Vegan Cacio e Pepe Spaghetti
ItalianMainshigh proteinquickcomfort food
39g protein
Recipe by Nikoleta · @surovadcerka
Cacio e pepe is four ingredients and no hiding place, so the two things it asks for are worth doing properly. Toast the whole peppercorns in a dry pan for thirty to sixty seconds before grinding them — pepper is aromatic rather than merely hot, and the heat is what wakes that up. Pre-ground pepper from a jar will not give you this dish.
Second, keep the pasta water. It's starchy, and that starch is what makes the sauce cling to the spaghetti instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Add it a splash at a time.
Nutritional yeast stands in for pecorino and does a convincing job of it. Twenty minutes, two servings, 39 g of protein — and a little fried smoked tempeh on top if you want more.
Ingredients
sauce
- 200 g Semolina spaghetti
- 1/2 tbsp Whole black peppercorns
- 30 g Plant-based butter
- 200 ml Soy cooking cream
- 200 ml Water from pasta
- 3 tbsp Nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
topping
- Vegan cheese
- 200 g Smoked tempeh
Contains: gluten, soy
How to make it
- Bring well-salted water to a boil in a large pot and cook the spaghetti.
- Toast the whole black peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat for 30-60 seconds until lightly fragrant.
- Finely grind or crush the peppercorns in a mortar.
- Melt the butter in the pan, then stir in the ground black pepper, cooking cream, pasta water, and nutritional yeast.
- Bring the sauce to a boil and season with salt (taste first and use less if your pasta water was already well salted) and lemon juice.
- Feel free to add a handful or more of your favorite vegan cheese, or skip it entirely.
- In a separate pan, sauté tofu or tempeh and vegetables if you’d like to add something extra to the spaghetti. I recommend finely chopping smoked tempeh and frying it until crispy in a little oil if you want extra protein. It will serve as a crispy “bacon” on top.
- Drain the spaghetti, toss it with the sauce, and serve with vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast and tempeh.
Nutrition
800Calories
39 gProtein
89 gCarbs
35 gFat
5 gFiber
per serving
