A healthful, high-protein grated cheese alternative that’s bursting with flavor and so easy to make.
If you’ve converted to veganism after years of craving cheese in its many forms, most likely you’ve noticed something missing. If you’re in the Midwest like I am, you’ll find temptation at every turn. While many companies are working on creating cheese alternatives that are increasingly convincing, many of the ones that are currently available are high in fat and calories and low in protein. I’ve found many cheese substitutes to be oily, sticky, and even slimy.
Consider what you miss most about cheese. For me, it’s substance (protein), some salt, fat, a little nuttiness, a little sweet, a little sour funkiness. I also miss the texture of cheese but that’s not a deal breaker in a cheese alternative unless I find the texture disagreeable.
Grated Parmesan is probably the easiest to mimic. We’re not usually expecting meltiness. If it holds its grated texture, it’s probably even preferable. You can shake it on just about anything for a burst of flavor.
I’ve tried different options, including grinding up cashews with nutritional yeast. I like the cashew version. It’s probably more addictive than this recipe but it requires a high-powered blender, and the resulting grated “cheese” is prone to caking.
For this recipe, you just need to add the ingredients and shake them together. Easy-peasy. No caking. And the protein content is high because of the hemp hearts. Alone, it smells dank and grassy. But shake it on top of pasta or pizza and it adds cheesiness and protein. While the grassy, nuttiness of hemp hearts can be a bit of an acquired taste and you may not want to eat it alone, it easily blends with other flavors. And it’s hard to ignore the protein it brings.
Make this recipe once and mix it with other ingredients. You’ll see the supporting role it plays and make it again and again. It’s forgiving. If you love garlic, add extra garlic powder. If you love onion, add extra onion powder. Just try to add a little of each…to taste. These ingredients work well together.
The recipe below makes 3-6 servings. Double it or triple it or then some. I’ll be making a much larger jar of this soon.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 TBSP nutritional yeast
- 3 TBSP hemp hearts
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp basil
- 1/8-1/4 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1/8 tsp turmeric
- 1/8 tsp mustard powder