What is Cacio e Pepe?

Just pasta, pecorino, and black pepper — emulsified into a glossy, peppery sauce with nothing but starchy water and technique.

Where does Cacio e Pepe come from?

Cacio e Pepe is a Italian (Roman) dish from Lazio (Rome), Italy.

Can Cacio e Pepe be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Cacio e Pepe recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Cacio e Pepe take to make?

About 20 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 2.

Recipe

Name: Cacio e Pepe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Italian (Roman)
Ingredients: 8 oz tonnarelli or spaghetti; 1.5 cups Pecorino Romano, finely grated; 2 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely cracked

Europe → 🇮🇹 Italy → Lazio (Rome)

Cacio e Pepe

Italian (Roman) · medium · serves 2

prep 5 min · cook 15 min

~312 cal · 27g protein · 3g carbs · 21g fat (estimated, per serving)

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Tonnarelli pasta glossy with pecorino and black pepper

🇮🇹 Lazio (Rome)

Cacio e pepe ("cheese and pepper") is one of Rome’s four sacred pastas, and its three-ingredient simplicity is a trap — the pecorino wants to clump, and only the right heat and starchy water coax it into a silken cream. Roman trattorias live and die by it.

Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 2 —

•

8 oz tonnarelli or spaghetti

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1.5 cups Pecorino Romano, finely grated

•

2 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely cracked

Instructions

Toast the cracked pepper in a dry pan until fragrant, then add a ladle of water to make a peppery bath.

Cook the pasta in well-salted but minimal water so it’s extra starchy; pull it a minute early.

Make a paste: mix most of the pecorino with a little cool pasta water into a smooth cream (heat is what makes cheese clump — keep it below a simmer).

Toss the pasta in the peppery pan off the heat, then work in the cheese paste and splashes of hot pasta water until it turns glossy and coats every strand.

Finish with the last pecorino and more pepper. Serve instantly — it waits for no one.

Roman trattoria tradition.

Ratings & reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.

🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

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Lazio (Rome). Rome, where four pastas are guarded like scripture.

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Italy. Twenty regions, twenty utterly different cuisines.

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Europe. Village recipes guarded for generations.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

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Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →