You’re only four ingredients and less than 25 minutes away from this easy, creamy recipe for Cacio e Pepe Pasta.
What the forms say: W-2, 1099, IT-201, W-9, 1040.
What I read: KFC, BLT, M&Ms, CPK, PB&J.
There may not be crying in baseball, but there is without a doubt crying in taxes. I’ve never been big on “math,” so every year when tax season rolls around, you better believe there is a flurry of emails to my accountant with a lot of of who-what-when-where-and-how’s.
Cooking, and let’s be honest, eating for a living, leads to a whole lot-o-food bills. So every April I take a long, hard look at my grocery receipts and restaurant bills and decide that next year, I’ll dial it back.
So here’s my first attempt: noodles, butter, cheese and pepper; a.k.a. Cacio e Pepe Pasta.
This recipe is my go-to budget-friendly, big-flavored favorite that’s not so great for the skinny jeans but unbeatable for the wallet. My sister first introduced me to this dish during dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant in Chicago, Davanti Enoteca. One taste, and I, nor my food budget, have ever looked back.
Tune in to the video below to see me whip up this quick and cost-conscious favorite!
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Ingredients
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, small diced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely grated black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add the spaghetti and cook it until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
- Return the pasta to the pot. Add the grated cheese, butter, black pepper and roughly ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water to the pot, stirring until combined. If necessary, add more pasta water to thin out the cheese and butter until the spaghetti is well coated.
Kelly's Notes:
- I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten to reserve a portion of the pasta water when draining the spaghetti. The starchy water is critical to the consistency of the sauce, so while hot water will work in a pinch, avoid forgetting this step!
- The cheese must be grated, rather than shredded, as the shredded consistency has the tendency to clump together when added to the pot.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
This is the best Cacio e pepe recipe I have found! I’ve tried several to get it right and this is now my go to. The secret I think is the grating of the cheese… genius! I have made this several times, always with whole wheat linguine and it’s a family favorite. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
You are so welcome, Tracy! I’m thrilled you’ve been enjoying the recipe!
Oh my. So easy, even more delicious.
I chose Cellentani pasta instead of spaghetti. Scrumptious!! We even roasted broccoli separately and tossed some in for variation. My kids were happy to eat veggies tossed into this incredible pasta meal. We’ll be eating this again SOON. Thank you!!!
Love this, Lori! I’m thrilled you are your family enjoyed the recipe!
Do you believe it’s critical to include the pepper? I have some rather picky eaters in my house. This recipe sounds delightful!
Feel free to leave it out, Kim! It will still be delicious :)
So easy DNA good. Love this recipe!
Delicious!! NO need to change anything.
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Bevy!
Delicious! Even my hard to impress little ones kept saying how good it was. It was the perfect side to grilled chicken. I will be making this again. Thank you so much!
Awesome! Thrilled to hear this, Naomi!
Made the recipe as written and it is so good. Can see many variations in the future
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jeanne!
I was a bachelor for 20 years, played heaps of sport and rarely home for long. Made many versions of this… Asiago cheese makes a nice variation as does olive oil and pesto
Love the idea of the Asiago, Danny! Yum!
Noticed the lid on pot when water coming to a boil -do you also keep lid on during boiling noodles? Just want to make sure I get it right :) since never put lid on when boiling water so not sure if makes difference. And maybe will help if I take it off burner when adding in all extras like you showed. Thank you for recipe and video
No need to keep the lid on while cooking the noodles! I just had it on so the water would come to a boil more quickly. Enjoy!
And to spice it up for that perfect ‘special’ meal just add some garlic prawns and chilli – yum yum!
YES! Love that idea, Carol!
This is AWESOME……. I have made it several times and the whole family loves it….. Cheap and so so GOOD and takes about 20 minutes to pull the whole dish together , set the table and get the drink & ice in glasses….. Sometimes, I do add a some chicken but in general, usually this is so good that NO ONE even ask about any meat…… LOVE THIS EASY PLEASY MEAL…….throw a side salad in also within the 20 minutes…. I cook, we eat, & clean up the kitchen in about a hour and it is so so GOOD……
LOVE hearing this, Deborah! I’m thrilled you and your family have been enjoying the recipe!
Riquísima
I love the recipe! I used grated cheese but it still clumped together. What did I do wrong?
Hi Georganne! Next time add more pasta water to thin out the cheese and butter until the spaghetti is well coated. :)
Perfetto Grazie milla !
Is the canned cheese appropriate for this, or do I use the cheese in the tub from the refrigerated section?
Hi Bryn! Whatever you prefer, as long as it’s grated :)
Hi! Your post inspired me to try this recipe and loved it ever since. I even posted one in my blog and I thought I posted a message her but I realized I haven’t so I’m here thanking you.
:)
Argh! I am not looking forward to next year taxes as we just established a company and that would take more time in taxes from here on.
Sometimes, simplicity yields delicious pasta :)
Very easy, tasty, filling, and cheap! Went well with grilled asparagus
Great work Kel!
I am soooo going to try this! Had no idea it was this easy and very few ingredients!
Congratulations on publishing your book (and getting your taxes done)! I enjoyed the post you did last week about artificial food setups, and I’m interested in reading your book, particularly for your insights on food photography for blogs. Photography is not my storng suit. For my blog, I’ve taken an approach of shooting lots of photos and then hoping a good one falls out. Sometimes it does, but I’m not always satisfied with what I get. In looking at the shots for this post, for example, I like that you have a mix of showing the final product, arty ingredient shots and an instructional shot (the last one). Is that an intentional mix? Also, in the first shot, it looks like you’ve nested two bowls for the pasta. I’d be interested in any of insights for how you make these decisions.
Looks great, Kelly–I love this kind of meal. That shot of the spaghetti looks very familiar too! :)
I love this recipe…I only did parm & butter but I’ll add pepper next time. I used to make this all the time in high school…it’s definitely easy comfort food! Love it!
lol we just got our taxes back from our CPA–too funny. I said the same exact thing you said–need to reduce that grocery bill. Love this recipe, it looks and sounds amazing!
I eat this nearly weekly, we used to call it “naked noodles”! And it’s the perfect remedy for taxes, yuck. So glad those are over for another year. Gorgeous photos!
Thanks, Cassie!
Love this dish! And I know what you mean about forgetting to reserve the pasta water – I always kick myself when I forget (which is often).
Many congrats again on the book! Just arrived yesterday. From now on when anyone asks me for food blogging advice I’m going to refer them straight to your book – you’ve covered it all from A to Z and so in depth too. Fabulous job! :-)
Thank you so, so much, Kathy! That means the world coming from you! I hope you saw your mention on pg. 28 :)
what a great & easy dish for a busy weeknight! I’m always looking for dishes like this :) awesome, Kelly!
Thank you, Julie! It’s hard to beat cheese + carbs :)