What Can I Cook With Pasta and Cheese?

Pasta and cheese alone gives you cacio e pepe, stovetop mac and cheese, a baked pasta, or a cheese-only alfredo. No cream required for any of them — the sauce comes from cheese emulsified into starchy pasta water.

Pasta water is full of dissolved starch, which stabilises melting cheese and stops it splitting into oil and rubbery strands. That emulsion is the entire technique behind cacio e pepe and why it fails when people use plain water.

Dishes you can make

• Cacio e pepe — Off the heat, pasta water added gradually, pecorino stirred vigorously. Heat is the enemy.
• Stovetop mac and cheese — Low heat, cheese added in handfuls, never boiling once the cheese is in.
• Baked mac and cheese — Make the sauce looser than you'd serve — it tightens in the oven.
• Cheese-only alfredo — Butter, parmesan, pasta water. Cream is a later addition that isn't traditional.
• Four cheese pasta — Balance one sharp, one melting, one salty and one creamy.

Tips that actually matter

• Grate your own cheese. Pre-grated is coated in anti-caking starch that makes sauce grainy.
• Keep the pan off the heat when the cheese goes in.
• Reserve twice as much pasta water as you think you need.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my cheese sauce go grainy?

Too much heat, or pre-grated cheese. Cheese proteins seize above about 80°C and squeeze the fat out.

Best cheese for pasta?

Pecorino and parmesan for hard-cheese sauces, cheddar and gruyère for mac, mozzarella for stretch in bakes.

Can I make it without flour or cream?

Yes — cacio e pepe and alfredo both use only cheese, fat and pasta water.

Related guides

• pasta and tomatoes
• eggs and cheese
• chicken and pasta

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