Nut Free Vegan ‘Parmesan’

I love my original Vegan Parmesan Sprinkle and have a jar of it on the go all the time. I experimented making a version without nuts and now have a fabulously delicious second favorite! It’s great on savory dishes, popcorn, and can be added to a cup of hot water for a bouillon beverage.

It’s so simple to make, only 6 ingredients. And it really enhances the flavour of food. Give it a try for yourself and you’ll agree that this is a great alternative to dairy parmesan! Or use it together with dairy parmesan – together they are a delicious combination!

The nuts are replaced with hemp hearts that give this version of vegan parm its rich slightly nutty flavour.  The Nutritional yeast provides the ‘cheese’ flavour and the other seasoning rounds out the flavour balance.

Hemp Hearts are a high-quality plant-based protein source, are rich in essential fatty acids, contain VitB, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc.

Nutritional yeast is a complete protein, an antioxidant and immune support, containing all 9 amino acids, it is a good source of B vitamins (which is wonderful for vegans as most B vitamins are consumed naturally through meat and dairy products) and contains trace minerals that our bodies need for optimal health.

As always, when you make this recipe, I would love to see your creation so please post a photo of your Nut Free Vegan ‘Parmesan’ goodness and tag my IG account #RenataCollective or leave a comment with your thoughts!

Prep Time: 5 minutes / Cook Time: No cook time / Makes: 3/4 Cup

Ingredients

  • ½ Cup Hemp Hearts

  • 1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast

  • ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder (not garlic salt)

  • ½ teaspoon Onion Powder

  • Pinch of Herbed Seasoned Sea Salt – or plain sea salt 

  • A Few Grinds of Fresh Black Pepper

How It’s Made

  • Add all the ingredients to a food processor and give it a whirl for 10 seconds. Give it a taste and adjust the flavour to your liking – more cheese flavour – add additional nutritional yeast. More garlic and/or onion flavour – add more of these powders. A tad more spiciness - add an additional grind or two of fresh pepper or a pinch of chili powder or cayenne pepper.

  •  Spoon your nut free vegan parmesan into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, label and date the jar and store in the cupboard. It will keep for 2-3 months but I’m sure you will use it up long before that! 

Enjoy!