Name: Vegan Cacio e Pepe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup cashews; 1/3 cup water; 4 to 5 teaspoons lemon juice; 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 3/4 teaspoon sea salt; 8 ounces spaghetti (or long, skinny pasta of choice, or use zoodles)

You only need four ingredients and less than 30 minutes to make this amazing, creamy vegan cacio e pepe!

Prep: 15

Cook: 10

Total: 25

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cacio e pepe in a bowl with a side of broccoli

Table of Contents

Ingredients and substitutions
How to make vegan cacio e pepe
Helpful tips
Serving and storage directions
More vegan pasta recipes
📖 Recipe

This cacio e pepe doesn't use any butter or oil. Instead, you make the sauce in your blender using cashews!

Traditional cacio e pepe -- aka cacio e pepe -- uses butter and/or olive oil to make the salt and pepper sauce, then you add cheese to make it creamy. This oil-free vegan cacio e pepe recipe skips all of the stovetop stuff in favor of salt and pepper cashew cream that you make right in your blender!

It may not be an exactly authentic recipe, but it hits those same notes of zesty salt and flowery black pepper in a creamy sauce with less work.

If you love a good, blender pasta sauce, also try my vegan rose sauce. It's perfect for a bowl of pasta or for pasta casseroles!

salt, pepper, pasta, and other ingredients on a white table

Ingredients and substitutions

cashews - You can use raw or roasted, salted or unsalted. Just make sure you soak them in hot water for 15 minutes!
lemon juice - Traditional cacio e pepe includes Pecorino Romano cheese. Lemon juice approximates the tangy element of that cheese flavor.
nutritional yeast - A little bit of nooch gives even more of a cheesy flavor to the sauce.
salt and pepper - The name of the game!
pasta - You can use any pasta you like, but I prefer a long, skinny noodle. You can also use spiralized zucchini instead of pasta, if you prefer.

image collage showing the sauce in the blender before and after blending and the cacio e pepe in a bowl with a side of broccoli

How to make vegan cacio e pepe

Pour enough boiling water over the cashews to cover, and let them sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

While the cashews soak, cook your pasta according to package directions or spiralize your zucchini, whichever you're doing!

Throw the cashews, water, lemon, nutritional yeast, pepper, and salt into your blender, and puree until very smooth. Just keep blending, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed, until you get a smooth salt and pepper cashew cream. Taste and adjust seasoning, blending between additions.

Toss the sauce with the noodles or zoodles, coating evenly. Taste, and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Serve immediately.

Helpful tips

You don't need raw cashews to make a great cashew cream. Soaking in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes softens them up perfectly. Even salted cashews will work fine, because you'll soak off most of the salt.
Save time by making the pasta while the cashews soak. If you do that, you can really get this on the table in 15 to 20 minutes rather than 25.
Make sure that you blend your sauce until it's completely smooth, stopping every 45 seconds or so to give your blender's motor a rest. You don't want a gritty sauce!

Serving and storage directions

Leftovers will keep for three to five days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave.

More vegan pasta recipes

📖 Recipe

Vegan Cacio e Pepe

by Becky Striepe

You only need four ingredients and less than 30 minutes to make this amazing, creamy vegan cacio e pepe!

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Servings: 4

Ingredients

½ cup cashews
⅓ cup water
4 to 5 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon black pepper
¾ teaspoon sea salt
8 ounces spaghetti or long, skinny pasta of choice, or use zoodles

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Instructions

Pour enough boiling water over the cashews to cover, and let them sit for 15 minutes. Drain.
While the cashews soak, cook your pasta according to package directions or spiralize your zucchini, whichever you're doing!
Throw the cashews, water, lemon, nutritional yeast, pepper, and salt into your blender, and puree until very smooth. Just keep blending, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed, until you get a smooth salt and pepper cashew cream. Taste and adjust seasoning, blending between additions.
Toss the sauce with the noodles or zoodles, coating evenly. Taste, and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Serve immediately.

Video

📝 Notes

Leftovers will keep for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Make sure that you blend your sauce until it's completely smooth, stopping every 45 seconds or so to give your blender's motor a rest. You don't want a gritty sauce!

Nutrition

Calories: 309kcal (15%)Carbohydrates: 49g (16%)Protein: 11g (22%)Fat: 8g (12%)Saturated Fat: 1g (5%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 588mg (25%)Potassium: 285mg (8%)Fiber: 3g (12%)Sugar: 3g (3%)Vitamin A: 3IUVitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 21mg (2%)Iron: 2mg (11%)

Keywords vegan cacio e pepe

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