Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan is a vegan, dairy-free alternative for parmesan cheese – it tastes impressive on top of pasta, salads, and sandwiches!

Easy to make and so delicious, Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan will soon be your number one go-to topping. It tastes so good; you don’t even miss the cheese!

We love a sprinkle of the vegan cheese alternative across the top of our delicious Sun-Dried Tomato Best-o Pesto Pasta.  And we’re positive that it will taste equally terrific scattered atop every other pasta dish you enjoy!

Do You Need Fancy Equipment to Make Dairy-Free Pine Nut Parmesan?

Better still, you don’t even need a food processor to make this cheesy recipe! Pretty cool, no?

Similarly, with just a few simple ingredients, and a dash of sea salt, this vegan topping takes only minutes to make!

Consequently, it’s bound to become one of your favorite dairy-free topping alternatives on those two merits alone. Indeed, this is one dairy-free, vegan topping that’s super simple to prepare yet somehow tastes fantastic!

Ingredients to Make Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan

Here’s a list of all you need to make this tasty gluten-free topping:

• pine nuts for creaminess
• nutritional yeast for cheesiness
• lemon juice for tang
• and a dash of sea salt!

You can use olive oil, but you don’t have to. Adding highly processed fats is not my preference. Why spend all of the time it takes to cook from scratch to eat healthier food and then load it with extra nutrient empty fat?

So, that’s why I make this Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan without adding oil – there are plenty of nutritious natural oils in the pine nuts!

And speaking of pine nuts, according to research: The polyunsaturated fatty acids in pine nuts suppress appetite and affect food intake.

Pine nuts contain nutrients that help boost energy, including monounsaturated fat, protein, and iron. Pine nuts are also a good source of magnesium, low levels of which can lead to fatigue.

Click here to read a helpful article providing more information about the nutritional benefits of pine nuts.

If you’d like to know more about why we usually skip using added oils, we invite you to watch this quick video comparing a whole food plant-based lifestyle and the infamous Mediterranean Diet.

Add a Sprinkle of Goodness to the Top!

We especially like to sprinkle this pine nut topping on the following plant-based, vegan, and gluten-free dishes:

• Instant Pot Sun-Dried Tomato Spaghetti Squash
• 3-Step Sage & Cashew Cream Cheese Spread
• Green Veggie Sandwich with Cucumber, Sprouts & Avocado
• 5-Minute Lemon Basil Alfredo Sauce
• Cannellini Kale Noodle-y Soup
• 20-Minute Sun-Dried Tomato Mango Soup
• Vegan Macaroni and Cheese
• 1-Bowl Pizza Frittata
• Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
• 5-Minute Tomato Basil Pesto Sauce

This dairy-free alternative to cheese is a fantastic make-ahead condiment to stash away days before you need it. It keeps nicely for up to two weeks or more when chilled in the fridge. 

For this reason, I tend to keep a jar of Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan in my fridge at all times. You can use Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan to add cheesy crunch to your salad, soup, or to top a steamy warm baked potato.

Let’s put it this way; you won’t be throwing any of this stuff out for lack of ways to enjoy it! And don’t be too surprised if you catch yourself standing in front of the fridge spoon holding an empty jar of Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan – it’s that kind of good!

Happy eating!

Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan

VEEG

• 5
  Prep:
• 5
  Cook Time:
• Yield: 9 Servings

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This recipe makes about nine servings (two tablespoons each) of cheesy and nutritious Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan.  Serve it as a tasty dairy-free cheesy topping for your favorite pasta dishes, salad, and soups.  We especially enjoy it adorning the top of our ridiculously easy Sun-Dried Tomato Best-o Pesto Pasta!  And for those days when you just can’t help yourself from nibbling one more spoonful straight from the jar, we won’t tell if you don’t!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of raw pine nuts, pan toasted
• 3 tbsp of nutritional yeast
• a splash of water or veggie broth  - We use water or broth rather than oil to make this topping deliciously oil-free
• a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• a dash of pink Himalayan sea salt or another salt

Instructions

1. First, in a small mixing bowl, combine the warm pan toasted pine nuts, nutritional yeast, and water, stirring gently.
2. Next, drizzle the nutty mixture with a bit of lemon juice and then sprinkle with a dash of sea salt. Be sure to add just a little lemon and sea salt at a time, tasting as you go. While adjusting flavor as needed, you can add more nutritional yeast to increase the "cheesy" factor.  You can also opt to smash a few of the pine nuts to create a little stickiness and moisture to help the flavors meld.
3. Enjoy your homemade Plant-Based Pine Nut Parmesan on top of all your favorite pasta dishes, soups and salads.  It's especially delightful scattered across the top of our super simple Sun-Dried, Tomato Best-o Pesto Pasta! Store in a covered container in the refrigerator up to two weeks or even longer.

Notes

• If you happen to use nutritional yeast in your cooking on a regular basis, you may want to check out this bulk buy on our favorite brand.

Nutrition

% DV

Calories Per Serving: 98

• Total Fat 9.4 g 14 %
• Saturated Fat 0.7 g 3 %
• Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %
• Sodium 16.7 mg 1 %
• Carbohydrates 3.4 g 1 %
• Fiber 1 g 4 %
• Sugar 0.5 g ---
• Protein 2.8 g 6 %
• Vitamin A 0 %
• Vitamin C 1 %
• Iron 4 %
• Calcium 0%