Parmesan Cheese Alternatives--DIY and Storebought

We had spaghetti for dinner last night.  We topped it with a thick and burgery sauce.  Matt cooked down a jar of our fabulous homegrown tomato sauce until it was a little bit thicker while I browned some Better Burger to throw into the sauce.  We topped it all with my beloved nutty parmesan knockoff.  At the end of the meal Matt said something like, "It is surprisingly good for how simple it is."  Mmmmmmm....can't beat a classic sometimes, you know?

Spaghetti goodness.

Over dinner I commented that when Matt and I first met making spaghetti was just about the extent of my cooking repertoire.  It was certainly the only thing I made that didn't come with cooking instructions detailed on the box.  Its always fun to reminisce about our early days and how much has changed and how much stays exactly the same.  "You've still got it," was Matt's ultimate reply to the Beth-cooking-spaghetti conversation.  He's so funny.  He's right though.  If anything, my spaghetti has only gotten better.

But, back to that parmesan knock-off.  

For most of our vegan life we've used plain nutritional yeast as our substitute for parmesan.  We keep a shaker of it in the kitchen for this purpose. It works as a parmesan alternative in that it adds a savory-salty-umami element, but is certainly quite different than the real deal, especially texturally.  I mean, it doesn't even have any fat in it for heaven's sake!  That's hardly cheese-like.  That said, I still regularly enjoy plain nooch baked atop breadsticks or garlic bread or sprinkled over my ultimate comfort treat--buttered noodles/rice.   Though, since nooch is one of its primary components, the Nutty Parm also works in these capacities and is even tastier.  

Nutty Parm on a wheat roll hot and toasted from the oven.

The Nutty Parm is incredibly easy and fast to make and so yummy to eat.  It browns lovely in the oven.  I appreciate the four-ingredient simplicity immensely.  Most vegan cheeses have a lot more ingredients than that.

Nutty Parm

1/3 C raw cashews
1/3 C raw walnuts
1/4 C nutritional yeast (aka nooch)
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a small chopper or food processor. 
Process until the nuts are fairly finely ground and combined with the nooch to make an almost-sticky crumb-like texture.
Store Nutty Parm in the fridge.

A view inside our jar of Nutty Parm.

On a commercially-available level, our favorite parmesan-like option is Violife's (Just Like) Parmesan.  Matt buys a wedge every few months.  It adds just a little something extra, cranking our already scrumptious meals up another notch.  

The Violife Parmesan comes in a wedge for about $4.50 at the health food stores here.  We've found, as with regular parmesan, a little often goes a long way since it packs a fabulously savory, umami-type punch.  We can make that wedge last two or three weeks without really trying or being stingy.  

As with the Nutty Parm, it is a lovely addition to breakfast scrambles or shaved over eggplant parm.  A sprinkle on top of spaghetti makes one of my favorite comfort foods even more comforting.  It makes for a truly delish pizza crust addition.  A small slice with bruschetta on toast is fabulous.  

Made largely from water, potatoes, and rice (with some olive, salt, oil thrown in) it is fairly different than the average mass-produced vegan cheese.  It is trying to be more artisan, like Miyoko's or Treeline, and less all-American like, say, Daiya or Follow Your Heart.  I really prefer the former in this emerging vegan cheese market for sure.

For the record:  Sometimes my posts might read like an advertisement, but rest assured, Violife is not paying me or anything.  I just think it is a solid product with endless yummy applications.