Cacio e Pepe Risotto

Cacio e Pepe Risotto is an incredibly creamy and decadent dish packed with protein and flavor. This dish is all about the cheese and fresh cracked pepper. We created a much simpler version for busy nights at home. Best of all, it requires only a few ingredients and cooks in 20 minutes.

What You’ll Need

To make this risotto, you will need a large skillet (we used our favorite All-Clad Stainless Steel 12-inch Skillet). Plus, you will need a wooden spoon for stirring. NOTE: You can also make it in a 2-quart pot, as we did with our Risotto con Funghi (Mushrooms)

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Our ingredients with exact amounts and directions are located in our recipe card at the bottom of this page. Plus, our video to view as well.

• Arborio Rice – is an Italian rice and it is the main ingredient in this recipe.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – any good quality olive oil is used to sauté the onion and garlic in this recipe.
• Onion – you will need 1/2 of an onion for this recipe.
• Garlic – one garlic clove minced is all you will need to sauté with the onion.
• Butter – is needed to make it creamy at the end of the cooking process.
• Wine – a little good quality white wine to flavor the rice at the beginning of its cooking process.
• Liquid – some vegetable broth and lots of water are needed to slowly cook the rice.
• Seasonings – the only ones you will need are salt or Himalayan salt, and lots of black pepper.
• Grated Cheese – you will need grated pecorino cheese, which is a salty cheese and melts perfectly to give this dish its creamy consistency.

Using Arborio Rice

Italian rice, Arborio rice, known for their “risotto” has a different cooking method than other rice brands. It is not your typical rice, that you can dump it into a pot of boiling water, and walk away from it. Arborio rice is slowly cooked with broth added and simmered until the rice is perfectly tender to the bite.

How To Make It

Our full instructions and video are located at the bottom of this post. But first, let’s run through the steps to show you what’s involved before you start:

1. Prep the Vegetables: Chop the onion and garlic.
2. Saute Them: In a large 12-inch non-stick skillet, heat olive oil with 1 tablespoon of butter on moderate heat. Toss in the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until it softens.
3. Add the Rice and Wine: Add the Arborio rice, and stir to coat the rice. Then pour in the 1/2 cup of white wine, and simmer the rice until it absorbs all the wine, stirring occasionally.
4. Pour in Gradually Water & Broth: Next, pour in 2 cups of water, and bring it to a low boil. Stir the rice often, and until the water is mostly absorbed. Then pour in an additional 1/2 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Simmer and cook the rice, until it has absorbed all the liquid and the rice is tender to the bite. (NOTE: If the rice is still not fully cooked, you can add additional water, about 1/4 cup each time.) This process takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Turn Off Heat: When the rice is fully cooked to your liking, turn off the heat. Stir in some butter, then toss in the grated pecorino cheese, and fresh cracked black pepper. Taste the rice, adjust, and add additional black pepper to your taste.
6. Then Serve: Ladle the risotto into your serving bowls and serve immediately.

HELPFUL TIP! This is a dish that needs to be served immediately. So you will need to serve it after it’s fully cooked. The rice will be creamy delicious, but will quickly absorb all its luscious sauce if it is left too long.

Variations To Making It

Cacio e Pepe risotto is delicious all alone. You can easily make this dish your own by adding a few more ingredients to your liking:

• Toss in some grated parmesan cheese as well. Having two kinds of Italian cheeses makes this dish even more rich and delicious.
• Toss in some freshly chopped asparagus or frozen peas for the last few minutes before serving.
• Finish it off with some fresh lemon juice for a lemony flavor, fresh herbs, and maybe some brown butter for the ultimate flavor.

Storing and Freezing

• Allow the risotto to cool completely before transferring it to an air-tight container, and keep it chilled in the refrigerator.
• It will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
• Plus, you can freeze it for another dinner soon because it will freeze well, and for up to 1 month.

WATCH VIDEO! How To Make Cacio e Pepe Risotto?

Serve and Enjoy

Your family and friends will LOVE this dish as much as we do. Just serve it as soon it’s ready. It’s so good, that you might want to keep this one on rotation. Serve it with a glass of your favorite white wine and a delicious fall orange endive salad as the side and enjoy!

CHEERS!

More Risotto Recipes You’ll Love!

• Creamy Lemon Risotto with Baby Peas
• Butternut Squash Risotto with Cheese and Sage
• Cod Fillet Over Pesto Risotto
• Risotto con Funghi (Mushrooms)
• Creamy Asparagus Risotto
• Easy Vegetable Risotto

Your comments help us! If you try our Cacio e Pepe Risotto, let us know and leave a comment with a star rating below!  We’d love to hear from you! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest! 

Have a Delicious Day! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by…

xo anna and liz