Spaghetti

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We love making spaghetti and meatballs, baked spaghetti, and lemon spaghetti, but classic Spaghetti with Meat Sauce is the BEST! It is a family dinner staple. I love this recipe because it’s made with basic ingredients that we always have in our …

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara is a classic Roman pasta dish that is easy to make and 100% indulgent. You only need 6-ingredients and 20 minutes, making it the perfect recipe for busy weeknights or easy entertaining. The ingredients are simple and we always have …

Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e Pepe is a mouthwatering pasta dish that uses four ingredients, comes together in twenty minutes, and feeds your entire household.

The post Cacio e Pepe appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Cacio e Pepe is my go-to recipe on those days that my to-do list has more items on it than there are hours in the day. This cheese and pepper pasta is the ultimate quick, delicious, and budget-friendly dinner. My foolproof Cacio e Pepe recipe has four ingredients: spaghetti, parmesan, black pepper, and butter. Bonus: It comes together in under 20 minutes and can feed your entire household.

Overhead shot of finished Cacio e Pepe in a pan with tongs in it.

What Does Cacio e Pepe Mean?

Cacio e Pepe is Italian for Cheese and Pepper Pasta. This iconic Roman dish was created by shepherds who traveled light and couldn’t carry a bunch of ingredients to feed themselves. So they needed their meals to be filling but easy to execute; all reasons this dish is a smash hit, especially if you’ve got kids. I’m not saying kids are sheep. Sheep listen and don’t talk back. Shepherds had it easy. #truthtopower #momlife

Ingredients for Cacio e Peppe

Traditionally Cacio e Pepe is made with:

Pecorino Romano
Coarsely ground black pepper
TonnarelliI

While I’m all about coarsely ground black pepper, to keep things easy and within budget, I use grated parmesan, a little butter, and spaghetti. So, no, this is not a traditional Cacio e Pepe recipe. Don’t come at me, purists.

I’m just trying to make life easier for folks that don’t have time to grind black peppercorns in a mortar. And while I know butter is a near sin in some parts of Italy (the North), it helps stabilize the cheese sauce for those people that just want to get dinner on the table without a bunch of fuss. Feel free to smash peppercorns, omit the butter, and work that pasta and cheese to your heart’s content.

What Pasta Can I Use For Cacio e Pepe?

Cacio E Pepe’s creamy, peppery cheese sauce requires a long noodle with some texture and toothiness, so it can cling to it without overpowering it. While tonnarelli is the traditional pasta used in this recipe, spaghetti or bucatini works just as great. Steer clear of linguine and angel hair which will fall apart quickly and become a gummy mess.

Overhead shot of finished Cacio e Pepe on a plate with a fork in it.

How To Make Cacio e Pepe

With just a handful of ingredients and one pan, Cacio E Pepe looks deceptively simple to make. However, if you want a creamy sauce, there are two things you need to make sure you do:

When boiling your pasta, use a smaller pan and less water. This concentrates the amount of starch in the water, which will help your ingredients combine smoothly to create a velvety sauce.
When you’re ready to make your sauce, cook on low heat; otherwise, your cheese will glop and get stringy. It’s ok if your sauce steams, but if you see it start to bubble, take the pan off the heat to cool things down quickly.

How long can you store leftover Cacio e Pepe?

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days. Then, reheat leftovers in a pan set over medium heat. To loosen the sauce, add a tablespoon or two of pasta water to the pan (or plain water if you didn’t reserve pasta water). Stir constantly until the pasta is steaming.

Pasta water is liquid gold when creating a sauce, especially a cheese sauce. As spaghetti boils, it releases starch into the water. That starch has incredible binding power and not only helps pull together a sauce, but it also helps the sauce bind to the pasta.

Try substituting pasta water for milk the next time you make boxed mac and cheese, and watch the magic happen.
Try freezing your pasta water in ice cube trays and tossing a cube in when making a pan sauce, beans, or soups.
Or melt the cube and use it instead of plain water when making bread, as the starch in the water will help the bread rise.

Side shot of finished Cacio e Pepe in a pan with tongs in it.

Most people will say you can’t make Cacio e Pepe ahead of time. Those people have never worked in a restaurant kitchen. To make your Cacio e Pepe up to a day ahead you will need to par-cook the pasta and the sauce.

For the pasta:

Cook the pasta for half the time recommended on the package. Drain the pasta, reserving about a cup of the pasta water.
Refrigerate the pasta water in an airtight container and spread the pasta on a sheet pan. Allow it to cool.
Once cool, toss with 1 teaspoon of olive oil per pound of pasta. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours in an airtight container

For the sauce:

Dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into a cup of water. Add it to a small pan and bring it to a simmer, constantly stirring, until it thickens into a syrup. Allow the syrup to cool.
Then add the cheese, pepper, and butter to a blender. Pulse to combine the ingredients.
Next pour in the cooled cornstarch syrup. Blend until a thick sauce forms. Store in an airtight container with a piece of plastic placed over the surface of the sauce so a skin doesn’t form.

When it’s time to cook, boil the pasta in salted water for a minute or two, until just before al dente. Drain the pasta, removing it from the pan. Then bring a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to a simmer in the saucepan. Add the cheese sauce and stir until it loosens. Next, add the pasta. Finally, stir the pasta, adding pasta water little by little, until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.

Cacio e Pepe

Cacio e Pepe is a mouthwatering pasta dish that uses four ingredients, comes together in twenty minutes, and feeds your entire household. Before you know it, you'll be yelling "Dinner's ready!"

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Italian

Total Cost $3.20 recipe /$0.80 serving

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings

Calories

Author Monti – Budget Bytes

Equipment

Ingredients

3/4 tsp salt $0.02
1/2 lb dry spaghetti $0.67
4 Tbsp salted butter, divided* $0.60
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper*, plus more for garnish $0.16
1 cup Parmesan, grated*, plus more for garnish $1.75

Instructions

In a large skillet bring 6 cups of water and 3/4 teaspoons of salt to a boil. Add the dry spaghetti and cook for two minutes less than the package directions call for.
Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining the spaghetti. Place the spaghetti in a bowl and set it close to the stove to keep it warm.
In the same pan you cooked the spaghetti, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the black pepper over medium heat. Cook until fragrant.
Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan and stir until a glossy sauce forms.
Turn the heat down to low and add the spaghetti to the pan. Top with the grated parmesan and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
Use tongs to quickly mix the parmesan, butter, spaghetti, and pepper sauce until a creamy sauce forms. Serve immediately and garnish with additional pepper and parmesan cheese.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the sauce.

*If using finely ground black pepper (like the kind that comes pre-ground) use 1/2 teaspoon.

*Try to use fresh parmesan, which will actually melt. If you use the powdery stuff in the green bottle it will leave you with a grainy sauce.

How to Make Cacio e Pepe – Step by Step Photos

Raw spaghetti in a pan of boiling water.

In a large skillet, bring 6 cups of water and 3/4 teaspoons of salt to a boil. Add a 1/2 pound of dry spaghetti and boil for two minutes less than the package directions call for, until just before al dente.

A ladle reserves pasta water from a pan of cooked spaghetti.

Before draining the spaghetti, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Once drained, place the spaghetti in a bowl and set it close to the stove to keep it warm.

Pasta water, butter, and pepper in a pan.

In the same skillet you used to cook the spaghetti, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper over medium heat. Simmer the pepper in the melted butter until fragrant.

Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan and stir until the sauce becomes glossy and thickens.

Grated parmesan and butter on top of cooked spaghetti.

Turn down the heat from medium to low. Add the spaghetti, the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and the cup of grated parmesan.

Over low heat, use tongs to combine the parmesan, butter, spaghetti, and black pepper sauce until a creamy cheese sauce forms. Add more pasta water to thin the sauce if necessary. If the sauce starts to simmer, take the pan off the heat.

Plate your Cacio e Pepe immediately and garnish with more grated parmesan and a few more grinds of black pepper. Try not to gobble it up so fast that you cover your cheeks with cheese sauce. (That’s mostly a note for me. I inhaled this stuff so fast, I left Beth clutching her pearls. )

The post Cacio e Pepe appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Pasta alla Carbonara

This pasta alla carbonara recipe easy to make with 4 classic ingredients and tastes so decadent and delicious. Ok, I couldn’t spend a month in Rome studying and seeking out the best pasta alla carbonara the city had to offer without coming back to this post to share a few things that I learned. ♡ […]

This pasta alla carbonara recipe easy to make with 4 classic ingredients and tastes so decadent and delicious.

Ok, I couldn’t spend a month in Rome studying and seeking out the best pasta alla carbonara the city had to offer without coming back to this post to share a few things that I learned. ♡

First of all, can I just say how much I appreciate this city’s passion for talking about good pasta?! One of the first souvenirs I purchased during our month in Rome was this tote bag, and the number of nods and conversations it prompted with everyone from market vendors to our AirBnB neighbors to restaurant servers to local playground parents were downright delightful. “That’s right.” “All you need.” “Correct, no cream!” You also can’t help but love a city where everyone, when asked who makes the best carbonara, quickly replies with the obvious —“mia nonna” (my grandmother). Certainly true, I’m sure. But I have to say that the bowls of pasta alla carbonara that I had the pleasure of sampling in restaurants were also exceptional.

My favorite, no surprise, ended up being the pasta alla carbonara developed by the “King of Carbonara” himself, Chef Luciano Monosilio. Served with a supremely decadent and silky egg sauce, a few crispy and surprisingly large cubes of guanciale, and a perfectly al dente twirl of thick spaghetti, Chef Luciano’s carbonara tasted just as legendary as one would hope. And I was also intrigued to learn that he has a brilliant modern method for making it, which I’ve now wholeheartedly adopted.

Instead of tossing the egg sauce in a very hot pan with very hot pasta, a classic method that is notorious for sometimes accidentally scrambling the eggs, Chef Luciano first tempers the eggs in a metal mixing bowl with the guanciale grease and hot starchy pasta water. Then he transfers the pasta directly to the mixing bowl, places the bowl over the pot used to cook the pasta water (essentially creating a double boiler), and tosses the pasta with the sauce over the heat until it has cooked and thickened. It’s a simple method that I’ve found to be much more reliable when it comes to creating a perfectly glossy egg sauce and I have a hunch that all of you fellow carbonara lovers out there are going to love it too.

So today, I’ve updated my favorite pasta alla carbonara recipe below to include the double-boiler trick, along with a few additional tips that will hopefully be helpful. This recipe is definitely full-on rich, full-flavored, classic comfort food. So when you’re ready to indulge, grab a fork and let’s dive in!

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Lemon Spaghetti

You know a recipe is good when you tell your family how amazing it is after every single bite, ha! That is what happens when I make Lemon Spaghetti with Garlic Toasted Breadcrumbs. And I don’t do this because I am looking for compliments, I just …

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

This lemon ricotta pasta recipe makes a creamy, zingy sauce in minutes! It’s a shortcut that makes mealtime easy. Here’s…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This lemon ricotta pasta recipe makes a creamy, zingy sauce in minutes! It’s a shortcut that makes mealtime easy.

Here’s a quick and simple pasta recipe that’s the perfect shortcut for weeknights: Lemon Ricotta Pasta! Mixing ricotta cheese with olive oil, Parmesan and a little pasta water makes a makeshift white sauce that’s ideal for coating on long noodles (who knew!). This quick weeknight trick has become a staple over here: the zing of the lemon zest makes it absolutely irresistible not to keep slurping down noodles.

Ingredients in lemon ricotta pasta

Ricotta is a creamy Italian cheese with a mild flavor that’s famous for its use in lasagna: but it’s ideal for long noodles, too. The great part about this lemon ricotta pasta? It requires just 1 minute of cooking to form a beautifully creamy white sauce. You’ll literally stir together a few ingredients and voila: a creamy sauce. Here’s what you’ll need for whipping up this pasta at home:

Bucatini or spaghetti noodles (or your noodle of choice)
Ricotta cheese
Olive oil
Grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Lemon zest

Tips for lemon ricotta pasta

This lemon ricotta pasta recipe could not be easier: boil the pasta, stir together the sauce ingredients, and combine! There’s not much cooking here. But there are a few minor tips that can make or break the recipe:

Save the pasta water! This ingredient is used to make a creamy sauce. It’s easy to forget (been there), so my mom shared a tip with us that helps. After you start the pasta, place your strainer in the sink, then place a liquid measuring cup inside as a reminder. When you go to dump the pasta, you’ll think: what’s that liquid measuring cup? Oh yes, I need to save the pasta water!
Make sure to cook the pasta to al dente. This means “to the bite” in Italian: when it’s tender with a small white speck inside when you bite into a piece. Boil it a few minutes less than the package instructions indicate, and start taste testing early!
The texture is best when served immediately. This lemon ricotta pasta is best when the pasta is freshly cooked and it’s warm: especially since you use the pasta water to help create the sauce. You can eat it later, but it does get drier in texture.

Leftovers and storage instructions

Want to eat this lemon ricotta pasta the next day? You can, though it’s not quite as good as the day of. This pasta is best with piping hot fresh pasta and sauce warm from the stove. It does get a gummier texture as it sits, and especially once it’s cooled. Here’s how to freshen up your leftovers:

Leftovers become drier over time, and with refrigeration. You can store the pasta about 2 days refrigerated, but the texture becomes drier.
How to reheat it? You can reheat the pasta with a splash of milk on the stovetop, and revive the flavors with a pinch or two of salt. Make sure to generously garnish with grated Parmesan cheese as well.

What to serve with lemon ricotta pasta

Want a few fast and easy side dishes to serve with this pasta? Anything from a quick green salad to lemony peas works here. If you’re serving it as a main dish, think about dishes that add additional protein. Here are a few ideas:

Green salad like Easy Arugula Salad, Butter Lettuce Salad, or Spring Mix Salad
Legumes like Peas with Lemon or Easy White Beans
Veggies like Easy Shaved Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower, Sauteed Green Beans, Roasted Broccoli or Perfect Roasted Broccolini

More ricotta recipes

Ricotta makes magic with pasta, toast, desserts, and more! Here are some of our favorite ricotta recipes:

Try irresistibly tasty Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Go for creamy Whipped Ricotta
Opt for fun and customizable Ricotta Toast
Try Lasagna with Ricotta or Ricotta Pizza

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Ricotta Toast

Vegetarian Lasagna with Ricotta

Ricotta Pizza

This lemon ricotta pasta recipe is…

Vegetarian. For gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta.

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4

Print Recipe