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How to make an authentic Pasta alla Gricia, a Roman classic dish made with just 4 ingredients: pasta, crispy guanciale, salty pecorino and black pepper. It’s unbelievably delicious and comes together in under 30 minutes.
Quick recipe overview
- Flavour – It’s rich, savoury and delicious, made with salty guanciale, tangy pecorino cheese and a kick of black pepper.
- Traditional dish – Pasta alla Gricia is a classic Roman dish from the Lazio region.
- Perfect for – A quick, comfort food dinner that’s ready in under 30 minutes.
Pasta alla Gricia is one of four famous Roman pasta dishes alongside Pasta alla Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe and Pasta all’Amatriciana.
It’s essentially cacio e pepe with guanciale added or carbonara without the eggs. Its salty, bold flavour is unbelievably delicious, and it’s the perfect meal when you’re looking for some quick and easy comfort food.
What’s even better is that it’s made with just 4 simple ingredients. See our notes below on what you need.
Ingredient notes
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It- Pasta – the most common pasta shapes used to make pasta alla gricia are spaghetti, rigatoni or mezze maniche (which is what we have used), but honestly, most pasta shapes will work well.
- Guanciale – This is an essential ingredient needed to make an authentic Pasta alla Gricia because it’s the glorious fat that adds so much flavour and helps creates such a creamy and delicious pasta sauce. You should be able to find guanciale at any Italian speciality food store, but if not, you could use good quality pancetta with a good amount of fat. Bear in mind that pancetta or bacon will have a much milder flavour, so the end result won’t quite be the same.
- Pecorino Romano – Make sure to get your hands on Pecorino Romano DOP which usually has a black rind, although it can also have a colourless rind too (it’ll have Pecorino Romano DOP stamped into it).
- Black pepper – I like to use a generous amount of black pepper, you can use it to taste and also add more at the end if needed.
Where does pasta alla Gricia get its name?
Since I love digging into the history of traditional Italian dishes, I’ve come across a few different theories as to where the name gricia comes from.
One theory is that the name was derived from the old Romanesco word ‘gricio’ or ‘grici’, which were sellers of common foods. Pasta alla Gricia refers to a pasta you could make with ingredients found at your local gricio (pasta, guanciale, pecorino and black pepper).
It’s also thought to be named after the grey (grigio in Italian) colour of the dish from the guanciale and black pepper mixed with cheese.
The third theory is that the pasta in fact comes from Grisciano in Lazio and was named after the town it was invented in.
Top tips and recipe FAQs
- Read the recipe before you start – Just like cacio e pepe and carbonara, this recipe is very quick and easy, but you need to know what you’re doing in advance so you don’t overcook the pasta and you’re ready to add the cheese at the right time.
- Undercook the pasta – look at your pasta packet instructions and undercook the pasta by 2 minutes. You finish cooking the pasta in the pan and you want it to release some of that starch for a creamy texture.
- Reserve guanciale fat and pasta water – I like to keep around 2 tablespoons of guanciale fat in the pan and reserve the rest in a bowl just in case it’s needed later to emulsify the pasta. I recommend using a strainer spoon to transfer the pasta (or tongs for spaghetti) instead of draining the water, so you have plenty reserved for using.
- Keep stirring! – When you add the cheese, make sure the pan is off the heat and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until the cheese has melted. Once melted, it helps to toss the pasta in the pan to help bring it together. If you have tiny clumps that are not melting, you can turn the heat on low and stir for a few seconds, but don’t let it get too hot or it can split/clump.
The difference between these two Italian pasta dishes is the egg. Carbonara is made with freshly beaten egg, and Gricia has no egg, everything else remains the same.
No, the cheese starts to solidify pretty quickly so this is best prepared and eaten immediately. You can grate the cheese in advance but do not create the paste until a few minutes before using.
Some recipes suggest that Parmigiano Reggiano is a good substitute. I’ve never used it to make Gricia or Cacio e Pepe so I can’t confirm if it works but I do know it will completely change the flavour.
More quick and easy classic Italian pasta recipes
Fresh Pasta
Pici, Cacio e Pepe (Authentic Recipe)
Classic Italian Recipes
Pasta With Puttanesca Sauce (Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca)
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Roman Pasta alla Gricia
Ingredients
- 14 oz Pasta (Mezze maniche or Spaghetti), (400g)
- 4 oz Guanciale, (120g)
- 6 oz Pecorino Romano *see notes, (170g)
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well.
- Meanwhile, trim the thick skin off the guanciale and cut it into medium-sized strips (photo 1)
- Heat a large pan on a low-medium heat and add the guanciale. Fry until the guanciale is golden and crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave around 2 tablespoons of guanciale fat in the pan and pour the rest into a bowl, just in case you need extra. Turn the pan off the heat (photos 2-4).
- Next, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook 2 minutes under the packet instructions.
- Meanwhile, finely grate the pecorino cheese into a bowl and add a generous amount of black pepper. Remove some pasta water from the pot and add it to the grated cheese whilst whisking until a thick paste forms. Set aside (photos 5 and 6).
- When the pasta is al dente, add it to the pan with the guanciale fat and turn the heat back on to medium. Add a splash of pasta water (around 1/2 cup/125ml) and stir the pasta until the pasta water has thickened slightly (2-3 minutes).
- Next, turn the heat off and add the cheese paste. Stir vigorously until creamy and emulsified (tossing it in the pan also helps at this point) (photos 7 and 8).
- Serve in bowls topped with the crispy guanciale.
Notes
- Cheese – Make sure to use Pecorino Romano DOP for the best results; otherwise, the cheese could clump. 200g/7oz measured to 3 and ¼ cups grated (fine feathery grate).
- Prepping in advance/leftovers – I recommend eating immediately, as it cannot be prepped in advance (other than grating the cheese) and doesn’t reheat well due to cheese clumping.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Simple yet super delicious! Some friends and I made fresh spaghetti and this sauce for our Italian themed dinner party and everyone was obsessed!
Oh this looks so tasty! and proves you don’t need lots of ingredients to make something delicious, just a couple of great ones! Must try this asap!