This vegan cacio e pepe is creamy, delicious, and packed with peppery flavor! It's a super simple pasta dish that comes together in a flash and you'll want to make again and again.
Have you ever had cacio e pepe? It's one of the simplest pasta dishes there is, but also one of the most delicious! Cacio e pepe literally translates to "cheese and pepper," which are the two main flavorings in the dish. In fact, in many traditional recipes, cheese and pepper are the only ingredients beside pasta and water!
To create a vegan version I had to add a few extra ingredients and steps, but it's still a really simple dish. While you could probably make a version by just swapping vegan Parm for pecorino romano (the variety of cheese normally used), you probably wouldn't get much in the way of melting, which is essential to create the smooth, classic, creamy sauce cacio e pepe is known for.
We'll be making an easy cashew-based sauce, which is something like a lighter, cheesier version of my vegan fettuccine Alfredo sauce. Then we'll toss the pasta in a mix of the sauce, vegan butter and black pepper. Read on for the details on how to make this scrumptious dish!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Water.
- Raw cashews. Make sure not to use roasted cashews, which are sweeter and nuttier tasting than raw. You'll be soaking your cashews in water to soften them up for blending, so make sure to plan ahead!
- Miso paste. Preferably buy white miso paste, which many stores sell in the international foods aisle. If you can't find white, another variety like red miso will work.
- Lemon juice. You'll want to use freshly squeezed lemon juice to give your sauce the best flavor.
- Salt.
- Dried spaghetti. Spaghetti is traditionally used for cacio e pepe, but feel free to swap it out with another pasta shape if you'd like.
- Vegan butter. Some, but not all, non-vegan versions of cacio e pepe include butter. Since we'll be making ours without dairy, I'm taking full advantage of vegan butter to add a layer of richness. Look for it in the dairy case at your supermarket, near the regular butter.
- Black pepper. Use freshly ground black pepper, from whole peppercorns, which you can grind using a pepper grinder or mortar and pestle.
- Vegan Parmesan cheese. I like using my homemade vegan Parmesan, but store-bought also works just fine.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
To make your sauce, start by placing water, soaked raw cashews, miso paste, lemon juice and salt into a blender.
Blend everything until the mixture is smooth. It will be on the thin side.
Tip: Blending up all those cashews can take a few minutes, so be patient, particularly if you're not using a high-powered blending device.
Now you can begin cooking your pasta. Just cook it until it's al dente, which means it's a bit on the firm side, just past being undercooked. Make sure to reserve a half cup or so of the pasta water before you drain it.
Now melt your vegan butter in a large skillet, then add the black pepper. Cook the pepper for about 30 seconds. If your pasta isn't finished cooking yet, turn off the heat. If the pasta is ready, head on to the next step.
Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, along with the cashew sauce. Toss everything up and simmer the pasta in the sauce until it thickens up a bit. If it thickens too much, just thin it with some of that reserved pasta water.
Serve your vegan cacio e pepe with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan cacio e pepe will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 4 days. The sauce will thicken during storage, so you may want to add a splash of water when you reheat it.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Cacio e Pepe
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for the pasta water
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- Vegan Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Place the water, cashews, miso paste, lemon juice and salt into a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Drain it into a colander when done, reserving about a half cup of the cooking water.
- While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the black pepper and cook it for about 30 seconds. If the pasta isn't done cooking yet, remove the skillet from heat temporarily. If it is, then proceed with the next step.
- If you took the skillet off of heat, place it back over medium heat. Add the pasta and cashew sauce. Use tongs to toss everything together, making sure to incorporate the butter and pepper on the bottom of the skillet into the mixture. Cook everything for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce thickens and coats the noodles. If the sauce becomes too thick, thin it with some of the pasta cooking water.
- Remove the skillet from heat and season the pasta with additional salt to taste.
- Divide the pasta onto plates and serve with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese.
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Creamy and delicious. I added cannelloni beans, Swiss chard from my garden sundried tomatoes and plenty garlic which satiated my hungry hubby and my persnickety mom! 😂