There’s no shortage of crumbly cheese vegetarian toppings in my life. I made a plant-based “Parmesan” with hemp seeds and walnuts. There’s also a cashew Parmesan recipe in Power Plate.
But lately, I’ve been streamlining the power board. I use fewer ingredients, which shows I’m trying to simplify my cooking. My patience with cooking decreased with isolation, not increased!
This vegetarian cashew Parmesan is now my go-to. I have a jar in my fridge right now, and there was a jar in the fridge last week. There will be a jar in the fridge by this time next week.
Parmesan cheese is a regular condiment in my house. I use it to make pasta, salads, and bowls. I almost always put it on dinner toast. It’s always in my delicious oatmeal. In this article, I have also listed 20 other uses for Parmesan cheese.
Luckily, this DIY staple is easy to make because it’s versatile and valuable.
The four ingredients of cashew Parmesan cheese
I don’t have many four-ingredient recipes, but when I have one to share, I’m excited. This is what you need to make cashew Parmesan.
Cashew nut
I prefer raw cashews for this dish. They taste the best. Cashews are the sweet and neutral buttery base of Parmesan cheese. They work the same way in my cashew cream and cashew cheese.
If you don’t have raw cashews, roasted and unsalted are the next best option. Parmesan will have a toasty and nutty taste. It’s all right; it’s just different.
Finally, you can use roasted salted cashews in a pinch. If you do this, adjust the salt in the recipe to compensate for the salt added to the nuts. I suggest using 1/4 teaspoon less salt.
Trophic yeast
Nutritional yeast gives cashew Parmesan its “cheese” flavor.
For those new to a plant-based diet, nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that adds a savory, umami, and cheesy flavor to vegetarian dishes. It’s a good source of b vitamins, including B-12(although even the most yeast-loving vegans should supplement with B-12!).
You can find nutritional yeast—aka “nooch”—in flake or powder form. I usually buy nutritional yeast flakes, but this powder is also helpful if you want to stir nutritional yeast into seasonings.
Flakes and powder are helpful in this cashew Parmesan recipe because the nutritional yeast ends up in the food processor.
salt
I use diamond crystal kosher salt for almost all of my cooking, which I use in this recipe. Delicate sea salt is also good, though you can use less (1/4-3/8 TSP) as it is saltier than kosher salt.
Garlic powder
The garlic powder adds a bit of garlic to the cashew Parmesan cheese. This is unnecessary, especially if you don’t like the taste of garlic! I don’t use it much, but it gives the Parmesan a full texture.
Optional plug-in
If you want to go beyond the basics, add extra seasonings to cashew Parmesan cheese. These may include:
- Onion powder
- Dried thyme
- Curcuma
- Dried rosemary
- Smoked paprika
- Pinch of red pepper (spicy)
- Dried oregano
- Perfect ingredient ratio
Many nut-based Parmesan recipes call for a 4:1 ratio of nuts to nutritional yeast.
An individual? I like the cashew Parmesan to be heavy on the noodles and the nuts to be light. This recipe calls for a 2:1 ratio of cashews to nutritional yeast.
It makes for a more delicious vegan cream and provides a little extra protein. Nutritional yeast is one of my favorite plant-based sources of protein.
What if I’m allergic to cashews?
Sometimes, I feel bad for being a cashew nut fanatic because I know tree nuts are one of the most common allergens.
For those of you who regularly message me on Instagram asking to use cashew nut substitutes in my cooking, I see! I will probably always use cashews as an essential ingredient in many recipes, but I always try to offer alternatives.
If you’re only allergic to cashews, here’s what you can do:
- almond
- hickory
- walnut
- Pine nut
- Macadamia nut
If you are allergic to tree nuts but you can tolerate the seeds, try:
- Hemp seed
- Pumpkin seed
- Sunflower seed
If all nuts and seeds are off-limits, you can use a mixture of nutritional yeast and salt. It’s going to be different, but it’s still pretty good. You can even add some breadcrumbs so that the nuts usually create a texture. Herbs and spices can also help to liven it up.
Cashew Parmesan cheese has 20 uses.
Once you’ve made cashew Parmesan, there are many ways to use it. Here are some of my favorite recipes to sprinkle it on:
- Vegan lasagna with cream
- Spaghetti with zucchini pesto and walnut
- Braised lentils on toast
- Roasted red pepper MAC and cheese
- Fried cherry tomato pasta
- Pasta, Italian green peppers
- Oh, such a simple French lentil soup
- Kale and white bean Caesar salad
- Stewed lentils, tomato and eggplant
- Pasta soup
- Baked cauliflower and lemon pasta
- Baked pizza pasta
- Braised beans and kale
- Spaghetti with sausage and mushrooms
- Baked macaroni with eggplant
- Spaghetti and white bean balls
- Lentil and beet salad
- Crispy broccoli Caesar salad
- Creamed white bean and cabbage soup
- Simple and delicious mushroom farro
But really, this is just a tiny portion of my homemade food topped with cashew Parmesan cheese. You can use it in any dish where you usually need a little palm.
Of course, the texture is different. But saltiness and saltiness are there.
Store the cashew Parmesan
Cashew Parmesan is easy to store. I put mine in a covered mason and stored it in the fridge for two weeks.
It can even last more than a week, but I’ve never been able to keep it up long enough to find out!
Ingredients
2/3 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup nutritional yeast tablets
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (adjust to taste)
Instructions
- Process all ingredients in a food processor fitted with the S blade until ground up. The cashews should be significantly broken down but not quite powdery. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks. Process all ingredients in a food processor fitted with an S-blade until ground. The cashews should be crumbly but not powdered. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Process all ingredients in a food processor fitted with an S-blade until ground. The cashews should be crumbly but not powdered. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
