Creamy Instant Pot Cacio e Pepe Pasta (No Clumping!)

Making pasta in your Instant Pot is so much fun! Grab your pressure cooker and make this amazing Instant Pot Cacio E Pepe Recipe!

What exactly is Cacio E Pepe?

acio e Pepe is the ultimate Italian comfort food. Translated simply to “cheese and pepper,” this traditional Roman pasta dish is famous for turning a few humble ingredients into a silky, luxurious sauce.

While traditional Cacio e Pepe can be notoriously tricky to make on the stovetop without the cheese clumping, this Instant Pot Cacio e Pepe makes the process practically foolproof!

Because the Instant Pot cooks the pasta in a exact amount of water, all that starch stays trapped in the pot. When combined with butter, coarsely cracked black pepper, and freshly grated Pecorino Romano, it creates an effortless, velvety sauce in under 15 minutes. It’s the perfect quick weeknight meal for busy nights!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Spaghetti or Bucatini: Broken in half so it lays evenly in the pressure cooker pot.

Pecorino Romano Cheese: Freshly grated off the block with a Microplane. Avoid pre-shredded cheese at all costs—the additives will stop it from melting smoothly!

Coarsely Cracked Black Pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper gives that authentic, fragrant bite.

Unsalted Butter: Adds richness and helps bind the cheese and starchy pasta water into a smooth cream.

Water or Low-Sodium Broth: Just enough liquid to pressure-cook the noodles to perfect al dente.

How To Make Cacio E Pepe?

Step 1: Toast the pepper (Sauté mode). Set your Instant Pot to ‘Saute’ and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add your coarsely cracked black pepper and let it sizzle for about 60 seconds until fragrant. Press ‘Cancel.’

Step 2: Layer the pasta. Pour in the water, scraping up any pepper bits from the bottom. Break your spaghetti in half and crisscross the noodles in a fan pattern. Do not stir! Crisscrossing stops the pasta from clumping together while pressure cooking.

Step 3: Pressure cook. Secure the lid, set the valve to ‘Sealing’, and pressure cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes. As soon as the timer beeps, perform an immediate Quick Release to prevent soggy noodles.

Step 4: Cool the pot slightly. Remove the lid and stir the remaining butter into the hot pasta. Let the pot sit uncovered for 2 minutes to drop below boiling temperature. (This cooling step is the secret to preventing clumpy cheese!)

Step 5: Fold in the cheese. Gradually sprinkle in the microplaned Pecorino Romano cheese, a handful at a time, tossing vigorously with tongs between each addition. The starchy pasta liquid and cheese will bind into a smooth, glossy sauce.

Step 6: Serve immediately. Plate warm with an extra dusting of Pecorino Romano and fresh black pepper on top!

The Instant Pot is an Electric Pressure Cooker, but it also functions as a regular pot. The benefits of using the pressure cooker function are infinite!

This is not only so easy to cook pasta in your Instant Pot , it tastes amazing! So light and creamy. I love cheese so this dish was right up my alley. You can use it as a side dish or even a main course! It’s a finished dish even though you only need 4 key ingredients.

FAQs

Where do you serve this Instant Cacio E Pepe?

It’s great for a dinner party or even for entertaining! You can serve it in your Instant Pot or you can make it on the stove top. I prefer to prepare all my pasta dishes in my Instant Pot. It’s just so much easier and less time consuming. It is a comforting spaghetti dish easy recipe that you won’t spend much time on.

Enjoy this delicious recipe and let me know how much you love it!

Here are some more Instant Pot Recipes to try: