Vegan Parmesan Cheese 3 Ways (Nut-Free Option)

glasses filled with 3 different versions of plant-based parmesan cheese substitute.

Vegan Parmesan Cheese 3 Ways (Nut-Free Option)

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings:10 servings

Author: Lori Rasmussen, My Quiet Kitchen

Easy, salty and rich vegan Parmesan cheese substitute that you'll want to sprinkle on everything. Choose a base of walnuts, brazil nuts, or a blend of hemp and pumpkin seeds! Ready in 25 minutes.

Yield: makes approximately 1 ¼ cups.

Ingredients
US Customary | Metric

1 ⅓ cups walnut halves OR 1 ¼ cup brazil nuts OR ½ cup pumpkin seeds plus ⅓ cup hemp seeds - The pumpkin/hemp combo has a fairly strong hemp flavor, so if that's not your thing, increase the pumpkin seeds and decrease the hemp, or sub raw sunflower seeds.
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Place the nuts (or seeds) in a large food processor and pulse until they're the texture of coarse crumbs. Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt, and pulse several times to combine.
Spread the mixture on the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir. If preparing the seed version, it may be done at this point. It should be dry but not browning. If the mixture still seems moist, return to the oven and bake for another 2 to 4 minutes, keeping an eye on it so the nuts/seeds don't brown.
Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several weeks, or freeze for longer storage. Can be used straight from the freezer.

Notes

Raw Parmesan Variation

As mentioned in the post, if you prefer a raw, no-bake version, simply replace the lemon juice with lemon zest (a very small amount because zest packs big lemon flavor). The cheese is ready to use straight out of the food processor. It's slightly more lemony and less tangy/cheesy this way but still delicious.

Nutrition information represents walnut version.

This recipe was originally published in 2018 and has been updated with new photos and information.

Nutrition