Cacio e Pepe (Spaghetti with Pecorino and Pepper)
Recipe
Cacio e Pepe (Spaghetti with Pecorino and Pepper)
This recipe is best made with home made or fresh spaghetti and I have made with whole wheat pasta with great results. It is so easy and fast to pull together. Serve with a fresh salad.
Times
- Ready Time : 0 min
Servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti from a box or homemade with this recipe
- 4 ounce pecorino
- 2-3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
Directions
Boil pasta per package or recipe directions. Heat a large pan next to the pot of pasta.
Grate the cheese (I used the Cheese Guy’s Pecorino with pepper) and set aside.
When pasta is done cooking to al dente, transfer to hot pan using tongs or pasta spoon and a spoonful of pasta water. Add cheese and butter, stir and add more pasta water as necessary to achieve desired consistency. Add pepper and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve right away with more grated pecorino if desired.








This is by far one of my favorite pasta recipes! The first time I made it with shredded cheese rather than grating it from the block and it came out ok but a bit lumpy. The second time I made it I purchased the cheese Tamar suggests in the recipe and it turned out divine! It is so simple to make as well! Hubby requests this pasta at least once a week now…Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!
Oh, thank you so much for reviewing, I am so glad you like it. It is ridiculously easy for something so good.
Quick question… The cheese guy recently stopped selling the pecorino with black pepper in it. So disappointed. This cheese used to make this pasta wonderfully creamy and now I had to switch to the regular block of pecorino. I have noticed that this cheese does not melt as well and the sauce becomes clumpy even when I drain the water thoroughly. Do you have any suggestions for anything that could make the sauce creamier or even for a different cheese I could substitute? Thanks