Kelly JensenThis rigatoni cacio e pepe recipe features cooked pasta tossed in a creamy parmesan or Romano cheese sauce with pepper. Level up your pasta night with this 20-minute dinner that is easy enough for a weeknight meal, but fancy enough to enjoy on a special occasion.
The creamy sauce is made by sautéing butter, parmesan cheese, black pepper, and adding in some of the pasta cooking water to thicken the sauce without using cream. You can add in your favorite herbs to finish this dish – and top it off with extra parmesan cheese for a kick.
This delicious rigatoni cacio e pepe is a fantastic and easy dinner, ready in about 20 minutes. It’s loaded with flavor and turned out so good – definitely a new favorite way to enjoy pasta night. Cacio e pepe translates to cheese and pepper – which is a simple cheese sauce to toss with freshly cooked noodles.
This is not your average pasta and cheese dish! Cacio e Pepe is a traditional Roman dish, and is a simple and easy way to prepare a cheesy sauce by only using a few simple ingredients. You have a restaurant quality pasta, with only 4 ingredients, in no time.
This Rigatoni Cacio e Pepe Recipe Is
- Creamy
- Simple
- Easy to Make
- Comforting
- Satisfying
- Vegetarian
Easy Rigatoni Pasta Recipes
This creamy rigatoni cacio e pepe is what I call an Easy Weeknight Meal – which is on your table in about 30 minutes. These quick and simple recipes are perfect for those nights when you want an easy homecooked meal but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.
I have a whole section of The Herbeevore dedicated to Easy Weeknight Meals, that are great for the whole family. From soups and stews, to pastas and proteins – a tasty meal can be on your table in no time. Even faster than ordering takeout!
What’s In This Creamy Rigatoni with Parmesan or Romano?
I cook with fresh produce from my garden and from Misfits Market– they sell fantastic fruit, vegetables, & pantry staples at a discounted price. We get Misfit boxes every other week and love picking out favorite produce for delivery. Get $10 off your first box here!
- Rigatoni Noodles– I absolutely love the thick texture and ridges of rigatoni pasta. It’s great for creamy sauces like this, or more tomato-based sauces too.
- Romano or Parmesan Cheese – gives extra flavor and richness to this dish. If you can’t find Romano cheese, you can use a sharp real cheese parmesan, or a vegan version, adding a little extra into the sauce (and for garnish) this sauce will highlight your Parmesan so make sure you use a good one.
- Butter – I like to use unsalted butter to reduce the amount of sodium in my cooking.
- Tellicherry Peppercorns: It’s amazing the flavor difference you can get with really good tellicherry black pepper. Amazon has a generic brand tellicherry peppercorn which is the same price is buying pre-ground, and will add way more flavor to your recipes.
Simple Cacio e Pepe Rigatoni Pasta
This rigatoni cacio e pepe pasta is the tastiest, coziest dinner recipe. Pasta is always a quick and hearty meal for the family, especially when it’s has a gooey creamy sauce like this one. Totally irresistible.
It makes a great holiday pasta dish as well – a simple vegetarian recipe to serve with a salad. It takes only 20 minutes to cook, so you can enjoy extra time to prep sides or a salad. Browse all our pasta recipes here!
How Do I Make Cacio e Pepe without Cream?
- Cook rigatoni according to package instructions. Once finished cooking, remove from heat and leave in the cooking water for a few minutes (save the water, as it will be used to thicken the sauce).
- In a pan, add the butter over low heat until melted. Using a slotted spoon, drain the rigatoni and add into the pan with the butter. Toss well to combine.
- Pour 2/3 cup of the pasta cooking water into the pan. Add the parmesan cheese. Stir well, the sauce will thicken as it cooks. If sauce is too thick, add an additional 2 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water at a time to thin out the sauce.
- Once sauce has reached the desired thickness, add in the black pepper. Serve the rigatoni hot, topping with an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper.
Make This Rigatoni Vegetarian
This vegetarian cacio e pepe rigatoni is a simple meal without meat. I’m all about making recipes plant-based when I can. Vegetarian cooking does NOT have to be bland, boring, or flavorless… It’s quite the opposite when done right. By building meals around vegetarian pantry staples and swapping in a few plant-based ingredients you can make better meals for you and your family.
I made a list of my 125 favorite vegan pantry ingredients that we use on a weekly basis, and check out all my vegetarian recipes here that are on The Herbeevore. These easy and yummy recipes are fantastic meatless meals for your table.
More Creamy Pasta Recipes You’ll Love!
White Wine Mushroom Sauce Pasta Recipe
Creamy Red Pepper Pasta Recipe
Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe
Instant Pot Noodles with Peanut Sauce
Creamy Vegan Lemon Pasta Recipe (Dairy Free, Plant-Based)
Share this Creamy Rigatoni Cacio e Pepe Recipe
As always, if you make this vegetarian creamy rigatoni cacio e pepe recipe be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipes!
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Rigatoni Cacio e Pepe
Equipment
- Ladle
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rigatoni noodles save cooking water
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1 cup Romano cheese or parmesan, plus extra for garnish
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground Tellicherry Black Pepper
Instructions
- Cook rigatoni according to package instructions. Once finished cooking, remove from heat and leave in the cooking water for a few minutes (save the water, as it will be used to thicken the sauce).
- In a pan, add the butter over low heat until melted. Using a slotted spoon, drain the rigatoni and add into the pan with the butter. Toss well to combine.
- Pour 2/3 cup of the pasta cooking water into the pan. Add the parmesan cheese. Stir well, the sauce will thicken as it cooks. If sauce is too thick, add an additional 2 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water at a time to thin out the sauce.
- Once sauce has reached the desired thickness, add in the black pepper. Serve the rigatoni hot, topping with an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper.
Video
Notes
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Love pasta. Great recipe