Who doesn’t love a generous helping of parmesan on their pasta? With it’s wonderful, flavour enhancing qualities and its delicious umami type taste, it certainly boosts many meals into complete deliciousness.
But, just because you’re eating a plant based or vegan diet, it doesn’t mean you have to give up this wonderful flavour enhancer. We have created for you a version of homemade parmesan cheese that tastes like the real thing in only SECONDS.
Yes, you heard that right! Our vegan alternative for parmesan cheese can be made at the last minute in practically seconds in your blender or spice grinder. You will have to closely follow this recipe to get it right, but it’s truly simple and needs only minimal ingredients.
Benefits Of This Homemade Vegan Parmesan Cheese Recipe
Making this homemade ‘parm’ could not be easier, and requires only a few simple ingredients that you will more than likely already possess in your store cupboard (especially if you’re a plant based eater). So no special shopping required for this recipe, which is a huge benefit for the time deprived.
This non-dairy parmesan cheese will be loved by everyone, regardless of their usual diet. It really is that tasty!
We would even go so far as to say that others WON’T BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE. Yes, that’s a huge statement to make, but it’s true. You just have to test this for yourself on family and friends if you don’t believe it 😉
The great thing about this cheese is it’s also 100% whole foods plant based and very HEALTHY, unlike the real deal. You can eat this cheese in abundance without fear of any health repercussions down the line.
Ingredients And Nutritional Benefits Of Homemade Paremsan
Firstly, the nutrition in this cheese is pretty impressive due to the use of walnuts and nutritional yeast. If you don’t have the walnuts or can’t tolerate nuts, you can substitute them out for sesame or hemp seeds and still have astounding benefits from both of those super healthy fats. Both substitutes work well, so use what you prefer.
WALNUTS
The raw, unsalted walnuts that we use in our delicious plant based parmesan have a nutritional profile that is second to none. You simply cannot match the walnut’s nutritional profile and unique antioxidants.
These include:-
- UNIQUE ANTOXIDANTS – Walnuts contain antioxidants for anti aging on the inside and outside of your body that are available in very few foods. They have the highest antioxidant content of all the nuts, so are therefore perfect to use for making this high level cheese.
- SKIN BENEFITS – The delicious and creamy walnut will also help to make your skin GLOW. Their complexion boosting qualities come from the high concentration of antioxidants and B vitamins. Eat walnuts alongside these other anti aging, plant foods and watch your skin begin to GLOW.
- WEIGHT LOSS – Walnuts are high in fat, agreed, but they are satiating and a very low GI food. This means they stop junk food and sugar cravings in their tracks, thus promoting weight loss when eaten in moderation.
- HEALTHY HEART – The walnut is high in l-arginine, an amino acid well known for its vascular health benefits when eaten in real food. Walnuts also contain omega 3 ALA fatty acids that are good for heart health, reduce inflammation, improve cholesterol, and can help reduce the chances of metabolic syndrome, therefore cardiovascular disease.
- COGNITIVE BENEFITS – Walnuts not only (weirdly) look like a human brain, they are fantastic for your brain too. They contain neuroprotective compounds such as vitamin E, melatonin, folate, and an array of brain protecting antioxidants.
- HELPING YOU TO SLEEP – The melatonin content of walnuts helps to set your circadiun rhythm, thus helping keep your sleep cycle on track. Melatonin is the hormone naturally produced by the body to tell us when it’s time to sleep, but modern day living can throw this natural cycle out of whack.
- SPERM QUALITY – Walnuts are great for sperm too! Their high levels of omega 3’s and 6 can help boost sperms mobility, morphology and quality.
NUTRITIONAL YEAST
The nutritional yeast in this recipe is vital for your ‘cheesy’ flavour. Without this ingredient you won’t get the parmesan-like taste you’re looking for. Fortunately, nutritional yeast is usually a staple in any vegan or plant based person’s store cupboard. If it’s not in yours, you can find it in pretty much any major super market or health food store.
If you’ve never seen it, nutritional yeast looks like small yellow flakes /9kind of like fish food). It has a cheesy, umami flavour and is made from a yeast grown using sugar (even though the finished product has no sugar).
Nutritional benefits of nutritional yeast (otherwise known as ‘nooch’) are:-
- HIGH PROTEIN – Nutritional yeast is one of the few plant based foods that contain all 9 amino acids, making it a great source of protein for plant based eaters.
- B-VITAMINS – High levels of B vitamins, specifically B12, is what draws plant based eaters to nutritional yeast. Other B vitamins in this product include B1, B2, B3, and B6 – ALL VITAL for many functions of the brain, cell function, metabolism, blood cells, skin, energy, and cell growth to name just a few.
- TRACE MINERAL – Nutritional yeast is also a good source of trace minerals such as zinc, selenium, manganese and molybdenum. These minerals are specifically used for gene regulation, helping growth, immunity, and a healthy metabolism.
- HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS – Nooch contains glutathione and selenomethionine. These two compounds may help protect your cells from the free radical damage caused by all manner of environmental factors. Glutathione and selenomethionine can also help rid your body of environmental toxins and metals.
What To Serve With Vegan Parmesan
Quite literally, you can use your homemade, vegan parmesan in the same way you would use regular parmesan. It’s truly that versatile and the taste is very similar to the real deal.
Here’s some ideas of what to serve your parmesan with:-
- Traditionally, as a topping for your pasta dishes. Try our simple, 20 minute veggie pasta recipe. OR this delicious and authentic Bolognese sauce.
- On top of any salad, especially good on top of a big green salad to help add healthy fats and protein, making it a more substantial meal.
- Great as a flavour topper on Buddha bowls.
- Sprinkle on your favourite plant based chili.
- Add to sandwiches.
Homemade Vegan Parmesan Cheese (Tastes Like The Real Thing!)
Equipment
- High speed blender, spice grinder or coffee grinder
Ingredients
- 2/3rds cup nutritional yeast
- 2/3rds cup raw walnuts Can be substituted for sesame seeds, pine nuts, or hemp seeds.
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Roughly chop your walnuts if they are in whole halves to break them down a bit.
- Add all your ingredients to a spice grinder, coffee grinder or high speed blender. Pulse for only a couple of seconds. Check to see whether your parmesan is already the right texture, almost like a gritty powder. If you need to blend for another couple of seconds go ahead. These times may vary depending of the type of equipment you are using. The reason it's vital you're careful with this process and do it incrementally is because if you over-blend, those oils from your nuts will start clumping and sticking and the whole thing will turn into a clump. So, go slowly and keep checking texture. If you have leftovers you can put them in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
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Thanks for visiting ZestForever today!
We hope you find our delicious and healthy, parmesan cheese recipe to be a wonderful way to add extra flavour to your plant based dishes. It truly is a staple recipe that you will use over and over again.
If you think this recipes is as awesome as we do, why not share with your friends via your social media channels. They will more than likely enjoy it as much as you.
