Today’s post is a little out of the ordinary – it’s a food product review. I never really review food, at least not one single item. But a few weeks ago I stumbled across something when I was doing my Ocado order that made me very excited. Today, we’re going to be talking about the Pimp My Salad Cashew Parm Cheez. That’s right, cashew. A vegan cashew parmesan. Not coconut.
Why is cashew important?
I’ve spoken about the fact I don’t eat vegan cheese a few times before. The main reason for that is because the majority of vegan cheese is made from coconut. Anything coconut gives me cystic acne. I have dry skin, it isn’t acne prone, and I’m not about to let a slice of plastic tasting cheese ruin my face for the next three weeks.
But cashew cheese? I’m in.
You can get a few brands of cashew cheese, but they’re not usually available in your regular supermarket, and they’re usually insanely expensive. That brings me on to my next point.
Product Details
Product Details Brand – Pimp My Salad
Product – Cashew Parm Cheez
Price – £4.49 (currently £3.49)
Size – 160g
For reference, Ocado’s own brand shaved parmesan (regular, not vegan) is £2.12 for 100g. The Violife parmesan alternative (coconut oil) is £3.50 per 150g block. So, yes, it is more expensive, but I actually don’t consider that to be anywhere near as ridiculous as I’ve seen some cashew based alternatives in the past when looking at it comparatively.
Ingredients
Cashew Nuts (55%), Sunflower Seeds, Nutritional Yeast, Dried Kale, Lemon Peel, Himalayan Pink Salt
As with a lot of vegan ‘cheesy’ products, that flavour is coming from the nutritional yeast.
Pimp My Salad Cashew Parm Cheez Review
So, after I was so excited to try it, was it actually any good? Well, the observant among you may recall that I added some vegan parmesan to the crispy roasted mushroom pasta recipe I posted a few weeks ago. If it’s good enough to end up in a recipe post, I guess that means it’s good enough in general.
The texture is good. I’m going to be fully honest; I’ve been eating a vegan diet for nearly 5 ½ years now, it’s probably going to be about 6 years since I last had regular parmesan. If you want a like for like comparison, I can’t give you that. I can’t remember well enough.
from what I do remember, the texture is similar. you can definitely taste the nutritional yeast though, if that’s an ingredient you’re familiar with, the taste will hit you straight away. And it can be overpowering, so you need to choose the dishes you put this on carefully to balance out that flavour if you’re not keen. Having said that, I’m not a huge fan of nutritional yeast, and being able to taste it hasn’t ruined any of the dishes I’ve tried this cheese with so far.
Would I buy it again?
Yes, probably…maybe? I don’t think this product is as worthy as my initial excitement hoped it would be. But it is still good. And it has been nice to have the option to use it. It’s in another recipe coming in the next couple of weeks as well as the mushroom pasta from last month, so I clearly don’t hate it.
I wouldn’t reach for it every day. And I’d probably reserve purchasing it for when it’s on offer, but I think future Sophie would still consider buying this again.
Rating:
3.5/5
Have you ever tried this vegan parmesan before? Or do you know of any other vegan cashew parmesan or cashew/ nut/ anything but coconut cheese alternatives that I need to try?
Until next time,
Sophie
This looks so delicious! Love your post, however, I’m not so good in cooking…
Thanks for sharing
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It’s good that this hasn’t been a complete waste and that you still enjoyed it. Great blog post!
xoxo Olivia | http://www.oliviaandbeauty.com
While I don’t have an adverse reaction to coconut, there is something about it that I just don’t like. It doesn’t matter how much people tell me that you ‘can’t taste it’, I always can and it just doesn’t work for me… That being said, I’m going to have to give this a try. I have never heard of a company making cashew parmesan before.
I think I saw something similar to this in Holland & Barrett the other day! I never liked cheese even when I had dairy but this sounds interesting. As long as it adds something to the dish, I’ll try!
I’d honestly never heard of cashew parmesan before! I never knew you could buy vegan parmesan cheese, I always learn something new when reading your posts Sophie! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I have never had vegan cheese, but would give this a try as we have a diabetic in our household who is trying to limit dairy. Thanks for the information!
I’ve been making my own vegan parmesan (with cashews too — the last couple of years I’ve used the Minimalist Baker’s recipe) for quite some time and have always hoped that one day there would be a store bought brand I could use if I couldn’t make my own (or I’m just being lazy, haha) — I think this one sounds okay for a quick go-to if needed. Thanks for the info!
Interesting that it is made from Cashews! & I’m glad it’s at least an option for you since the coconut ingredient rules quite a few other options out. Also, that mushroom pasta looks incredible.. off to look at that! x
I love eating cashews! It is so interesting that there is cashew cheese! Creative and I love it!! Parmesan has such an overpowering flavor. You don’t abuse that compared to mozzarella on pizza. It is a bummer that the vegan cheese wasn’t on full par. Hope you will find some better alternatives!
Nancy ✨ exquisitely.me
This looks so yummy! Have a great week xx- Nina
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One of the things that I really love about your blog is I’m always hearing about foods that I’ve never even heard of, let alone tried. I’m not vegan but you definitely inspire me to branch out with some of the things I’m eating. This sounds really intriguing, even if it didn’t quite hit all the notes for you. Great review!
This looks interesting. I am getting to a point now where I can’t have any dairy, because it will tear my gut apart. I have not tried the vegan cheese, only because all the talk I hear is that it is not good. But I would definitely try this with my salad or even on top of an au gratin or something like that as a topping. Thanks for thee review.
Thank you for giving me your take on this cashew parmesan. I love learning about new alternative ingredients!
I’ve never heard of this brand of cashew cheese, Pimp My Salad, although I’ve tried a few others. Currently I either make my own nut based vegan cheeses using macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, or almonds. I will also purchase Kite Hill brand almond cream cheese when I’m too busy to make my own. Although I used to make or buy cashew based vegan cheese, I stopped. Cashews are somewhat inflammatory and I decided to go with other nuts.
this looks so good! this is my first time hearing about cashew cheese too
thank you for sharing
I don’t think I’ve heard of cashew parmesan before, I actually can’t remember the last time I did have parmesan cheese, so I have probably forgotten what the texture and taste is like as well. I kind of want to give this a go though! xx
I think the only time I’ve had vegan cheese is when I’ve had a spot of vegan pasta or mac-n-cheese, so I’d really like to explore the various options out there. I’m not the biggest fan of cashews on their own, but maybe I’ll like cashew cheese!