Here’s irresistible vegan cacio e pepe, ready in 10 mins! Is that even possible? Yes. And the result is a creamy, peppery, and cheesy pasta dish that you can cook in no time.

In the last couple of years, vegan cheese has become such a good substitute for regular cheese, in both texture and flavor. Try it, and let us know what you think.

Introduction

vegan cacio e pepe

For this vegan cacio e pepe, we take inspiration from Italy. The original cacio e pepe is a pasta dish with humble roots and simple ingredients that is now internationally acclaimed.

To give you a better idea, this recipe is kind of a simplified vegan version of mac and cheese. It’s made with spaghetti, and with a light but creamy vegan cheese sauce, flavored with some freshly ground pepper. It literally takes 3 ingredients and 10 minutes to make, just the time to boil the pasta!

For best results, you should get yourself some commercial vegan shredded cheese. I list some US and European brands in the ingredients chapter below. I order my vegan cheese shreds online once a month since my local grocery store doesn’t keep them.

The first time I made this vegan creamy pasta, as a true Italian, I was very skeptical. But the recipe turned out so good, and it’s so simple, that it has become a staple in our home, especially when we crave an easy and creamy pasta dish (which is at least once a week).

Ingredients and substitutions

vegan shredded cheese
vegan shredded cheese
  • Pasta: you can use any pasta for this recipe. We use spaghetti to make it similar to Italian Cacio e Pepe, but any long or short pasta type will work. For an even creamier and yummier result, try to find a “bronze cut” pasta. It’s more rugged than regular “steel cut” and it holds on to the sauce a lot better.
  • Vegan shredded cheese: we use “Violife grated cheese”. They are available in most countries including US, Canada, UK, Latin America, almost everywhere in Europe and more.

    Other US brands that sell vegan shredded cheese are follow your heart, miyoko’s, parmela, so delicious, daya, chao creamery. Another great brand available in Europe, especially Germany, is Simply-V.

    We live in a small town in the heart of Italy, and the local supermarkets don’t sell vegan cheese, so we make a big order online once a month, and we then freeze the cheese.

    A lighter alternative to vegan shredded cheese is unsweetened soy yogurt. In this case, you’ll get a lighter, less creamy, but still delicious pasta dish. In this case, though, you should not warm up the yogurt, but just mix it in a bowl with the hot pasta and ground black pepper.
  • Black pepper: freshly ground black pepper is best.
  • Water: to boil the pasta. We then use the pasta cooking water to help the cheese melt, so don’t throw it out. Pasta cooking water is great because it contains the starch from the pasta, which makes the sauce even creamier.
  • Salt: we use coarse salt to salt the pasta water, and a pinch or two of fine salt to season the final dish if necessary. Sea salt or kosher salt are best, but any salt will do.

Instructions

To make sure your vegan cheese will melt perfectly, we recommend first blending it to make it finer. This way it will look like parmesan cheese and it will melt a lot faster. Some shredded cheeses don’t require this step, but we do recommend it.

vegan shredded cheese for vegan cacio e pepe
vegan shredded cheese

Then, in a large pot, put the water to boil. While the water boils, on a pan on medium heat, toast the black peppercorns without any liquid. Just the peppercorns. Move them around the pan for about 3 minutes, or until you can smell the pepper aroma.

If you want, you can skip this step, and just use freshly ground pepper out of a pepper mill.

toasting the pepper corn

After toasting, put the peppercorns in a mortar, and crush them into dust. If you don’t have a mortar, put them on your cutting board and crush them by applying pressure with the bottom of a pan.

crushing the pepper

The pasta water should now be boiling. Salt it with the coarse salt, then put in the pasta and let cook for 4 minutes less than indicated on the pasta package.

If the pasta package says 12 minutes, then you cook it for 8. We finish cooking the pasta with the cheese sauce, so that it will release the starch in it, making the sauce even creamier.

cooking the pasta

While the pasta cooks, add the vegan cheese and 2 ladles of the pasta cooking water to a large pan. Melt the cheese on low heat, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon. After a minute or so, your vegan cheese should be completely melted.

melting the cheese on a pan

Now add the crushed pepper to the cheese. Keep stirring on low heat for another minute. Then turn off the heat, but keep stirring occasionally, we don’t want the cheese to become too dense. If necessary, add an extra dash of pasta cooking water to keep the cheese to a creamy consistency.

vegan cacio e pepe sauce

When the pasta is ready, take it out of the water and put it in the pan with the cheese sauce. Make sure to save the pasta water, as we need it to finish cooking the pasta.

Add 1 ladle of pasta water to the pan, then on medium to low heat, finish cooking the pasta with the cheese sauce, until the pasta is al dente – that is, cooked but with a bite to it. Add more pasta water if the sauce becomes too thick.

adding the pasta to the sauce

Your pasta should now be completely coated in the cheese sauce, and it’s ready to be portioned.

vegan cacio e pepe almost ready

Serve in little (or big) swirls on a plate, and drizzle with some extra cheese sauce on top, and a sprinkle of ground black pepper.

vegan cacio e pepe on a plate

Tips

  • Undercook the pasta for 4 minutes. We do this because we want to finish cooking the spaghetti in the pan with the cheese sauce. This way, the pasta will release starch into the sauce, making it even creamier.
  • Melt the vegan cheese with the pasta cooking water so that the salt in the pasta water will add some sapidity to the vegan cheese. Vegan cheese is generally less salty than regular Italian parmesan or pecorino, so we need the extra help of the salt in the cooking water to add saltiness.
  • Toast the black pepper whole. In Asian cooking, people do this all the time. They toast their spices, whole, before grinding them and using them to flavor their curries. Here we apply the same technique to make our pepper extra aromatic. Warm it up on a pan without any liquid to warm up its oils and release all its aroma.
  • Save the pasta water when draining the pasta. Pasta water is full of starch and it will make our sauce creamier.
whole pepper corns
whole peppercorns

Frequently asked questions

Is pasta vegan?

Yes. Italian dry pasta is 100% vegan because it’s made only with two plant-based ingredients: semolina (hard-wheat) flour, and water.

Can I use another pasta shape?

Yes. You can use any pasta shape for vegan creamy pasta recipe. We used spaghetti because we wanted to make it similar to Italian cacio e pepe.

I cannot find vegan shredded cheese. What can I use instead?

Have you tried online? If you still can find it, then you can use unsweetened soy yogurt. In this case though, cook the pasta al dente, then add it to a bowl, and mix in 3 to 4 tbsps of unsweetened soy yogurt, a drizzle of olive oil, and the black pepper. Mix well, and serve.

Storage

This vegan creamy pasta doesn’t store well, since the spaghetti and cheese is mixed together, and the pasta will overcook if reheated.

If you have leftovers, keep them for max of 12 hours in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat on a pan with some water for about 1 minute, and add a pinch of freshly ground pepper.

This vegan cacio e pepe pasta should be reheated only once, or else will turn into a mushy consistency.

Serving suggestions

How we love easy weeknight dinners that require little effort! That being said, if you want to increase your veggie intake a little (like us) check out these healthy side dishes:

Similar recipes

If you liked our vegan cacio e pepe, you might also like these weeknight pasta recipes:

Recipe

vegan creamy pasta cacio e pepe

Vegan cacio e pepe

By: Nico Pallotta
4.89 from 9 votes
Here's irresistible vegan cacio e pepe, ready in 10 mins! Is that even possible? Yes. And the result is a creamy, peppery, and cheesy pasta dish that you can cook in no time.
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 3 people
Course: First Course
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

  • 300 grams spaghetti
  • 150 grams vegan shredded cheese
  • 1 tbsp black pepper corns you can use more or less based on your taste preference
  • 3 litres water to cook the pasta
  • 2 tbsp coarse sea salt to salt the pasta water
  • 1 pinch salt if your vegan cheese is not salty enough

Instructions 

  • BEFORE YOU START: if your vegan cheese is grated coarsly we recommend to blitz it up in a blender to make it finer, looking like grated parmesan cheese.
    vegan shredded cheese
  • In a large pot, put the water to boil. Then on a pan on medium heat, toast the black pepper corns without any liquid. Just the pepper corns. Move them around the pan for about 3 minutes, or until you can smell the pepper aroma.
    toasting the pepper corn
  • Then put the in a mortar, and crush them into dust. If you don't have a mortar, put them on your cutting board and crush them applying pressure with the bottom of a pan.
    crushing the pepper
  • The pasta water should now be boiling. Salt it with the corase sea salt, then put in the pasta and let cook for 4 minutes less than indicated on the pasta package.
    If the pasta package says 12 minute, then you cook it for 8. We finish cooking the pasta witht the cheese sauce, so that it will release starch in it, making the sauce even creamier.
    cooking the pasta
  • In a large pan, add the vegan cheese and 2 ladles of the pasta cooking water. Melt the cheese on low heat, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon. After a minute or so, your vegan cheese should be completely melted.
    melting the cheese on a pan
  • Now add the crushed pepper to the cheese. Keep stirring on low heat for another minute. Then turn off the heat, but keep stirring occasionally, we don't want the cheese to become too dense.
    If necessay, add an extra dash of pasta cooking water to keep the cheese to a creamy consistency.
    vegan creamy pasta sauce
  • When the pasta is ready, take it out of the water and put it in the pan with the cheese sauce. Make sure to save the pasta water, as we need it to finish cooking the pasta.
    adding the pasta to the sauce
  • Add 1 ladle of pasta water to the pan, then on medium to low heat, finish cooking the pasta with the cheese sauce, until the pasta is al dente – that is, cooked but with a bite to it. Add more pasta water if the sauce becomes too thick.
    vegan creamy pasta
  • Your pasta should now be completely coated in the cheese sauce, and it's ready to be portioned.
    vegan creamy pasta on a plate
  • Serve in little swirls on a plate, and drizzle with some extra cheese sauce on top, and a sprinkle of the ground black pepper.

Nutrition

Calories: 540kcal, Carbohydrates: 89g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Potassium: 268mg, Dietary Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 18IU, Vitamin B6: 1mg, Vitamin E: 1mg, Vitamin K: 6µg, Calcium: 74mg, Folate: 19µg, Iron: 2mg, Manganese: 1mg, Magnesium: 59mg, Zinc: 1mg
Tried this recipe? Leave a comment below or mention @theplantbasedschool on Instagram. We are also on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok.

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Nico and Louise in the kitchen

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with easy, tasty, and wholesome recipes.

Our aim is to help you and your family eat more veggies through delicious recipes with simple ingredients.

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1 Comment

  1. 5 stars
    How I cook pasta fool proof al dente. Boil the water with salt as usual. Then add the pasta give t a stir and wait until it starts boiling again. As soon as it starts boiling put on the lid and remove from heat. Time it for 15 mins and there you are spot on.