to real Italian parmesan cheese. It's free from dairy, free from saturated fat and with a lot less salt than real parmesan. Its flavour however is full of umami. You can sprinkle this fake parmesan on top of your favourite pasta, put in lasagne, polenta, risotto, and in any other place you would normally add parmesan cheese.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share Recipe
    5 from 10 votes
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 7 mins
    Total Time 12 mins
    Course Plant-Basics
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 50 servings
    Calories 36 kcal

    Equipment

    • Food processor

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 2 cups almonds peeled
    • 4 tablespoon soy sauce or 30 g sundried tomatoes
    • 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
    • 1 to 2 pinch salt

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 180C / 356F. Roast the almonds in the oven for 8 minutes. Let cool down for 10 minutes.
      toasting the almonds in the oven
    • Add almonds to a food processor and pulse into a coarse almond flour. While blending add nutritional yeast, soy sauce, and sea salt. Keep blending till you reach a consistency that is similar to grated parmesan.
      Blend the almonds in the food processor
    • Taste it and adjust for salt. You might add more soy sauce or salt based on your taste.
      TIP: do NOT over-blend the almonds or else they'll turn into almond butter.
      Letting the vegan parmesan dry
    • Let dry on a tray for about 30 minutes, then store in a container in the refrigerator and use like if it were regular parmesan.
      Vegan parmesan on top of spaghetti al pomodoro

    Nutritional Values

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Parmesan
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 36 Calories from Fat 27
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 3g5%
    Saturated Fat 1g6%
    Trans Fat 1g
    Potassium 51mg1%
    Carbohydrates 2g1%
    Dietary Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 2g4%
    Vitamin A 1IU0%
    Vitamin B6 1mg50%
    Vitamin E 2mg13%
    Calcium 16mg2%
    Folate 3µg1%
    Iron 1mg6%
    Manganese 1mg50%
    Magnesium 17mg4%
    Zinc 1mg7%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Did you like this recipe?We are not much on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Leave us a comment below instead, it would mean the world to us 🙂

    You might also like:

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    « Vegan bomboloni - Italian donuts
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Linda

      December 06, 2022 at 7:50 am

      Hi..my cheeze turned out dark brown owing to the soy sauce..Still tastes good though..where did I go wrong?..Linda

      Reply
      • Louise

        December 09, 2022 at 5:51 am

        Hi Linda, thanks for your comment. I don't think you did anything wrong! The dark brown color could be caused by the almonds if they are still with peel or by adding a little too much soy sauce in relation to the number of almonds. Did you use peeled or unpeeled almonds? Let me know! Have a wonderful day. Cheers, Louise

        Reply
    2. Laura

      June 21, 2022 at 7:22 pm

      5 stars
      I discovered your website a few days ago on a whim searching for vegan mayo recipes and I’m so glad I did. I love how you explain all your recipes and that everything is simple and doable for a busy weeknight. I really like this Parmesan recipe more than the typical raw cashew recipe. Mine turned out a little crunchy and reminded me of a breadcrumb topping but I think it’s just my food processor. I was afraid to keep blending lest it turn into almond butter with soy sauce and nutritional yeast. 😂 Anyway, I thought it was delicious even crunchy and I would make it again. It had more flavor than the standard cashew recipes. Tonight we ate it over your rigatoni arrabiata which was also wonderful! I will leave you a review there too. I’m so so happy to have found your site, please keep up the amazing work!

      Reply
      • Nico

        June 21, 2022 at 8:47 pm

        Wow, Laura, so happy to have you here! Thanks so much for taking the time to write these thoughtful comments, they really made us smile. Fun fact: the first times we tried making this parmesan, we turned it into soy-nut butter (not the best, I can tell ya, haha!)

        Have a great day and warm thanks! Cheers, Nico

        Reply
    3. Diane

      April 15, 2022 at 6:32 pm

      5 stars
      I just discovered your site and am very anxious to begin trying your recipes. They look wonderful.

      Reply
      • Nico

        April 16, 2022 at 6:52 am

        Hi Diane, I'm delighted you feel like trying out some of our recipes! Welcome, we're very happy to have you here! Cheers, Nico

        Reply
        • Davida Insaidoo

          December 30, 2022 at 2:51 pm

          5 stars
          Hi I came across your website while looking for tasty vegan meals.The recipes look exciting. I tried the green pesto and it was grat with egg free pasta.
          Will try the other recipes.
          Thanks for sharing.
          Aba

          Reply
          • Louise

            December 30, 2022 at 3:34 pm

            Hi there, I'm delighted you liked the pesto, and the look of our recipes - thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
            Have a wonderful weekend. Kindest, Louise

            Reply
    4. John

      March 25, 2022 at 4:42 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Chef
      Just found your site, so will be delving in to it with gusto 👍
      Really great to see you do a nut free version. I'm fine but my nephew isn't 😕
      Which soy sauce are you using, light, dark 🤷

      Reply
      • Nico

        March 26, 2022 at 6:43 am

        Hi John, thanks so much for being here and for commenting! I use a dark soy sauce but with less salt, in this case. Cheers, Nico

        Reply
    5. Tatiana

      January 31, 2022 at 2:41 am

      5 stars
      Thank you, your suggestions are very useful! I am cooking for my sun who decided to go vegan, so I always get great inspiration from your videos!

      Reply
      • Chef Nico

        February 02, 2022 at 4:18 pm

        Thanks Tatiana, we are so happy you find the recipes and the videos useful 🙂

        Reply

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