Cheesy and comforting Cacio e Pepe Risotto! All the flavours of a classic Cacio e Pepe pasta in risotto form, made with pecorino cheese and plenty of black pepper. It's not only delicious but super easy too!
If you love Cacio e Pepe pasta (cheese and pepper) you'll love this risotto version! We've taken all the amazing cheesy, peppery goodness and mixed it through warm and comforting risotto rice.
It's SO good!
We have stayed pretty loyal to the original Cacio e Pepe flavours so there is no garlic, no onion and no wine in this recipe, things you would normally expect in a risotto.
For richness I like to add a knob of butter in at the end but other than that I love the classic Cacio e Pepe taste this risotto has.
Ingredients - what you need
The ingredients are so simple all you need is; arborio or carnaroli risotto rice, chicken stock, parmesan cheese, pecorino or provolone cheese, black pepper, salt, and butter or olive oil.
How to make Cacio e Pepe Risotto - step by step
Heat the olive oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Once hot add the rice and toast it lightly for 1 minute (photo 1).
Add a few ladles of stock until the rice is just covered, stir until the rice absorbs the liquid, and add another ladle or two. Continue adding the stock, stirring and letting the rice absorb it until all the stock is used up. The rice should be cooked through, thick and creamy (photo 2).
Add the cheese, pepper, around 1 tablespoon butter (optional), and a good pinch of salt and stir into the risotto until melted. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Serve (photos 3 & 4).
Top tips and recipe FAQs
- Additional flavours - we've kept the flavours in this risotto as close to the classic Cacio e Pepe pasta as possible but if you want you could add in chopped garlic, shallots or onion and a splash of white wine before adding the rice.
- Butter - around 1 tablespoon of butter added at the end gives the risotto a nice rich and delicious flavour that I love but it is optional.
- Stock - you can use either chicken or vegetable stock although I find chicken stock gives more flavour to this recipe. Make sure to keep it warm in a pot as you add it in.
The most common types of rice available for making risotto is Arborio and Carnaroli because they are short, fat and very starchy. Stay away from long-grain rice when making risotto.
Leftovers will keep well covered in the fridge for 1-2 days. You can also shape leftover risotto into balls, dredge them in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and deep fry to make arancini rice ball.
More delicious risotto recipes you might like
- Butternut Squash Risotto With Thyme
- Simple Saffron Risotto
- Creamy Mushroom Risotto
- Creamy Tomato Risotto
If you’ve tried this Cacio e Pepe Risotto or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
📖 Full Recipe
Cacio e Pepe Risotto
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups arborio or carnaroli rice (270g)
- 5 cups chicken stock (1200ml)
- 1 cup pecorino freshly grated (70g)
- ½ cup parmesan freshly grated (40g)
- 1-2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoon butter optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt to season
Instructions
- Keep the stock warm in a pot.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Once hot add the rice and toast it lightly for 1 minute.
- Add a few ladles of stock until the rice is just covered, stir until the rice absorbs the liquid and add another ladle or two. Continue adding the stock, stirring and letting the rice absorb it until all the stock is used up. The rice should be cooked through, thick and creamy.
- Add the cheese, pepper, around 1 tablespoon butter (optional) and good pinch of salt and stir into the risotto until melted. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Serve.
Notes
- Additional flavours - we've kept the flavours in this risotto as close to the classic Cacio e Pepe pasta as possible but if you want you could add in chopped garlic, shallots or onion and a splash of white wine before adding the rice.
- Butter - around 1 tablespoon of butter added at the end gives the risotto a nice rich and delicious flavour that I love but it is optional.
- Stock - you can use either chicken or vegetable stock although I find chicken stock gives more flavour to this recipe. Make sure to keep it warm in a pot as you add it in.
- Leftovers - leftovers will keep well covered in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
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