A simple and salty vegan parmesan cheese topping that you can grate up in a flash. This small batch recipe is perfect for when you are looking for a quick parmesan substitute to sprinkle over your favourite pasta or garlic bread.
3 simple ingredients
2 minutes
Easy clean up
And all that salty “cheesy” flavour you crave
Ingredients
Three pantry friendly ingredients are all you need for this quick vegan parmesan topping.
- Raw cashews
- Salt
- And nutritional yeast
How To Make Quick Vegan Parmesan Topping
Many vegan parmesan recipes, like this one from Minimalist Baker, require a food processor. When I first started eating a plant based diet I would make that bigger batch from the Minimalist Baker recipe. I would store it in my fridge and use it over a few weeks. Although I love that recipe, I found that I fell out of the habit of having a big batch on hand.
I love that this recipe doesn’t require a food processor and you simply use a microplane to grate the cashews. The salt and nutritional yeast are stirred into the grated cashews and you’re ready to sprinkle it on your dish with minimal clean up.
Another reason I love grating the nuts vs. crushing them in a food processor is that they look a little closer to small curls of parmesan cheese. Macadamia nuts are actually softer than cashews and look very similar to parmesan curls but I tend to keep cashews more readily in my pantry.
Recipe Cost
This simple recipe makes 2 tablespoons of vegan parmesan cheese topping and costs me roughly $0.12 CAD.
If I were to use 2 tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese it would cost me around $0.50.
So although nuts and nutritional yeast are higher priced items in my pantry, this recipe is still more cost effective than using a grated parmesan product. If you haven’t yet, make sure to visit my pantry page and watch my video on how I stock simple essentials that make cooking at home quick, convenient, and cost effective.
Try sprinkling this quick vegan parmesan topping on my Easy Weeknight Garlic Bread and Dairy-Free Fettuccine Alfredo!
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Quick Vegan “Parmesan” Cheese Topping
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 2 tbsp 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A small batch vegan parmesan cheese topping to sprinkle over your favourite pasta dishes. 3 ingredients and 2 minutes to make!
Ingredients
- 3 raw cashews (or macadamia nuts)
- dash of salt (maximum 1/16 tsp)
- ½ tsp nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Carefully grate cashews using a microplane.
- Stir in salt and nutritional yeast. *Ensure the parmesan is stirred or shaken before use to make sure the salt is evenly distributed. Otherwise it can fall to the bottom and end up all in one serving!
- Sprinkle over pasta dishes like my Dairy-Free Fettuccine Alfredo.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter or in the fridge for longer storage.
Notes
Macadamia nuts are softer than cashews and look very similar to parmesan when grated. I most often have cashews in my pantry but if you have macadamia nuts those will be perfect!
Approximate cost: $0.12 CAD vs. roughly $0.50 for 2 tablespoon shredded parmesan cheese.
- Category: Thrifty How-Tos
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: Italian
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