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    Home » Recipes » Mediterranean Food

    Bucatini Cacio e Pepe Pasta

    Published: Apr 23, 2023 by Sonila · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Bucatini Cacio e Pepe is a classic Italian pasta dish made with bucatini pasta, Pecorino Romano cheese, and freshly ground black pepper. It is a simple dish, but it is incredibly flavorful and comforting!! With just a few high-quality ingredients and a little bit of technique, you can create a pasta dish that is a crowd pleaser.

    Bucatini Cacio e Pepe

    I have noticed that this simple pasta dish is appearing more often in Pasta restaurants here in Florida. My kids love pasta and I always try to introduce new recipes to them, bonus if these recipes are from the Mediterranean area where I grew up.

    Bucatini Pasta

    I used to have cacio e pepe with spaghetti but recently I have noticed the shift towards bucatini pasta. I am very happy to see bucatini become more prominent in restaurant menus as well as widely available in grocery stores.

    Bucatini is a thick pasta, similar to spaghetti in shape but thicker and it has a hollow center. My friend Jacqui who lives in Italy has a food blog dedicated solely to pasta, so if you want to check out more information about Bucatini specifically feel free to read her article about bucatini pasta. Her blog is a gem of authentic Italian pasta recipes:).

    I love using bucatini to make a pasta dish with ground beef and mushrooms, it’s one of our family’s favorite dinners.

    Uncooked bucatini in a rectangular platter.
    Bucatini
    A hand showing bucatini pasta, uncooked from the side so you can see the tubular shape with a hole in it.
    Bucatini side view

    What does Cacio e Pepe mean?

    Cacio e Pepe means literally ‘cheese and pepper’. I didn’t know that initially because even though I watched a lot of Italian TV when I lived in Albania (that’s how I learned Italian), I always knew the word ‘formaggio’ to be used for cheese.

    So cacio e pepe refers generally to a simple Roman pasta dish made with just 3 ingredients, pasta, Pecorino Romano cheese and freshly ground pepper.

    A mortar and pestle showing ground peppercorn.
    Ground Peppercorn

    What cheese do you use to make this pasta dish?

    The traditional cheese for Bucatini Cacio e Pepe would be Pecorino Romano. Pecorino Romano is an Italian cheese, made with Sheep’s Milk, it’s a hard and salty cheese.

    I usually buy it in blocks and grate it myself. The pre-grated one comes with other chemicals in it to prevent it from clumping but those chemicals are not in your favor when making Cacio e Pepe.

    Pro-Tip: Grate Pecorino Romano while you set pasta to boil.

    Pecorine block of cheese.
    Pecorino
    Grating pecorino cheese in a bowl.
    Grating pecorino

    Simplifying Bucatini Cacio e Pepe

    So if you’re from Italy or have lived in Italy for long periods of time, I doubt you’ll ever come across this blog post because chances are you know how to make cacio e pepe with spaghetti or bucatini (or any pasta ) with your eyes closed.

    So the below instructions are more geared toward someone trying the recipe for the first time so I’ll go in some more detail to make sure you are successful in making this dish.

    • Boil pasta 4 minutes less than al dente in less water than what you’d normally use.
    • While pasta boils, toast grounded peppercorn.
    • Add pasta water to toasted black pepper.
    • Grate cheese and add pasta water over cheese to make a homogenous paste.
    • Transfer pasta to skillet with black pepper sauce and let finish cooking.
    • Finally add the cheese sauce to pasta and pepper and mix well to create a creamy pasta.
    • Serve right away and enjoy:))

    Ingredients I used to Make this Pasta Dish

    You’d be surprised how very few ingredients are in this pasta dish. I used bucatini pasta, Pecorino cheese, peppercorn and while not traditional I added 2-3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese because my kids love it. But if you don’t count water and salt, that’s just a handful of ingredients.

    Ingredients for making this pasta dish: bucatini pasta, peppercorn, pecorino cheese and parmesan.
    Ingredients for Bucatini Cacio e Pepe

    Some Process Pictures

    I like to take multiple pictures while cooking a recipe, I feel it helps to clarify some of the tips and several times readers have told me they find those useful when skimming the page:).

    Bucatini pasta just thrown in boiling water in a big pot.
    1. Boil Pasta
    Toasting ground peppercorn in a pan.
    2. Toast ground peppercorn
    Adding starchy pasta water to toasted grated peppercorn in a pan.
    3. Add pasta water to pepper
    Adding pasta to peppercorn sauce in a pan using tongs.
    4. Add pasta to pepper sauce
    Adding pasta water to grated cheese.
    5. Adding pasta water to grated cheese
    Cheese mix with pasta water
    6. Cheese mix with pasta water
    Bucatini Cacio e pepe in the pot, just cooked.
    7. Bucatini Cacio e Pepe Ready to Serve

    Pro-Tip: Picking high quality cheese and grinding the peppercorns will elevate the taste of your bucatini dish!!

    Sonila’s Tips and Notes

    Here’s a summary of my tips to make a successful recipe.

    • Boil the pasta for few minutes less than al dente.
    • Use real Pecorino cheese made with sheep’s milk.
    • Starchy pasta water is your friend. That’s what makes this dish creamy without using butter or oil.
    • You can add some other cheeses to your taste but make sure the main cheese is Pecorino. I do add 2-3 tbsps of grated parmesan to the mix because my kids love the flavor. But the majority of the cheese has to be Pecorino.
    • To get a lump free dish, mix some pasta water with the grated cheese until it’s like a thick sauce. Then you add that over pasta and pepper mix in the pan.
    • Use a large pan even if you’re making just a portion of this pasta. If you’re cooking it for the whole family, make sure pan is not only large but deep too.

    How to serve this bucatini dish?

    My favorite way to have this dish is with a side salad and a glass of wine. Keep it simple:). But when it’s for a family weeknight dinner, especially after my kids have played sports I love to serve some protein with it too.

    Here’s one variation when we served this pasta with baked salmon and salad.

    Bucatini cacio e pepe served with baked salmon and salad
    Bucatini with Baked Salmon and Salad
    A serving of bucatini cacio e pepe on a round, bluish plate. Pasta is arranged in a nest shape.

    Bucatini Cacio e Pepe

    Sonila
    Bucatini cacio e pepe is a classic Italian pasta dish that is simple yet incredibly delicious. It's a perfect example of how a few high-quality ingredients and a little bit of a technique, can come together to create something truly gourmet.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 3 minutes mins
    Cook Time 12 minutes mins
    Boiling water 8 minutes mins
    Total Time 23 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 776 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 Pasta Pot
    • 1 Deep skillet
    • 1 Pasta tongs

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 lb bucatini 453 grams
    • 1 tbsp peppercorn
    • 3.5 cups grated Pecorino cheese about 150 grams
    • 2 tbsp grated parmesan
    • 4 quarts water
    • 1 tbsp sea salt

    Instructions
     

    • Add 4 quarts of water to pasta pot, set it to boil. Add about 1 tbsp of sea salt.
    • Once water boils, add bucatini to pot and stir occasionally to make sure all the noodles are submerged in water. If packaging says to cook for 10 minutes, plan to cook the pasta for about 6-7 minutes.
    • Use a mortar and pestle to ground peppercorns. Add ground peppercorn to a hot skillet and move constantly so they toast but don't burn.
    • Grate the cheese and set aside. Add the 2 tbsp of parmesan over grated Pecorino cheese.
    • Once pasta is cooked for 6-7 minutes, get 2 cups of pasta water and pour it over the toasted black pepper. Mix to create a sauce and let cook in medium heat. Grab the pasta with tongs and transfer it little by little from pot to skillet. Mix well to incorporate the pepper flavors. Lower the heat a little bit once you're done transfering the pasta. Pasta now will finish cooking in the skillet. Flip the skillet occasionally to contents rotate.
    • In the meantime, add ladle of pasta water over grated cheese. Mix until you get a creamy sauce. Add some more pasta water until you get the consistency you want.
    • Pour the cheese mix over pasta in the skillet once the sauce on the sides of the pasta looks creamy. Mix well to incorporate the cheese into a creamy sauce with pasta. If more pasta water is needed, add about half a ladle at a time until you achieve the desired results.
    • Serve warm right away!! And enjoy:)).

    Notes

    • Always use a large skillet even when making 1 serving of this pasta, it helps to mix the pasta into the sauce if you just flip the contents of the skillet a bit instead of mixing with utensils. 
    • Normally you’d cook 1 lb of pasta in 6 quarts of water but we are cooking them in 4 quarts to get concentrated starch in the water. 
    • You don’t have to add the 2 tbsps of parmesan I added, my kids just love the taste so I added some. 

    Nutrition Label

    Nutrition Facts
    Bucatini Cacio e Pepe
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 776 Calories from Fat 234
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 26g40%
    Saturated Fat 16g100%
    Monounsaturated Fat 7g
    Cholesterol 93mg31%
    Sodium 2892mg126%
    Potassium 366mg10%
    Carbohydrates 90g30%
    Fiber 4g17%
    Sugar 4g4%
    Protein 44g88%
    Vitamin A 398IU8%
    Calcium 1017mg102%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 776kcalCarbohydrates: 90gProtein: 44gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 16gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 2892mgPotassium: 366mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 398IUCalcium: 1017mgIron: 2mg
    Keyword Bucatini cacio e pepe, cacio e pepe
    Tried this recipe?Mention @mediterranean_latin_love or tag #mediterraneanlatinloveaffair!
    Can I add butter or cream to my cacio e pepe pasta?

    If you’re trying to make an authentic cacio e pepe, no butter or cream needed. You’ll be able to achieve a creamy bucatini cacio e pepe by using starch water, good quality pecorino cheese (with sheep’s milk) and freshly cracked black pepper.

    Can I make more of this pasta for leftovers?

    While I normally love leftovers because they make for effortless meals, I wouldn’t recommend trying to get leftovers out of this recipe. Bucatini cacio e pepe is best served right away!

    If you would like to save this recipe for later, please save the below image to your boards in Pinterest. Let me know if you have any questions in comments or your thoughts on the recipe. Thank you for reading my blog:).

    Instagram: mediterranean_latin_love or Facebook: Mediterranean Latin Love Affair.

    An image prepared for Pinterest, it shows a picture of bucatini pasta served on a plate. Pasta is garnished with black pepper. There's a title bar on top of the picture and a website link at the bottom.
    Bucatini Cacio e Pepe

    More Pasta Recipes

    I don’t think there’s a family with little kids that doesn’t make pasta at least once on a weeknight!! Kids love it, dinner cooks fast so it’s a win win.

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    • Baked turkey pasta
    • Aji de fideos (Spicy Bolivian Pasta)
    • Baked fettuccine with feta cheese
    • Shell pasta in Butternut Squash sauce
    • Pasta in Roasted Red Pepper sauce

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    Filed Under: Main Dishes, Mediterranean Food, Recipes Tagged With: pasta

    About Sonila

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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    Sonila Zarate
    Sonila Zarate

    Mom of 2, wife, engineer, food blogger & recipe creator! Sonila was born in Albania, her heritage inspires her Mediterranean recipes while that of her husband the Latin ones. Sonila has 2 degrees in Engineering from University of Miami.

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