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Finding a truly good vegan parmesan can feel like chasing a myth. The texture, the tang, the saltiness – getting it all right without dairy is a challenge that even seasoned home cooks still wrestle with. But a viral TikTok recipe created by Vegan Scratch Kitchen promises to do just that with one surprising ingredient: tempeh.
Merle O’Neal, known for her YouTube channel and viral recipe experiments, recently shared a video where she puts this unconventional, one(ish)-ingredient parmesan alternative to the test. She admits that she was skeptical: “When I first saw this recipe I thought, that’s not going to work…then everybody went hog wild in my DMs.” Still, given her trust in the creator behind the original recipe, who is behind her all-time favorite vegan parmesan cheese, she decided to give it a go.
Read more: This 5-Minute Vegan Parmesan Recipe Is Life-Changing
Why tempeh?
Before diving into the prep, O’Neal takes time to explain what tempeh is for those unfamiliar. “It’s made from soybeans and it’s fermented with a healthy mold,” she says, adding that it’s a staple in Indonesian cuisine and boasts a full profile of essential amino acids. Not only is it a complete protein, but it’s also rich in iron, fiber, calcium, and B vitamins.
Importantly, tempeh has a texture that makes it surprisingly parmesan-like when grated. “It also grates up real nice and it has that sort of firm but bouncy texture that parmesan has,” she explains. To remove its naturally bitter flavor, she starts by boiling it for 15 minutes in salted water before marinating.
A tangy, umami-packed marinade
The secret to transforming plain tempeh into a salty, cheesy topping lies in the marinade. O’Neal mixes lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, miso paste, nutritional yeast, and a hefty amount of salt. The recipe calls for white miso but she doesn’t have any, so she uses red miso and halves the portion.
“Before you say, ‘Woah, that’s a lot of salt’- part of the reason you love cheese is because it’s got a ton of salt in it,” she says. Once boiled, the tempeh wedges soak in this brine overnight. O’Neal flips them halfway through to ensure an even soak: “I’ll flip them over so that they get like a good 8 to 10 to 12 hours on each side.”
Drying it out
The next step is dehydrating the marinated tempeh to firm it up and mimic parmesan’s dry crumble. O’Neal bakes the wedges at 170°F (around 76°C) for two hours, then tests the result. “It kind of smells like a Chee It,” she says, noting the funky, tangy aroma.
When she grates it, she finds it salty – almost too salty on the outer edges – but ultimately satisfying. “I definitely see the parmesan here. It’s got the tanginess, it’s got the saltiness,” she says. She rates it a 7.6 out of 10 overall, deducting points mainly due to the salt level and slightly crumbly texture.
The pasta test
To fully judge its parmesan potential, O’Neal tries it the way most people would: on pasta. “It definitely has the parmesan effect,” she says. “As a parmesan substitute, I really enjoy it.” The intense flavor mellows once it’s added to a dish, and she sees possibilities beyond pasta too, like grating it over soups.
Though she admits it won’t fool non-vegans, she stands by the recipe: “This is for the vegans. I think it tastes really good.” She plans to try it again with less salt and white miso for a closer match to the original TikTok version.
“Thank you for this recipe,” she says, encouraging her viewers to check out Vegan Scratch Kitchen’s work. “I love that it’s a single ingredient and that it’s like a healthy single ingredient.”
Tempeh parmesan might not be a perfect replica, but according to O’Neal, it’s a clever, satisfying, and highly flavorful vegan alternative worth trying. And if nothing else, it just might change the way you see tempeh forever.
For more of Merle O’Neal’s vegan recipe reviews check out her YouTube channel.
