I’ve been testing and perfecting this authentic cacio e pepe recipe since I moved back from Italy, for almost 10 years. This no-frills, one-pot pasta is inspired by a beloved neighborhood restaurant in Rome, one that Anthony Bourdain famously loved. It uses just three ingredients (pasta, pecorino cheese, and black pepper) and is ready in 20 minutes flat. No butter, no cream, no fuss. Just perfectly creamy, peppery pasta that’s as close to the real thing as you’ll get without booking a flight to Rome.
Anthony Bourdain’s favorite Roman pasta, made easy!
When I lived in Rome, I used to frequent a tiny, unassuming restaurant around the corner from my apartment in Trastevere. I didn’t know at the time that Anthony Bourdain had fallen in love with the same place—or that he once tried to keep it a secret, knowing that fame could ruin a good thing. Years later, after I’d moved back, I started working on recreating their cacio e pepe from memory (aka, lots of conversations with the nonna). Dozens of attempts later, this is the recipe I’ll stand behind.
What makes this version special? It’s authentic, meaning no butter and no cream—just the magic of creamy sauce as Pecorino Romano melts into hot (but not boiling, this is key!) and starchy pasta water. I even include a tech-savvy shortcut (hello, food processor) for foolproof results every time. This is the real Roman deal, but designed to work in your home kitchen in under 30 minutes.
P.S., I haven’t shared the restaurant name here, but their cacio e pepe is as good as ever. If you’re heading to Rome and want the name, leave a comment.
Key ingredients and why they matter
You need just three ingredients for this classic Roman pasta: pasta, pecorino, and whole black peppercorns. I know it’s hard to get the exact ingredients sometimes, so I’ve listed a few substitutions.
Full ingredient list and detailed instructions are on the recipe card.
- Pasta: Traditionally made with tonnarelli or bucatini. Spaghetti, linguine, and fettuccine work too— ideally, choose something long and sturdy to hold the sauce but other pasta shapes can work in a pinch too.
- Pecorino Romano: Sharp, salty, and dry—ideal for melting into a creamy, emulsified sauce. Grate it fresh using the smallest hole. You can also use parmesan (parmigiano reggiano), but Pecorino gives it a distinct nutty, salty flavor.
- Black pepper: I grind whole peppercorns and toast the freshly cracked pepper to release its oils. This rounds out the sharpness of the cheese. This isn’t a background ingredient—it’s half the flavor.
- Use cream or unsalted butter on top, but only if you want my old Italian landlord to haunt you from his grave … just kidding.
Tips & Tricks
Shruthi’s top tips
USE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WATER, DRAIN AT THE RIGHT TIME, AND MIX WITH CHEESE AT THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE.
I’m sorry for the generous use of all caps here, but it’s really that critical to get this right. Starchy pasta water is your emulsifier, so let’s use it properly.
- Use a gallon of water per pound of pasta.
- Reserve the pasta cooking water 2 minutes before indicated al dente time (e.g., if package says 10 minutes, reserve water at 8 min mark)
- Allow the pasta water to cool so it’s not boiling hot before you mix with cheese. This will prevent clumping without losing the starchiness.
Other tips and tricks
- Use the smallest hole on your grater for meltability. Pre-grated cheese won’t work as well here since they have cellulose added to prevent clumping.
- Add hot water slowly to grated cheese, whisking to form a paste before adding to pasta. I like to add a tablespoon at a time, and use a quarter cup.
- Toasting black pepper in the skillet brings out a nutty, floral depth.
- Short on time? Blend cheese, pepper, and a splash of pasta water in a food processor and then dilute with hot water to get the right consistency.
- Turn the heat off before adding the cheese paste to avoid clumping.
Make authentic cacio e pepe!
Bring a large pot of water to boil (with salt) to cook the pasta. While pasta cooks, grate Pecorino Romano cheese (using the smallest hole on your box grater or better, a microplane). Set aside in a large bowl.
- 2 to 3 minutes before pasta is al dente, heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add a generous amount of freshly cracked pepper and toast it. Reserve a cup of the pasta water and allow it to cool down a bit.
- Grab a ladle more of pasta water and add into the pan with the pepper. Turn to a simmer. The water will bubble, and turn white due to the starch (this is good, because it’ll help the cheese and pepper bind to your pasta).
- Add a quarter cup of the pasta water to a bowl with cheese, ideally one tablespoon at a time and whisk it together using a fork to create a thick paste. Add cautiously since you don’t want it to get runny (but don’t fret if it does, just add more cheese!)
- Remove the pasta and add it to the skillet with the pepper and water, and toss to coat using tongs. The starchy pasta water is critical for binding with the cheese to create a smooth sauce!
- Finally, turn the heat off, and add the cheesy paste to the skillet with the pasta. Toss evenly until combined and smooth (cheese should not be chunky).
- Serve hot with a grind of coarse black pepper and a sprinkle of cheese!
How to serve cacio e pepe
You can serve the cacio e pepe as a side to any meaty dishes if you have a carnivore in the family, or serve this as a main “primi” with a side salad (like my kale salad with pecorino and pepitas).
This dish is best served fresh, so I don’t recommend storing it. However, you can store in the fridge in an airtight container for a day or two. To reheat, add a tablespoon of hot water before microwaving to loosen the sauce.
More authentic Italian pasta recipes
If you loved this cacio e pepe, you will also love these other Italian pastas:
Penne Pomodoro
Rigatoni Arrabbiata
Trenette al Pesto
Pasta e Piselli (Pasta with Peas)
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Authentic Cacio e Pepe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup water, reserved from cooking pasta
- 1 lb bucatini , see substitutions in post
- 4 cups Pecorino Romano, freshly grated, additional for garnish
- 3 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground and coarse
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water per package instructions. Critical Tips: Use 1 gallon of water per pound of pasta. Reserve 1 cup of water 2 minutes before it reaches al dente and allow water to cool down a bit before mixing with cheese.
- Use the smallest hole on your grater and grate Pecorino Romano into a bowl.
- In a large skillet, toast the black pepper over medium heat for 1–2 minutes. Add a ladle of hot pasta water to the pepper. Note: The water will bubble, and turn somewhat white due to the starch (but this is good, because it'll help the cheese and pepper bind to your pasta!)
- Slowly whisk ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water (should still be warm, but not boiling hot) into the grated cheese until a thick paste forms. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time if needed.
- Add drained pasta to the skillet with pepper and toss well to coat.
- Turn off heat. Add the cheese paste to the pasta, tossing vigorously until smooth and saucy. Add a bit more pasta water if needed.
- Serve hot with a grind of coarse black pepper and a sprinkle of cheese!
Video
Notes
- Use a gallon of water per pound of pasta. I’m usually not fussy about pasta water, but here, starch is everything. Measure your water (just the first couple times!) so your sauce emulsifies like a dream.
- Reserve pasta water 2 minutes before al dente time to maximize starchiness.
- Allow water to cool before adding to cheese. Boiling hot water can make the cheese clump. You want hot, but not boiling hot.
- Stick to long, sturdy pasta—something like tonnarelli or bucatini—so it grabs the sauce and doesn’t clump.
- If things start to seize up when you add the cheese, don’t panic—just splash in a bit more of that reserved pasta water to loosen it.
- And okay, don’t judge me, but here’s a hack: throw the cheese and a bit of pasta water into a mini food processor. Blend until creamy, then stir that into the hot pasta with pepper. Foolproof, ultra-smooth, and totally worth it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ciao Shruthi,
Thanks for your great article. My wife and I are heading off to Italy and arrive in Rome mid-January. We liked the cacio e pepe that we had last visit at Roscioli, and we heard that Armando al Pantheon does a good one also, but having read your rave about the mystery restaurant (trattoria?) in Trastevere, we would like to try it too. Please send its name to pandkedwards44@bigpond.com
Much appreciated,
Peter and Kath
AUSTRALIA
Hi Peter, Kath – so excited for you guys to head to Rome! I’ll shoot you an email shortly with some suggestions 🙂
Made this for myself last night as we’d had ‘afternoon tea’ earlier and although my wife wasn’t hungry, I was a bit peckish, so it was ideal to knock up as a late supper.
Stuck to the recipe and couldn’t believe how such a simple dish could be so tasty and satisfying The hardest bit was grating the pecorino 😅. A keeper
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Can you provide the name of the restaurant that you and Bourdain ate this dish? I will be in Rome next year and the Cacio y Pepe I ate in Rome were too salty or very saucy.
Have sent you an email 🙂
Lovely recipe . What was the name of restaurant please
I’ve sent you an email with the name! Hope you enjoy if you go!
Trying your recipe tonight…can’t wait. We’d love the name of the resto. We are in Rome end March. Jen
I shall email you the name of the restaurant – hope you love it, Jen!
I made your recipe for Cacio e Pepe. I learned 2 amazing things. Using pasta water to mix cheese was remarkable. Also ladling out pasta water 2 mins b4 paste done: yay. I got a ladle lol. I have been following Lorenzo Boni of Barilla Pasta but what I learned from you had made me your dedicated follower. Many many thanks.
I love the toasted pepper tip in this recipe! Makes all the difference! Shruthi your recipes have never disappointed and I always learn from you. Thanks!
Thank you so much, Amy! Agree that toasting the pepper makes a huge difference!!
Wow wow wowww. Chances upon this after bombing Cacio e pepe a few times and fully convinced of a bad cheese (maybe even bad cook). This just read so right and delivered a beautiful pasta dish!! Thanks so much 😊
Thank you Shruthi for this Bucatini Cacio e Peperecipe recipe!
We are heading to Rome early Spring and would love to know where this local restaurant is located. Ciao!
Thank you Frank! Please feel free to email me at shruthi[at]urbanfarmie[dot]com and I can share back with you! (Would prefer not to make it public here to protect the restaurant!)
This is my go to recipe when I need dinner quickly on the table! Ive always been partial to romano over parmesan so it’s like this dish was made for me. Easy ingredients and simple instructions!
Darling, lovely take on a classic dish. A gift of wisdom for you ~ “Pecorino” means the cheese comes from sheep’s milk… “pecore” are sheep in Italian. So, Pecorino Romano is a certain type of hard sheep’s milk cheese. In America, you can find hard cheeses that are called “Romano” but are made from cow’s milk. The traditional Cacio e Peppe is made with Pecorino Romano.
Why turn your nose up at butter? It’s not authentic to the original dish but many recipes have been tweaked to make them better. A couple tablespoons of butter add a rich, velvety flavor to any dish. You should compare the dish with and without and you won’t go back after trying it.
Not turning my nose up at all! I meant traditional in the sense that the typical Italian recipe that I loved when I lived in Rome was not made with butter. Totally finish with butter if you prefer! 🙂
Thanks so much for this recipe, i can’t wait to try it soon. I would love to know the name of the restaurant that served it to Anthony Bourdain as I plan to be in Rome very soon. Any other recommendations will be most appreciated.
Thank you Susan – if you don’t mind, I’ll send you an email with the name 🙂
Help, still getting lumpy cheese! Cheese quality? Water too hot? Not enough starch in the water (even added semolina to the water one time)? Tried the blender trick to no avail. I have no trouble with carbonara, but this recipe is making me think I ought to hand in my knives….
Hi Maxwell – sorry to hear you’re getting lumpy cheese. Typically, that’s a sign of bad cheese (especially if the blender trick is not working). Are you buying fresh cheese and grating? Or buying pre-grated cheese? The latter tends to have potato starch in it that can get lumpy when mixed with water. One other trick you can try is to use cold water to make the cheese slurry and then add hot water slowly to get the desired consistency. Let me know!
As someone who on pasta night has always only had cheese and noodles due to not handling red sauces well. I tried this today for the first time and it was phenomenal. I found many recipes that added butter or cream but read that it wasn’t authentic to do that, so I continued to look and found this one. Will definitely be saved as a favorite!
I am so glad you loved the recipe! 🙂
Hi! Cacio e Pepe is my favorite food, and I’ll be going to Rome next month. Could you share the name??
Have sent you an email!
A longtime cacio e pepe fanatic, I can wholeheartedly say that this recipe was the total package: flavorful, light, and the pepper and cheese worked together nicely – no one flavor overpowered my tastebuds. So many times you find cacio e pepe recipes that claim to be authentic but have runny sauces that are just too creamy. This one was perfect. And best of all, the recipe was simple and straightforward.
Thank you Jordan! Super happy you liked the recipe!