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Cacio e Pepe Recipe - Welcome to Rome, you’re welcome (Photo by Erich Boenzli)
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5 from 2 votes

4 ingredient Cacio e Pepe Recipe that will catapult you into pasta heaven

Cacio e Pepe. Cheese, pasta, pepper, and salt. Your new favorite pasta will be ready to go, with a glass of Frascati, in 25 minutes. 
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: cacio e pepe
Servings: 2
Calories: 528kcal

Ingredients

  • ½ pound (8 ounces) linguine pasta
  • 1-½ cups (4 ounces) Pecorino Romano, freshly grated
  • 2 teaspoons whole tellicherry peppercorns, cracked
  • cup pasta water
  • Salt

Instructions

  • Bring a pot of water to a boil and generously add salt.
  • In the meantime, finely grate cheese, crush the peppercorns, and mix in a bowl.
  • Add pasta to boiling water and stir for the first couple minutes.
  • Taste the pasta water, make sure you taste the salt.
  • A minute before the pasta is perfectly al dente, use tongs to transfer pasta into a skillet.
  • Add ⅓ cup hot pasta water to the skillet.
  • Add finely grated cheese and cracked peppercorns and stir for about 1 minute until the cheese melts and clings to the pasta.
  • Serve & enjoy!

Notes

  • Note: We like cheese and pepper, a lot. So if it’s too cheesy or peppery for you, reduce the amounts accordingly. 
  • Oil? Don’t use oil in your pasta water. It’ll just sit on the water surface and won’t do anything (remember from school: water and oil don’t mix). Okay, it helps to prevent the pasta water from rising and boiling over. But this problem can easily be solved by adjusting the heat. Pasta is sticky at first when it starts releasing the starch. Once the water starts to boil again after adding the pasta, the starch will settle and won’t stick any longer, but will start mingling with the salt water to create the base for your sauce.  Just make sure to stir your pasta a couple times in the first few minutes. That’s all. 
  • Variations: I hope you’ll try this recipe a few times, tweak it to your liking, and please share your tweaks with me. Then, next time, add some finely chopped parsley to give some herbal depth or add a couple chili pepper flakes to spice it up. Or, of course, you could always add garlic. After all, it is an Italian dish.

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 9g | Sodium: 310mg | Potassium: 333mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 128IU | Calcium: 310mg