You’ll fall for the salty, silky, cheesy sauce at first bite.
Easy Cacio e Pepe Recipe
Your new go-to dinner is 20 minutes and 4 ingredients away
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Updated Jan 22, 2025
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
You could wow ’em with phyllo-topped mac and cheese or carrot gnocchi, but sometimes, simplicity wins out. That’s why everyone should know how to make this cacio e pepe recipe. It’s pasta with cheese and pepper—what could be bad about that?
The Roman classic requires just six ingredients (four, if you don’t count salt and pepper) and takes 20 minutes to whip up. Even better, you likely have all the ingredients in your kitchen ready to go. Pecorino Romano, a sheep’s milk cheese, is traditional, but if you only have Parmesan on hand, that’s just as delicious. The freshly ground black pepper, however, is nonnegotiable.
“Dried spaghetti usually comes in 16-ounce boxes,” PureWow food editor Taryn Pire writes after testing the recipe at home, “so either weigh out 12 ounces or add a bit more butter, oil and cheese in the following steps to accommodate the extra pasta. This recipe is basically impossible to mess up, so don’t sweat it too much. You’ll fall for the salty, silky, cheesy sauce at first bite.”
Ingredients
12 ounces spaghetti
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
⅔ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, according to package instructions, until just al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Once the spaghetti is cooked, reserve a ½ cup of the pasta water and drain the rest.
2. While the pasta cooks, mash the soft butter with the olive oil and Pecorino in a large bowl to form a paste.
3. Add the spaghetti directly to the bowl with the butter mixture. Toss well to coat, adding the pasta water as needed to make a thick, creamy sauce that evenly slicks the noodles. Season to taste with salt and lots of pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
533 calories
22g fat
65g carbs
18g protein
2g sugars
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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
