Spaghetti with Butter and Cheese

Butter, cheese, and pasta are always a welcome grouping, and this tasty dish will make itself at home on your dinner table for any occasion. Spaghetti noodles are coated in a creamy, buttery parmesan and pecorino romano cheese sauce.

This cheesy, buttered spaghetti recipe is extremely similar to a classic cacio e pepe. My kids are very picky eaters and can't stand black pepper, so this recipe is little more than cacio e pepe... without the pepe.

Maybe I should call it cacio no pepe.

Ingredients Needed

Four ingredients are all you will need!

• Uncooked spaghetti
• Unsalted butter cut into chunks. It can be cold, because you are going to melt it during the cooking process.
• A mixture of grated pecorino romano and parmesan. Freshly-grated tends to perform better and clump less, though I understand being short on time so go ahead and grab the pre-grated variety if you want!

See recipe card for quantities.

Step By Step Photos

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1. Boil spaghetti in a large pot using water that is salted heavily.
2. In a separate, large skillet, melt butter and then add some of the starchy pasta water once the pasta is done.
3. Add pasta to the melted butter and cooking water combination, and toss it around several times to make sure that the noodles are coated.
4. Add the cheese and swirl pasta vigorously in skillet until cheese is creamy.

Helpful Tip To Avoid Clumps: The cheesy sauce in this recipe is prone to clumping. You want the cooking water to be very starchy to help prevent this from happening. To get starchy water, make sure you don't add too much water to the pot you're cooking the pasta in. Only add just enough water to cover the spaghetti while cooking.

Substitutions

This is a forgiving recipe and there are a few substitutions you can make without changing your result.

• Pasta Shape - you can use any pasta shape you have in your pantry. My kids love this recipe using bowtie (farfalle) pasta.
• Cheese - You can use all parmesan or all pecorino romano for your cheese sauce.
• Gluten Free - gluten free pasta varieties are known for making extra starchy water, so go ahead and use it!

How to Serve

You can serve these buttery cheesy noodles as a main dish, but we often serve it as a side dish. I have served this pasta with fried or grilled chicken breast or chicken nuggets. A green veggie on the side - steamed broccoli is a favorite around here - and some fresh fruit will give you a full meal.

Storage & Freezing

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, add a few spoons of water to the pasta and reheat in the microwave, or put the cold pasta in a small pot and reheat on the stove over low heat while stirring frequently.

I don't recommend freezing this dish.

FAQ