Cacio e pepe

By the GetYourMacros team · 24 September 2026

Three ingredients and a pecorino sauce whipped with pasta water, never over direct heat.

• Time 20 min
• Course First course
• Diet Vegetarian
• Cuisine Italian
• Allergens gluten, dairy

Ingredients (1 serving)

• 100 g Pasta
• 40 g Pecorino romano
• Black pepper to taste

Quantities are for one serving: multiply by the number of people. Calories and macros are computed on the app's food database, ingredient by ingredient.

Method

1. Grate the pecorino very finely into a large bowl: coarse shards will not melt and you get strings instead of a smooth sauce.
2. Crush the black pepper in a mortar or under the base of a glass, then toast it for thirty seconds in a dry pan until it smells fragrant.
3. Boil the tonnarelli in half the usual amount of salted water: more starch in the water means a sauce that binds without any added fat.
4. Take two spoonfuls of that cooking water, let it cool for a few seconds and stir it into the pecorino until the paste is smooth.
5. Drain the pasta al dente, toss it with the toasted pepper in the pan off the heat, then add the pecorino paste away from the flame.
6. Work in more cooking water a little at a time until the sauce coats every strand, and serve with a last grind of pepper.

Tips

• Boiling water cooks the cheese and splits it: always let it cool a moment before it touches the pecorino.
• Cooking the pasta in little water is the trick that makes butter or cream unnecessary.

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