Vegan Cacio e Pepe Recipe (2024)

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Cooking Notes

silvia rennie

THANK YOU for producing more vegan recipes! This one sounds terrific and I can't wait to try it. Again, thanks!

Don

We are not vegan, but trying to eat meat sparingly for environmental reasons. This recipe is awesome. We made it as written the first time and used Farro spaghetti. We used a mortar and pestle to grind the peppercorns. Honestly... the only thing wrong with this meal is calling it vegan cacio Pepe. We almost didn’t make it because too many vegan copy cat recipes pail in comparison to the original. We now call it Cashio Pepe in honor of the main ingredients. This is a winner

Elissa Eckman

I would add the nutritional yeast at the end during the step involving the finishing toss so as not to lose the "cheesy" texture and flavor.

Shawn-Laree

I used tahini instead of cashew butter and it was delicious!

Thomas

Cashew butter can be made from raw or toasted cashews and the flavor profiles are very different. Which is this recipe calling for?

Veganized

Used miyoko's cultured vegan butter in this and a little follow your heart veg parm and it was BOMB. 15/10!

N.Cali

My husband and I made this last night - BIG WIN. Our food coop offers grind your own nut butters, cashew being one of them, so fresh creamy cashew butter was used and it was delicious. I echo another reader’s thank you to the NYT for offering more vegan recipes.

Peter Stephenson

Be careful with raw cashews (best just avoid them): they contain urushi- the toxin found in poison oak or ivy, and in not insignificant quantities. Cashew poisoning is rare, but if urushi is ingested in high level, it can be deadly, or just painful when in a recipe. So, if you visit store to buy “raw cashews”, check that these nuts are not entirely raw and have actually been steamed. If not, and you still want to use them without roasting, steam them yourself. It actually helps make them tasty.

John Taylor

I squeezed half a lemon into the miso mixture, put a Beyond Meat Hot Italian Sausage on the side, and washed it down with a glass of red wine. Quick, easy and stunning; I could hardly be more pleased.

Alison

Yay! Very excited to see a vegan version of this! Keep those vegan recipes coming! Looking forward to trying this out!

Kathy

Adding my thanks to the chorus. This non-vegan wants more vegan recipes- Keep them coming!

nina

A warning to other hypochondriacs: fortified nutritional yeast is high in the vitamin B-12. A common side effect of excessive consumption of B-12 is Billie Eilish, 90s-Berlin-club-kid, neon green urine. Thanks to a busy week at work and a dwindling pantry, I made this undeniably delicious pasta recipe 3 times in the last 4 days, becoming perturbed when my normally unremarkable pee transformed into a hue normally found only in glo sticks. Don’t be like me and panic. It’s just the nooch.

naomi

This is SO GOOD. I made my own cashew butter by toasting a cup or more of raw cashews in a pan for about 3 min, then soaking them in boiled water for 20min, and blending them (without the water) with the miso and yeast. I only had 8oz of pasta, which I found to be perfect for this amount of sauce. Go crazy on that sauce! (We're not vegan, but love vegan food!)

Julia

Delicious recipe but does not keep well if mixed together. (Noodles absorb the sauce and turn dry.) If you want leftovers store the pasta and sauce separately until it’s time to eat.

Gillian

This is wonderful, thank you! Keep up the vegan recipes, it is much appreciated!

Christine

I’m not vegan and you don’t need to be to love this pasta. This recipe is outstanding. I return to it again and again. It is hearty, rich, tasty, and ideal comfort food. Serve with some veggies if you feel like it. Or don’t.

WanjikuN

This is one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever made and had (and I LOVE pasta)! The one addition I made was crumbling some toasted pine nuts and chopped, toasted cashews. It added a nice texture and a bit more umami in a dish that’s already exploding with it.

Camille

We love this recipe. Requested often and there is never a left overs!

Ann Marie

I use bucatini pasta for this recipe and it is amazing.

malkin

Miso is normally fermented with mold, bacteria, and yeast. How is vegan miso fermented?

lala

Is there a vegan pasta people recommend?

Suzanne Dunaway

FANTASTIC recipe. I've just cooked for 3 vegans in August (even chocolate mousse!) and wish I had had this, but am doing it now for anyone. Wonderful using the cashew butter, or almond butter or pine nut butter. Grazie for this.

Lori

Suggestions for a cashew butter substitute? My dinner guest has a nut allergy.

Smarbha

Add a few handsful of arugula in just before the end & cook until they wilt. I know it isn't Cacio e Pepe any more but really delicious.

nina

Is there a good nut-free/dairy-free item to use instead of the cashew butter? Thank you.

ash

This is sooooo yummy. Really impressed with the flavor and consistency of the sauce… And also, consuming a ton of nutritional yeast at once can cause a gassy tummy. Plan/adjust accordingly :)

b’s tips

it is 2 ½ cups pasta water. 1 ¾ is way too dry. ignore previous note about using less than 16 oz pasta. just add more than 1 ¾ water

Amazing!

Prepared as written, no substitutions, and it was absolutely delicious!

Cathy

Made exactly as is and we loved it! Quick, delicious and an easy clean up. Definitely something that should be served as soon as it is ready.

Erica

This is amazing and I am non Vegan. The pepper shines through. I cannot wait to make again, it was a hit with everyone. I made a cashew cream over using cashew butter

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Vegan Cacio e Pepe Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why cacio e pepe is so hard to perfectly execute? ›

But it is extremely hard to execute well because you need to control the heat. The cheese will become stringy if you heat up your pan too much (above 70 °C or 158 °F). I tested all the methods, so you do not need to! Cacio e Pepe is rare in restaurants because it is hard to serve warm without the corn starch trick.

Can I use parmesan instead of pecorino for cacio e pepe? ›

Opt for Parmesan: You can use Parmesan instead of Pecorino Romano, or even combine the two for a unique cheese profile. However, Parmesan isn't as salty or tangy as Pecorino Romano, so you may need to add more to get the sharpness that cacio e pepe is known for.

What if cacio e pepe is too thin? ›

Add more grated cheese if the sauce is too thin.

What makes cacio e pepe so good? ›

The internet loves an only-three-ingredient recipe. This (which makes Cacio e Pepe deceptively simple) and the cheese + carbs combination are essential parts of the secret of its media success, along with the fact that it can be made anywhere in the world with any pepper and any cheese.

What is a good substitute for cacio e pepe cheese? ›

Pecorino Romano is a hard, Italian sheep's milk cheese. It has sharp, rich nutty flavor, making it the perfect cheese for this simple pasta dish. If you don't have it or can't find it Parmigiano-Reggiano is a totally acceptable alternative.

What is a vegan alternative to hard Italian cheese? ›

Cashew Heart Burrata.

This vegan mozzarella/burrata cheese is made from cashew nuts and is available in 2 styles. A more firmer mozzarella style cheese ball or a mozzarella ball with a soft centre to recreate the dairy burrata cheese. Both are delicious, but my favorite is the burrata style one.

Why is Parmesan cheese not vegan? ›

So Why Isn't Parmesan Cheese Vegetarian? This answer is encapsulated in one word: rennet. Specifically animal rennet, collected from slaughtered cows, goats or other young, milk-fed ruminant animals.

What is the secret to the creamiest cacio e pepe? ›

Tips for Making Cacio e Pepe

Let the pasta cool slightly—Ripping hot pasta plus finely shredded or grated cheese inevitably yields a clumpy sauce. Letting the pasta cool for 2 minutes before tossing ensures a perfectly creamy sauce.

Where did Anthony Bourdain have cacio e pepe? ›

The specific cacio e pepe that Bourdain loves best comes from Ristorante Roma Sparita in Rome, where the smooth, buttery, cheesy pasta is served in a bowl made of Parmesan. It looks amazing. While gushing over the pasta, Bourdain said he'd give up his first sexual experience to eat it again.

How to not break cacio e pepe sauce? ›

The trick is to toss the cheese with starch before heating it. As the starch heats up and gels, it stabilizes the cheese so it won't break. I tried the method for this Cacio e Pepe, which makes for a durable sauce that doesn't break even after raising the temperature until the sauce boils (usually a mortal sin).

Why does my cheese clump in cacio e pepe? ›

If you've ever had the cheese clump up or stick to the pan when making cacio e pepe (very common, but always such a tragedy!), it was likely due to the cheese being overheated. Be absolutely sure that the burner is turned off below the sauté pan with the melted butter.

What are the ingredients in Trader Joe's cacio e pepe? ›

INGREDIENTS: WATER, DURUM WHEAT SEMOLINA, PECORINO ROMANO CHEESE (SHIP'S MILK, SALT, ANIMAL RENNET, CHEESE CULTURES), MILK, WHEAT FLOUR, CREAM, BUTTER (MILK, NATURAL FLAVOR), GROUND BLACK PEPPER, SALT.

Is carbonara the same as cacio e pepe? ›

Carbonara is the evolution of a dish once called 'cacio e uova' (cheese and eggs), more commonly known in the south of Italy. Carbonara – more Roman than the Colloseum! Another very similar traditional Roman dish, cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper), was born from the lack of eggs to make Carbonara.

How do I make sure my cheese doesn't clump? ›

Use Corn Starch

You can coat your shredded cheese with a thin layer of cornstarch to prevent clumping. Corn starch works by absorbing excess moisture, meaning the cheese will not become sticky. It's also flavorless, so it won't affect the taste. Add 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch per 1 block of shredded cheese.

How do you make pasta not clump together? ›

Use enough water.

Pasta needs space to expand as it cooks. And the starch it releases makes the situation stickier. If there's not enough water for that starch to grow, it'll have no other choice than to make clumpy noodles.

How do you make cheese sauce that doesn't clump? ›

Hot liquids, like pasta water, heavy cream, melted butter, or beaten eggs, help distribute melted cheese evenly by surrounding it with heat. Since every bit of surface area is in contact with hot liquid, the cheese melts at the same rate. No clumps to be found, just a glossy, luscious sauce.

Why does cacio e pepe split? ›

The trick is to toss the cheese with starch before heating it. As the starch heats up and gels, it stabilizes the cheese so it won't break.

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