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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- Boil spaghetti in a large pot using water that is salted heavily.
- In a separate, large skillet, melt butter and then add some of the starchy pasta water once the pasta is done.
- Add pasta to the melted butter and cooking water combination, and toss it around several times to make sure that the noodles are coated.
- 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
Adding a fat in the form of oil or butter makes for a super creamy and tasty pasta sauce. The butter in this recipe helps the cheese stick to the pasta and enhances the flavor of the cheese.
No, don't use oil instead of butter in this recipe. The oil will not mix with the pasta water well and will result in a separated cheese sauce.
Spaghetti with Butter and Cheese
Spaghetti noodles are fully coated in a supremely tasty butter and cheese sauce. Kid friendly recipe for a main or side dish!
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 ounces uncooked spaghetti
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Instructions
- In a stainless steel pan, add a few inches of water - not too much. You want it to just be able to cover the amount of spaghetti you are boiling. Salt the water generously.
- Bring water to a boil and add spaghetti. Boil for 10-11 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. When the pasta is done boiling, add ¾ cup of the starchy pasta water to the melted butter and stir well.
- Use tongs or a pasta spoon to transfer cooked pasta to the melted butter mixture. Stir well, so that the spaghetti is coated with the mixture.
- Reduce heat to low and add cheese to pasta mixture. Swirl vigorously so that the cheese slowly melts - keep the heat low - and the sauce becomes creamy. Serve immediately.
Notes
Clumping can be an issue with this recipe. To prevent this, you need to use super starchy pasta water, so be careful not to add too much water to the pot where you boil the spaghetti. Also, when you add cheese to the skillet, keep the heat low.
Helpful Equipment: Stainless steel pasta spoon, large granite skillet, 2-quart saucepan
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: N/A
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ of recipe
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 0.75g
- Sodium: 912mg
- Fat: 26g
- Saturated Fat: 15g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 20g
- Cholesterol: 65mg
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