Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Or plant-esan, if you will.

Last week on the KIND blog, we introduced a new series of plant-based posts based on the commonly asked (to plant-based-ers) question “how do you live without?”

The aim of these posts is to show that if you get a little creative, it’s easy to make more sustainable, healthy food choices – without sacrificing the flavours you love. Last week, we shared a recipe for “facon” (fake-bacon) that uses the humble aubergine to replicate one of the meatiest treats of all. This week’s recipe is a close contender in the “how do you live without” stakes (or, should we say “steaks”!)… Cheese.

Auckland plant-based eatery’s easy vegan recipes – vegan parmesan cheese

Parmesan. A delicious, robust cheese aged to perfection. It’s perfect grated over soups, pastas, pizzas – pretty much anything. This dairy-free parmesan is also great sprinkled on almost everything – if not more so as it’s incredibly healthy.

This recipe uses hemp seeds – also known as hemp hearts – which are full of omegas 3 and 6, protein, fibre, and a huge range of vitamins and minerals. Their nuttiness and chewy texture make them perfect for a plant-based parmesan.

The recipe also calls for nutritional yeast, which is far more appetising than it sounds.
It’s a bit of a vegetarian staple that’s chock full of B vitamins – B1, B2, and B6. While we prefer it added to recipes such as this plant-based parmesan, it’s also pretty delicious on its own – sprinkled onto popcorn, soups, and almost anything you want to make a little more savoury.

Ingredients for the vegan parmesan cheese

  • ½ cup hemp seeds/hemp hearts
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast (we like Braggs, but any you can find is good)
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste

Mix everything together, and you’re done! More salt can be added depending on your taste.
Your plant-based parmesan doesn’t need to be refrigerated like its dairy equivalent, but we recommend storing it in a sealed container in a cool place out of the sun.

With a bit of ingenuity (which we know Kiwis are good at) almost any treat can be made plant-based. But if you’re still struggling, you can always come visit us at KIND and let us do the plant-based cooking for you.

Mayo keep an eye on our blog for next week’s aquafaba-lous next recipe!