The Secret to the Creamiest Cacio e Pepe Ever 

Fantastic again! I was a chef for many years until I transitioned to working in an Italian specialty market like you mentioned. I explain to my customers daily the importance of the right pasta and cheese as well as explaining these techniques, and I've sent many people to your channel to see it first hand. So cheers, thank you for making my job easier and leaving me with many happy customers that have improved their own home cooked pastas by learning these techniques. I also use Luciano Monosilios carbonara method and recipe for teaching my customers as well, tradition is wonderful, but he is called the King of Carbonara for a reason.

I was an exec chef for many years; but I learn something from this guy in every vid. Best cooking show on youtube.

Thank you for being so good at propagating my tradition without disrespecting its techniques and ingridients. You're the best, love from Italy

And then it is said that "Cacio e Pepe" is one of the simplest dishes. If it was truly a simple dish, it wouldn't have needed all this really interesting explanation with all these details. Bravo ! PS: but as usual, the so-called “simple dishes” are those that sometimes present more difficulty in execution.

I remember watching your first cacio e pepe video however many years ago.... to see this and to improve on what I already thought was an amazing video.. it's just awesome to witness. Congrats on the success!

Your OG roman pasta videos were the first ones I watched on the channel and I think it's great that you revisit this one with some more details on how to succeed.

I have made five unsuccessful attempts to cacio e pepe so far and finally after days of struggling, with your help I managed to make a pretty decent one! Thanks so much for the video 🥰

I appreciate the level of detail you go into with the specific ingredients you use. Makes a big difference at home!

This is the second time you've totally improved my basic pasta dishes for my family. First with the lemon pasta recipe, and now these cacio techniques leveled up this dish for us. I was not getting the amount of creaminess you've demonstrated until trying all these little helpful hints.

You're my favorite cooking channel on youtube. Great style, so relaxing and down to earth, extremely informative and full of useful tips. I love that you make things that feel special, but aren't difficult for the home cook to achieve. Love from the west coast!

I am an avid home cook and rarely find a cooking show I like and/or respect. Your explanation of cheese and pasta, the pepper, is on point. What I'm most happy about is that people are watching this and changing their game. Thank you!

Giving cooks both explanations & options... A WONDERFUL video!

This recipe totally made my day! We had the most amazing Italian restaurant near us who always had this on their menu. Sadly, after lockdown they never reopened after 35 years of trading. I am definitely going to give this my best shot. Thank you xx

I love how you showed different methods of making the same dish. It's the type of content I relate to as a home cook. Thank you!

One of the best pasta videos I’ve seen. All your videos are well produced and informative.

I love the pecorino paste method. Works everytime in my kitchen. Thank you for showing us these alternative methods. Gonna try them.

I have watched so, so many videos on Cacio e Pepe and this has to be the definitive guide if I've ever seen it. Every common error is addressed and all four looked fantastic and actually creamy. Looking forward to trying out some new methods. As always great video.

Tried making it two days ago, with a 100g leftover DeCecco to test it using your previous video, and it actually came out perfect! This was my last of the 4 roman pastas, and I was blown away by the taste and creaminess. Definitely my favourite one, and know I just hope I can replicate it to make for others !

Absolutely the best video...I love that you speak very clear, fast and to the point!!

Really can't thank you enough. Have struggled getting this dish right consistently and this explained the 'OG method' perfectly.

As someone who is about to attempt cacio e pepe for the first time, this video, and Alex's video are the most helpful to understanding everything. The do's and don'ts, the reasons behind the methods, and the science of how are all answered in the 2 video's togehter. So timely for you to make this video. Thank you. Your channel is FANTASTIC.

I've been trying to make this dish many times and hilariously failed many times as well. This video is such a gem. To the point and very informative. Thanks so much for this!

Man you have really upgraded your content lately. Your videos are to the point, explanatory and extremely helpful. Lately I have been making your broccoli pasta and used this technique into a risotto yesterday, it was awesome. Only love for this channel, thank you for sharing all this content.

tyvm for posting. i love your no BS approach. informative, easy to follow, well shot, and looks delicious.

Thank you for taking the time to make this. I’ve only had Cacio e Pepe once and I have definitely craved it more than that. I’ve never tried to make it at home. I don’t think I’ve seen the dried pasta you recommended at my local grocery stores but I will double check (some stores get in new items often). If not, I’ll order some. Speaking of pasta… I’m a bit depressed. A woman from Brooklyn named Karen moved to my small Southern Appalachian town years ago when I was a kid in the 80s. She opened a restaurant that focused on Italian American dishes and great pizza. It’s the place you walked to for a large slice when you spent the day at the pool in the summer, or after dance class (it was just a few doors down). Everyone loved her. She eventually fell in love with a local stain glass artist she hired to work on her windows, and gained a step daughter that she adored in the process. Unfortunately Karen died of cancer several years ago. Her restaurant was empty until her step daughter recently reopened it with her husband. She moved to NYC for awhile, they met working in a restaurant and decided to open their own restaurant here named after his Sicilian grandmother. It’s fantastic, and has excellent reviews. They use a mix of Sicilian dishes with local ingredients. Best thing of all… they make all their own pasta and dry some when need be. A young and idiotic employee that attends the local Uni recently stole thousands of dollars of their homemade pasta. She took everything in the kitchen and everything from storage under the restaurant. She also broke their pasta machines. They tried to get her to bring back the pasta. They weren’t going to press charges if she returned it but the girl ignored her. She is in her early 20s and is now facing felony charges, along with her boyfriend who helped her load the car. She crippled their business, which just hit its year anniversary a few months ago, and they have worried about being able to stay open since. As it is they can only open for standard business - for 4 hours - a few days a week. People have wanted to do a fund raiser but Crystal is local. There’s a hangup about “taking charity”. I get it. They have done a great job hosting special events and doubling down on cocktails and desert evenings until they can replace the needed equipment.

I’m a chef instructor and you blow me away with your videos. As professional as they get . Bravo Sir .

Being Italian I appreciate that you are doing our recipes the original way. My respect man!

I shared the grater bowl link with my Sister and got one for Christmas. It's my favorite gift this year. Thanks for showing us.

Brilliant, Steven! Been fighting to nail Cacio Pepe since I first discovered your initial recipe a year ago. That you would come back to fine-tune it just shows how much integrity you put in your teaching. Can’t wait to try all 4 methods to finally find my own. Gracie mille, maestro.

Great video. I've resorted to the blender version simply because it provides the greatest control over timing, and it's easy enough to go from 2 to 4 servings without messing up. As well, you can actually make sauce that can be stored for 2-3 days, if you don't need it when you're making it. Great video, takes me back to the OG pasta recipes that let the world know that this was a great channel to watch. Love the idea that you share alternate methods and would love to see more of this kind of discovery and innovation.

Not only you are a great cook but also you are so helpful when it comes to the tricks to choosing the right ingredients, which is so important in "simpler" recepies. Thanks!

Here it is... 3 am... Couldn't sleep. Opened You Tube and found your video on the most simplist yet most difficult dish to perfect. One of my absolute favorites! Thank you so much for your wonderful explaination for all the components and also for the three methods to achieve Cachio e Pepe greatness.... I am heading downstairs, right now, to make it. So excited! Thank You!

Omg, I’ve used your old Cacio E Pepe video to make it successfully and unsuccessfully a few time and just realized every time I end up with clumps I’ve used pre-grated!

Aaah, I see where I went wrong last time I made this. My pecorino paste was slightly too watery and I tried to quickly thicken it up over low heat, which caused the pecorino to separate out (many expletives were said). Sincere thanks for taking the time to trouble shoot the subtleties of Roman cooking!

Thank you for being so thorough in the explanation!! Love it!

Bravissimo! One of the few non-italian RU-vid channels that actually nails it and explains it beautifully. Awesome work mate 👍🇮🇹

Always good to see a new video from this guy!

Luciano's Method is the same as how I make my spinach sauce. Basically you sauté spinach with garlic and puree that with pasta water, pecorino (I'm a cacio e pepe lover), pasta water, and lemon juice. Red pepper flakes are optional. t's a fantastic way to stretch a side dish into a meal.

This man is a brilliant teacher. This is true devotion to cooking pasta properly. Bravissimo!!

He is an amazing chef I love all of the foods that he prepares he prepares and makes it so easy to understand

I was obsessed with making a good caccio e pepe. It took me few months to get consistently decent at it.

You had me at "Gluttonously." All kidding aside Stephen, you've done more for my culinary knowledge than anyone! Thank You!

Brilliant. Thanks for the 4 methods, especially #4.

This is brilliant! Please do this for every pasta you know. I'm ordering these quality ingredients from Amazon to try it out. Amazon acquired whole foods so it almost has everything I need for this dish

im italian, finally someone who can cook our dishses proprerly. and im pretty surprised about the pasta u choosed. de cecco and barilla (more barilla) are pretty basic here, gentile is a really good pasta. keep it up man good job :)

Outstanding video! The first two methods are indeed the most used in Italy and guarantee to make your Italian friends proud of you when you invite them over for lunch/dinner lol. You haven't mentioned it but in the second method, when you transfer some of the cooking water to the pan, you scoop the foam which is indeed very correct because that is the part with the highest concentration of gluten which will help in creating the cream during the process of "mantecare". If I may, as I live in Canada, I'd suggest that if one decides to buy a commercial brand to save a couple bucks, my recommendation is to buy either Garofalo or Rummo which should be available here in North America and are recognized as top tier quality almost on par with Gragnano quality - Felicetti is better but it costs an arm and a leg lol Kudos to you for being so respectful and appreciative of our culinary culture and for referencing Luciano Monosilio who is indeed a GOAT

YOU ARE A VERY GOOD TEACHER! I learned so much! Thx!

My best success came from doing the pasta in shallow water, risotto style to create a high starch water base with the pasta. Once removed from the heat for a minute I added the finely grated cheese and pepper mix. Worked really well, you need to just cover the pasta with the water so you don't have too much or too little when the past is al dente. Bear in mind, this was for one serving and you need a wide base thick bottomed pan.

One of your best videos to date. This dish, and similar classics like carbonara, are all technique. Despite being ostensibly simple in terms of ingredients and prep time, actually making them successfully can be a bit daunting to folks who aren't aware of the potential pitfalls. I'm particularly intrigued by the final method, because anyone who has tried to make more than 2-3 servings of this dish at once knows that batching is basically the only way to get the sauce to emulsify properly, at least without a lot of hassle. Though I'm a bit skeptical that 1/4 cup EVOO per serving isn't going to noticeably impact the taste. I might try an oil with a less assertive flavor, maybe even just a light olive oil.

Brilliant video, I'm gonna try all 3 methods, to see which one I'm comfortable with. You're a great educator, keep it up. THANK YOU.

Made this tonight using the bowl method and it gave me the best cacio e pepe I’ve ever done. None of the scrambling or funniness I’ve had in the past. A few errors on the way but your tips helped me resolve them, so thank you.

First heard about Luciano Monosilio in one of Alex's pasta videos and he is inspiring. I had a couple of successes following your original video and some failures but I tried a variation on the Luciano method here that uses less olive oil and some corn starch to make the paste and then add pasta water as needed. The corn starch lets you keep it at a much higher heat without going stringy and you don't have to make the sauce at the same time as the pasta (pulled that one from Ethan Chlebowski). In the end this was a super helpful video and the tips around temping have me excited to make this again. It's also cool to see how food science and restaurants are modifying a classic to make it more accessible now.

My family loves pasta and cheese, But my sauce seems always to seize, Now that I know The right way to go They'll always be asking for more, please!!

This content is pure gold. Thank you!

After watching so many recipes, THIS IS THE PROPER TECHNIQUE. I just did it and i got the silkiest, creamiest cacio e pepe. Thank you so so much man!

Steve, your "Holiday Turkey Cooked In Pieces" video totally saved my ass this past Christmas with the in-laws, and I just used your OG technique for Cacio e Pepe tonight, which my wife and I declared the best we've ever had, anywhere. Cheers, man, and please keep doing what you do. 🍷 Wine note: even though this is essentially a "white" pasta dish, grab a red wine that can stand up to the prominent salt and pepper flavours; we had a California Zinfandel, and it was delicious.

The brilliant thing about Luciano’s method is how well it scales. Managing heat for 1 serving vs 4+ is super different but because his sauce is so forgiving and can even withstand being brought to boiling temps, you are free to basically put it together however you like and it will work just fine.

So glad I somehow found this channel. I’ve learned so much

I've been struggling with my cacio e pepe's and so happy to have seen this. can't wait to try it out.

That's actually an almost perfect cacio e pepe. I've seen dozens of vids about cacio e pepe from so called chefs, and 90% of them were about terrible pasta dishes with two ro three different fats, the wrong use of water and terrible results. Your cacio e Pepe is a 9/10, an incredible recipe. I would suggest to cook the pasta in less water. Starch based sauces typically require less water to have a higher starch concentration to use in them. But... i'd love to eat that pasta!

Thank you for this! I was failing and ending up with stringy cheese. 100% temperature issue.

I like that they are original recipes without additives, great job, greetings

followed your instructions to a T and nailed it my first try! Thank you! I was always intimidated to try this recipe

Me and Cacio and Pepe are in a constant fight lol. I get it right every fourth time. Good ideas here. Curious about that last one. I've made C&P with olive oil before, but looks like the blending really helps. Anyway, this reminded me I did go to Colluccio's and get some more Pecorino. Thanks!

Another method - and one you may use to make the sauce in advance - is to use a corn starch slurry to ensure the cheese won’t break when added to hot pasta. Fresh Pici is a popular Tuscan dish. As you are likely aware, a Vitamix or similar will make quick work of finely chopping the cheese.

I love this channel. Simplicity followed by technique. Keep doing your thing man.

It's so wonderful that you made this detailed video!, this is a perfect pasta dish (especially for people that want to avoid tomato sauce) thank you! 😊

Wonderful However I still feel like I could be screwing up each and every method here

Bro, you are the KING! I've got the ingredients on hand to make this and will give it a try tomorrow night. Thanks!!

Home cook here. I am learning so much from you. I love to cook for my family. Thank you for your knowledge.

Can’t wait to try this! Thanks for all of the great tips you provide. Love your channel!

Thanks! Love to see the different techniques, that knowledge will go a long way with other dishes!

The first method is now my preferred. Thank you👌

What a work of art! Looks beautiful!

Absolutely fantastic, all the methods!! Thank you!

Dude thanks! I finally nailed this dish today! I've tried others butter and/or olive oil recipes that never made the sauce properly creamy. I nailed this first try after watching this video. it was delicious!

I was lucky enough to visit a few kitchens on my most recent trip to Italy, and this is indeed how nearly all of them made Cacio e Pepe. Bravo.

Your videos are delightful to watch AND they all work great. Nice work!

Thank you so much for this....I've made it about 4 times in the past, all with different results, some good, some bad. This makes things way more clear and fool-proof. Thank you sir!

📣Dude (just discovered your channel) .....Dude, you are 💯 percent the real deal! Straight to the point, while balancing the main parts; Informative. Entertaining. Educational. And yes, my favorite.... straight to the point. 😊 Glad I found your channel.

Man this was a GREAT video. Loved the level of detail and practicality of it all. Looking forward to trying this!

BRO! Amazing video. This is one of the best I’ve seen explaining cacio e Pepe and the nuts and bolts of it. No butter, no heavy cream, no nonsense. Just tried and true techniques and top-notch skill. Queste ricette sono perfette! Mille grazie paisano.

Fantastic tutorial! Now I feel confident trying it. Thanks, Melaney from SoCal

This dish it's very basic yet much to learn. Thanks for the great tips!! I will make you and Luciano proud of me!!!

I'd say the last " ristorante " style would be perfetto if cooking for more than 2 at home ..... Just love the way you have gone " out of your way " to minutely explain & show all of these techniques for a " simple "..... but nevertheless difficult to master "..... pasta recipe....... BRAVO !

That was an absolutely heavenly video. I feel like all the best was reunited and packed in a pleasurable condensed moment of purity: you, Luciano Monosilio, Monograno Feliceti and Cacio e Pepe... what more do we need for peak happiness!? Thank you so much!!!

First video I've seen on this channel. Great breakdown showing the ingredients and techniques.

WOW I absolutely love your cooking style and the recipes thank you

My mouth is watering! Grazie mille for this delicious recipe & cooking methods🙏 Sorry, gotta go cook😅

Thank you, thank you, thank you! After numerous failed attempts, I had given up on CeP. Forever. But following your advice in this video, we produced the best example of the dish we’ve ever had, restaurants included. Can’t wait to make it again.

Honestly, my friend, you are awesome! You have no idea how many times me and my man messed up cacio e pepe. But this time...oh, no stringing, no liquidity, no chunks of pecorino, just the most delicious and CREAMIEST cacio e pepe ever!

One of your best videos EVER ! Beautiful food and so simply presented that anyone (should) be able to get these results. Thank you :).

Best cooking video ever! I love this dish, and now will bae able to make it even better. Thank you!

I fell in love watching this dish being made

Man oh man…this is killin me…Absolutely exceptional… Taking the time to explain the intricacies of each step as well as the ingredients, is the hallmark of someone who knows what they’re doing…and this guy obviously does…Best cooking channel on RU-vid… well done…

heat management - that was the key for me. Thanks for this video!

You’re very serious about every aspect of cacio e pepe, Bravo sir.

You are a Master !!! Thank you !

You make it look so easy... I'll try one of the alternative methods. Thanks

your're the best, thanks for all the détails