No.77 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Cacio e Pepe

Made famous by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill

Photo: Der Zahir, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Tasting Rome, 2016.

Three ingredients and a technique: Rome's pecorino-and-pepper pasta became the most searched Roman dish in the 2010s.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Tasting Rome.

Ingredients

• Salt for the water
• 1 lb (450 g) tonnarelli, spaghetti or bucatini
• 2 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
• 2 1/4 cups (180 g) very finely grated Pecorino Romano, at room temperature

Steps

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, using less water than usual (about 3 quarts / 3 liters) so it gets starchy. Salt it lightly; the cheese is salty.
2. Put the cheese in a large bowl. Toast the pepper in a large dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Cook the pasta until about 2 minutes short of al dente.
4. Ladle 1/2 cup of the pasta water into the skillet with the pepper and let it bubble. Before draining, stir about 1/2 cup cool water into the cheese with a fork to make a thick paste.
5. Lift the pasta into the skillet with tongs and toss over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes, adding a splash of pasta water, until al dente and glossy. Take it off the heat and let it cool for 30 seconds.
6. Add the cheese paste and toss hard, adding pasta water a tablespoon at a time, until it melts into a smooth, creamy sauce that clings. Serve at once, with more pepper.

Chef's tips

• Grate the cheese on the finest holes, as fine as dust. Coarse cheese clumps.
• Keep the pan off direct heat once the cheese goes in. Too hot and it turns stringy.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Tasting Rome by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill: get the book, No. 93 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

← No. 76Risotto with Parmesan (Risotto alla Parmigiana)→ No. 78Eggplant Parmigiana