Sprinkle this magical Fairy Dust - a flavorful, homemade vegan Parmesan cheese recipe - on everything! It's a delight on pizza, pasta, veggies, salads, potatoes, and more.
Why 'fairy dust'?
This "Fairy Dust" is a basic vegan Parmesan cheese recipe with a few bonus additions to make it great.
SPEAKING OF MAKING IT GREAT.
Y'all, my kid is obsessed with this one Pizza Hut training video from the 80s. My husband is a nostalgia blogger, so he spends time each week looking up old commercials and other vintage videos. For some reason, this one really resonated with my kid:
In case you don't have time to watch, I'll sum up: The training video walks you through how to make a Pizza Hut pizza, including sprinkling on "Fairy Dust."
Obviously, the next time we made pizza at home, my kid wanted to sprinkle Fairy Dust on top. This beefed-up vegan Parmesan sprinkle is our vegan version of Fairy Dust, and we are obsessed with it.
How to make it
What's great about this recipe is that it's really flexible. You can use any nuts and seeds that you like to make the base, so you can make it nut-free, if you need. We usually use pecans, like in the written recipe, but I've also made Fairy Dust with:
- cashews
- almonds
- sunflower seeds
- walnuts
The other great thing about this recipe is that it takes about three minutes to make in the blender. Just toss all of the ingredients into the blender, then pulse until you have a crumbly mix.
Raw or roasted?
A reader recently asked for clarification on whether raw or roasted nuts/seeds will work in this recipe. What a great question! I'm adding this section, because I'm sure others want to know, as well.
In general, with harder nuts or seeds -- like almonds or pumpkin seeds -- either raw or roasted will work.
For softer nuts and seeds -- like cashews or sunflower seeds -- I'd go with roasted.
How to store it
Your Fairy Dust will keep for a few weeks in your pantry in an airtight container. I like to store it in a half-pint wide-mouth mason jar with this cool shaker lid on top.
You can use a regular jar, but this way, my family doesn't stick their gross fingers into the jar to grab a pinch of Fairy Dust 18 times a day.
How to use it
Use this simple vegan parm anywhere you'd sprinkle or grate dairy parmesan cheese. I love it....
- sprinkled onto my Macaroni and Cheese before baking.
- on pasta, like my Red Pepper Pesto Fettuccini.
- on a baked potato.
- over veggies, like roasted broccoli or sauteed kale.
- as a topping for Baked Ziti.
- on salads.
Any time you want to add a bit if texture and a burst of flavor to a savory dish, that jar of Fairy Dust is your friend. We try to always keep some in the pantry.
I tend to double or triple the recipe below, because I'm truly obsessed!
Ready to make some fairy dust? Let's get down to the nitty gritty. Let's get this show on the road!
Vegan Parmesan cheese fairy dust
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup nuts or seeds of your choice - (pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, etc.
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients into your blender, and pulse until you have a crumbly mix.
- Store in an airtight container. Will keep for up to 3 weeks, but I bet you'll use it all before that.
Cathy
Mine turned out mushy - i used a Nutribullet - maybe I processed it too long? Which blade did you use? I used roasted and salted pecans......turned out more like a seasoned nut butter....
Becky Striepe
Yes, it does sound like you processed for too long. With a high speed blender like that, you just need to pulse a few times. It should only take a few seconds. What you could do with the mushy stuff is keep processing until you do have a nut butter, then use it as a spread to make garlic bread! Just mince some fresh garlic to sprinkle on top of crusty bread slices, spread on the over-processed Fairy Dust, and toast it.
Heatha
Could I freeze this? I’m single so I don’t think I would use it before it went bad! 🙂
Becky Striepe
I haven't tried freezing it, so it's tough to say. You can halve the recipe, though, if that would work for you!