Emulsifier Free Paleo Cashew Parmesan
That savory, cheesy sprinkle you've been missing on pasta, salads, and roasted vegetables? It's hiding in your food processor, and it comes together in about two minutes flat. Raw cashews blitzed with nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and sea salt create a crumbly, umami-rich topping that genuinely mimics the texture of finely grated Parmesan — no dairy, no additives, no emulsifiers of any kind. Store-bought vegan cheese alternatives are notorious for long ingredient lists packed with stabilizers and emulsifying agents, so making your own is the cleanest possible workaround. The key is pulsing in short bursts and stopping while the mixture still looks dry and sandy — go too far and you'll end up with cashew butter instead of that perfect, crumbly finish. A pinch of onion powder rounds out the flavor beautifully if you have it on hand, but the base four ingredients already do most of the heavy lifting. Store it in an airtight jar and you'll find yourself reaching for it constantly — it keeps well and elevates just about everything it touches.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp onion powder (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Add the cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, and onion powder (if using) to a food processor.
- 2
Pulse 10–15 times in short bursts until the mixture resembles coarse, dry crumbs — about the texture of finely grated Parmesan. Stop before the mixture turns into a paste; the cashews should still look dry and sandy, not clumped.
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