Easy One Pan Cacio e Pepe Rigatoni

Name: Easy One Pan Cacio e Pepe Rigatoni
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoon unsalted butter; 2 teaspoon black pepper; 8 ounces rigatoni ((or other sturdy pasta shape)); 3 cups water ((plus more as needed)); 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt ((use half as much if using another brand of salt)); 30 grams parmesan cheese ((1 oz, approx ½ cup, finely grated)); 30 grams pecorino romano cheese ((1 oz, approx ½ cup, finely grated))

4.80 from 24 votes

Published by Rebecca Eisenberg ⁠— August 25, 2020 (updated July 17, 2026) — 35 Comments

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A foolproof recipe for one pan cacio e pepe rigatoni, aka "cheese and pepper" pasta that takes less than 15 minutes to make. It's so, so good and just extremely comforting on those nights when you just can't be bothered to make something with more than, like, five ingredients.

A skillet filled with rigatoni pasta coated in a creamy cheese sauce and topped with cracked black pepper makes this one-skillet cacio e pepe irresistible. Pieces of Parmesan cheese, a pepper grinder, a bowl of pepper, forks, and a napkin are nearby on a wooden table. — Cacio e pepe is a classic Italian pasta dish whose name translates literally as "cheese and pepper."

This easy cacio e pepe recipe uses a non-traditional one pan cooking technique to get that perfect silky sauce. And the pasta soaks up lots of peppery flavor as it cooks.

If you're looking for an equally simple weeknight pasta dinner with just a few more ingredients, try my one-pan spicy chicken rigatoni or my creamy carbonara with Brussels sprouts and bacon!

If you've never had cacio e pepe before, think of it like a fancy or grown-up version of mac and cheese. It has a buttery, peppery sauce made with finely grated pecorino romano cheese emulsified into starchy pasta water.

A ceramic bowl of one-skillet cacio e pepe, topped with grated cheese and cracked black pepper and sits on a cloth napkin. Nearby, there is a block of cheese, a spoon, a small dish of black pepper, and another bowl of pasta.

Traditional cacio e pepe is one of those so-simple-it's-complicated pasta dishes where everything needs to be done just right. It uses fresh, homemade pasta which produces a lovely starchy pasta water. And a super traditional cacio e pepe uses only Pecorino Romano cheese.

Done correctly, the cheese and starchy pasta water form a velvety sauce that evenly coats the noodles. Do even a single step incorrectly, however, and the pecorino cheese clumps up, creating a stringy and unappetizing mess.

5 star reader review

“I have never been able to make cacio e pepe successfully, even with other workarounds. So excited to have finally achieved it. This recipe was such a fun surprise and an instant classic for me! So good!”
—Isabelle

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Personally, I have little patience for dishes that require the level of precision of traditional cacio e pepe. I respect the heck out of the finesse and technique of anyone who can pull it off, and I will gladly order it in a restaurant.

But when I'm cooking at home on a regular weeknight, I don't find it enjoyable to chase perfection. I want reliability, and I want room for error.

So, I used my favorite one-pot pasta cooking method (which creates a super starchy pasta water) to make cacio e pepe into something a little less stressful and a lot more foolproof.

Two bowls of one-skillet cacio e pepe rigatoni pasta topped with black pepper sit on a wooden table beside a chunk of cheese, a bowl of grated cheese, a bowl of pepper, a fork, and a potted plant. A white cloth is under the bowls.

A bowl of rigatoni pasta topped with black pepper is being twirled with a fork, capturing the simplicity of a one-skillet cacio e pepe. A block of cheese, a dish of ground pepper, and another bowl of pasta are on a wooden table in the background.

Basically, this recipe came about because I needed a quick and easy dinner while we were packing to move and trying to use up everything in the kitchen. All I could find in the fridge was the end of a wedge of pecorino romano and a small block of Parmesan cheese.

"What about one-skillet cacio e pepe?" A voice whispered in my head.

Would the cheese clump up if I added it at the beginning? Would the cheese stick to the pan or coat the noodles? Would I end up with a silky sauce or a sticky mess?

The only way to find out was to try.

Even my very first attempt at one-skillet cacio e pepe worked beautifully. That's how foolproof this recipe is. I was elated.

Sure, there were a few moments of panic where it looked like maybe the cheese wouldn't melt or the water wouldn't absorb, but in the end, it worked perfectly every time. And that's that on trying new things in the kitchen even when you aren't sure how they'll go!

A bowl of uncooked rigatoni pasta, bowls of grated parmesan and pecorino romano cheese with wedges, a small dish of unsalted butter, a bowl of black pepper, and a small dish of salt are arranged on a wooden surface—everything you need for making an easy one-skillet cacio e pepe. — See recipe card (at the end of the post) for ingredient quantities.

You can definitely use other pasta shapes, but I like using a sturdy pasta like rigatoni when I make cacio e pepe because it can hold up to the vigorous stirring the recipe requires. I've also made it with cavatappi, macaroni, penne, etc. without a problem.

The traditional cheese for cacio e pepe is Pecorino Romano, and I usually buy a wedge or brick of it and grate it myself with a Microplane zester. Pecorino Romano doesn't melt easily, so I always want to make sure it's grated very finely.

Parmesan cheese is non-traditional for cacio e pepe, but it's a softer cheese that melts more easily than Pecorino Romano. So I use it in my cacio e pepe to help the sauce come together.

This one-pan pasta cooking method isn't just efficient — it also helps intensify the flavors in the pasta dish. It's basically cooking pasta risotto-style, using noodles instead of rice. Because the pasta cooks right along with the butter and pepper, it absorbs those flavors as it cooks.

Blooming the pepper in the butter before you add the pasta to the pan helps the pepper flavor absorb into the noodles. There's a bit of a peppery kick, but it's evenly distributed rather than just when you bite into a chunk of peppercorn.

When you make a one-pan pasta recipe, the water absorbs into the pasta or boils away, giving it tons of flavor. It also leaves that super concentrated starchy water in the pan at the end, perfect for combining with finely grated cheese to make a silky cacio e pepe pasta sauce.

How to Make One Pan Cacio e Pepe

I always start by prepping my ingredients. Once I start cooking, I know I'll need to stay pretty close to the stove to stir frequently. It's best to have the cheeses grated, pepper cracked and measured, and water ready to go before I turn the stove on!

A stainless steel frying pan with browned butter residue, perfect for making one-skillet cacio e pepe, sits on a black induction cooktop with digital controls, on a wooden surface.

The pepper will fizz and bubble slightly as it blooms in the fat.

A hand pours water from a glass into a pan of uncooked rigatoni pasta on an electric stovetop with a wood-patterned surface, preparing the base for a delicious one-skillet cacio e pepe.

Start with just enough water to barely cover the pasta.

A skillet of rigatoni pasta is boiling in water on an electric induction cooktop set on a wooden surface. Steam is rising from the pot, bubbles are visible in the water, preparing the rigatoni for a delicious one-skillet cacio e pepe.

Bring the water to a boil and set a timer for the "al dente" cook time on the box. Stir, stir, stir!

A person uses a spatula to stir rigatoni pasta in a skillet on an electric cooktop, preparing a one-skillet cacio e pepe, with sauce residue visible in the pan.

When the pasta is cooked through and little water remains in the pan, remove the pan from the heat.

A metal pan on an electric stovetop contains rigatoni pasta, grated Parmesan cheese, and sauce in a delicious one-skillet cacio e pepe preparation. The stovetop is set on a wooden surface, and a metal spoon rests in the pan.

Add the cheese, stirring vigorously to melt it into the pasta water.

A stainless steel pan filled with rigatoni pasta in a creamy, one-skillet cacio e pepe sauce sits on an electric stovetop with wood-patterned flooring underneath. A metal spoon rests in the pan.

It will look clumpy and stringy at first, but will eventually melt into a smooth sauce.

Like I said, I have little patience for finicky recipes that require perfection. When I want a one pan recipe, I want something foolproof. And this really is foolproof.

It may not be perfectly traditional, but it requires very little perfection to make a cheesy, peppery pasta dish that's nothing short of perfect.

A skillet filled with rigatoni pasta coated in a creamy one-skillet cacio e pepe sauce and topped with cracked black pepper, with cheese, pepper, and utensils nearby on a wooden table.

Practical Tips and Recipe Notes

Weigh the cheese for best results! Finely grated cheese is very fine and delicate, which makes it hard to measure in a measuring cup. There's a lot of air taking up space in there! Measuring by weight is much more accurate. But cheese is often best measured with your heart — if you don't have a kitchen scale, the cup measurements provided below should be fine. You may just need to add more water or more cheese to get the sauce just right when you get to that step.
The recipe calls for 3 cups of water for 8 ounces of pasta, but depending on the size of your skillet and how much pasta you're using you may need to adjust. My rule of thumb is that you should have just enough water to mostly cover the pasta, but that it's okay if some of the rigatoni pieces are only partially submerged. It's easier to add more water if you need it than to remove water if you add too much, so err on the side of less water to start.

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