I'm looking for help identifying a vegan "cheese" that I can substitute for Parmesan cheese in a recipe for Tday. I'm an omnivore, but my wonderful DIL is vegan and I want her to be able to eat this.
I'm making a gratin with leeks, apples, and butternut squash. You are supposed to put parmesan cheese on top. Are there particular vegan cheeses that would melt like parmesan?
Help!
Daiya makes a passable (not as cheese, but as something edible) product that melts, but not a parm substitute.
I can't eat dairy and as a rule I don't bother with non-dairy/fake cheese like Daiya. If you do want to try it, make sure you taste it on its own first -- I find that it has a VERY strong flavor. When I use it (very rarely) on something like pizza, I use like 1/4 to 1/3 of what I would have used when I used to cook with real Mozzarella -- the flavor of the Daiya mozzarella is just so overwhelming that putting more than a bare sprinkle on something like pizza, completely overpowers all the other flavors.
For Parmesan, however, I do make what I think is a very good homemade vegan parm substitute out of cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt. Whip it up in a food processor until it's the consistency of, well, finely crumbled Parmesan. Obviously it's not going to melt like real cheese will, but it will brown a little bit in the oven and gives dishes a nice little nutty/savory bite.
Yes, this.
Definitely the best sub for parmesan that i have ever found.
Daiya is more like something to use on a pizza or for grilled cheese- i'm really not a fan especially because if it cools even just a few minutes the texture gets plastic-y.
Otherwise i would just use some breadcrumbs tossed with a bit of olive oil and add for the last 5-10min of baking to add a crispy topping
Similar to what you make, there is a brand of 'nut cheese' sold in some stores that is good because it is not really fake cheese, despite the advertising. (link below) They have a cracked pepper and plain version of the 'hard' cheese. and I think a third type. The daiya stuff (what I call fake cheese) is going to be awful to anyone who is not vegan.
We use this Olive Oil/Miso shake from SeriousEats: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/20...
It doesn't taste like parmesan, but it it salty and slightly crunchy so it works as a good stand-in. I recommend using less rosemary than the recipe calls for (unless you really love rosemary). I've also found that you can make it with (less expensive) canned green olives, just increase the amount of miso by 50%.
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