When we went to Rome a couple of years ago, Harmony tried cacio e pepe for the first time and straight up fell in love. It is seriously all she orders from Italian restaurants now. What she didn’t know is that it is so easy to make a cacio e pepe recipe at home. This recipe is creamy and made with just 4 ingredients. And you will absolutely love it.
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How To Make Cacio E Pepe
Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the bucatini and cook until it is just floating, about 7 minutes. Drain well, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Stir in the pepper and let bloom in the butter for 30 seconds. Add 3/4 cup of the pasta water to the pan and bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat, whisking to emulsify the water and butter, about 1 minutes.
Step 2: Add the pasta to the pan and cook, tossing occasionally, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce reduces and becomes thick and glossy, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the pecorino until it’s melted.
Step 3: The sauce should be creamy; if it looks dry, add more of the pasta cooking water a tablespoon at a time to loosen. Serve hot.
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Cacio E Pepe Recipe
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
- Salt
- 6 oz dried bucatini
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cups finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the bucatini and cook until it is just floating, about 7 minutes. Drain well, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Stir in the pepper and let bloom in the butter for 30 seconds. Add 3/4 cup of the pasta water to the pan and bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat, whisking to emulsify the water and butter, about 1 minutes. Add the pasta to the pan and cook, tossing occasionally, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce reduces and becomes thick and glossy, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the pecorino until it's melted. The sauce should be creamy; if it looks dry, add more of the pasta cooking water a tablespoon at a time to loosen. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Salt the water: Pasta water should taste like the ocean, which means you need a lot more salt than you think you do. I recommend using about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt per gallon (4 quarts) of water. Do not use iodized table salt though.
- Don’t over cook the pasta: If you over boil it, the end result will be mushy. Cook the pasta according to its directions until it is 3 minutes shy of al dente.
- Add the Cheese gradually: Do not dump in the parmesan all at once or you’ll get one gloopy mess. Instead, sprinkle it in handfuls at a time and stir until creamy. If the sauce looks too thick, add a splash of pasta water to loosen it.
- Coarse Grind Pepper: Loosen the little knob on top of your pepper grinder for a coarse pepper. For this recipe, you want the grind to be as coarse as possible.
- Using Dried Pasta: Just cook it according to the package directions until it is 3 minutes shy of al dente.
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I doubled this recipe to serve 4 people.
4 cups of cheese sounded like a lot and looked like a lot, but I went with it anyway. Jeez, I really wish I didn’t. I think that 2 1/2 cups to 3 cups, tops, would be enough. I used 1 pound of spaghetti and 2 pounds of sautéed shrimp and it was still too much. It cooled into a literal block of cheese. I don’t know if it’s because, for some reason, it just doesn’t work to double the recipe or what. If I make this again, I will definitely decrease the cheese considerably. Even if I were to make it as is (2 servings), I would half the amount of cheese. In my opinion, it’s just too much. I also added some minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. The flavor would have been good, without all of that cheese.
Thank you for the reminder!! My grandchildren complain about not having time to cook. Years ago, I showed them this recipe, and they were hooked!! By the way, I do very much enjoy your stories and recipes!!
Absolutely adored this quick and easy dinner recipe! Only 30 minutes and so satisfying!
This is a busy mom’s dream come true! Cheesy pasta ready in 5 minutes?? My family will gobble this up!
Simple, Easy and Cheesy – This is what my husband would love over the weekend! Absolutely delicious!
This is definitely one of those recipes that I haven’t tried yet. Even the name of it – Cacio e Pepe – sounds like something you WANT to try asap.
It does not get any easier than this cacio e pepe dish. Simple ingredients can come together to make one spectacular dish!