There are three main concerns to consider when planning meals: time, cost, and taste. These are the concerns that most people have when they think of what to cook for the week.
Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe is a perfect solution. It has simple ingredients, tasty, quick to prepare, and is quite affordable. You can prepare it in minutes with basic cupboard ingredients, hence why it is popular. Read on to find out more about this product.
Cacio e Pepe is a traditional Italian dish that means “cheese and pepper” in Italian. It’s one of the simplest pasta dishes you can make: all you need is pasta, cheese, and black pepper.
Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe is made with dry spaghetti noodles, pecorino romano cheese, and fresh ground pepper. The pasta has a mild peppery flavor, with little nuggets of salty pecorino throughout. It looks like a simple bowl of spaghetti, but the taste is bolder and more distinct than just plain noodles.
Contents
Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Products
Below are some of Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Products:
1) Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Ravioli
The Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Ravioli is a premium product that sells for only $3.49 a box. It is a fresh pasta filled with cheese and pepper, perfect for lunch or dinner.The black pepper pasta is stuffed with Pecorino Romano and ricotta cheeses and is ready to cook. Preparation takes about 20 minutes, so it’s great for busy people looking for a quick meal.
Have a pot of salted boiling water and add your ravioli to prepare it. Let it cook for about four minutes, and remove the pasta. You can then add tomato sauce, pesto, or alfredo to it for more flavor.
Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Ravioli has 220 calories per cup of 83g. It has three servings, but with added vegetables, you can stretch the ravioli out to feed more people while still keeping it healthy!
2) Trader Joe’s Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
Trader Joe’s Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe is a delightful classic Italian pasta dish of spaghetti, cheese, and cracked black pepper. It costs $3.99 per package.
The ingredients are simple: pasta, olive oil, butter, pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese. The package contains two servings of pasta, so you can have one for dinner and save the other for lunch the next day.
Trader Joe’s Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe comes in a conveniently packaged resealable plastic bag that can be microwaved or boiled on the stovetop. Each serving is around 360 calories with 20 grams of protein, making it a reasonably nutritious option.
To prepare the dish in the microwave, empty contents into a bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds. If you have time to spare and want to get out your best pot and pan set, heat 1 quart of water on the stove, then add the contents into boiling water for 8 minutes before draining.
3) Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Sauce
Trader Joe’s Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe is a delightful classic Italian pasta dish of spaghetti, cheese, and cracked black pepper. It costs $3.99 per package.
The ingredients are simple: pasta, olive oil, butter, pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese. The package contains two servings of pasta, so you can have one for dinner and save the other for lunch the next day.
Priced at $3.49 for a 16-oz. jar, this sauce is inspired by the classic Italian pasta dish Cacio e Pepe. It is made with Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and olive oil.
The ingredients for Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe sauce: water, whole milk, pecorino romano cheese (made from sheep’s milk), butter, grated parmesan cheese (milk, salt, rennet), tapioca starch, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder.
The sauce has 150 calories per serving (half of a cup), and a full cup has 300 calories — more than double the calories in the original dish. It has more fat than the original recipe.
What Goes Well With Cacio e Pepe?
This is such a simple dish, and there isn’t much you can add without risking taking away from its simplicity. However, it goes very well with roasted vegetables or chicken parmesan, and it also makes a great side dish to grilled meats or fish.
Cacio e Pepe Recipes
Below are some exciting Cacio e Pepe recipes to try:
Lemon Cacio e Pepe Ravioli Recipe
Enjoy this tasty Ravioli with a lemon twist.
Ingredients
- 1 Package of Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Ravioli
- One tablespoon of olive oil
- Cracked pepper
- Three tablespoons shredded pecorino
- Juice of ½ lemon
Instructions
- Cook the ravioli according to the package instructions.
- Turn the heat to medium-low.
- Add in olive oil, the ravioli, and lemon juice.
- Toss the mixture.
- Top with pecorino and cracked pepper.
- Serve.
Cacio e Pepe Ravioli With Sauteed Mushrooms and Arugula
This 15-minute recipe is so delicious and will leave you yearning for more!
Ingredients
- Trader joe’s Cacio e Pepe Ravioli
- Mushrooms
- Arugula
- Shallots
- Parmesan
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Bring salted water to a boil and heat some olive oil in a skillet.
- Add the chopped shallots and mushrooms once the oil is hot.
- Saute for a few minutes until soft.
- Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Add teh ravioli to the boiling water and cook for three minutes.
- Drain the water and add to the skillet with shallots and mushrooms.
- Toss the ravioli and mushrooms with grated arugula and parmesan.
- Serve.
Is Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Good?
It’s safe to say that Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe is a good choice for the busy chef. If you want to save yourself some time, this mac and cheese might be for you. It also has the added advantage of being cheaper than other options.
The three ingredients create an umami flavor bomb similar to macaroni and cheese but more refined and sophisticated.
Below are some customer reviews:
FAQs
What Does Cacio e Pepe Mean?
Cacio e Pepe means “cheese and pepper.” The dish is a simple Roman pasta dish made with Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper, tossed with cooked spaghetti.
What is Cacio e Pepe Made Of?
Cacio e Pepe is a Roman pasta dish traditionally made with just three ingredients: thick spaghetti-like noodles (often tonnarelli), Pecorino Romano cheese, and freshly ground black pepper. Trader Joe’s version of Cacio e Pepe is like the original because it has only a few ingredients. While one of those ingredients is cheese, none of the others are common in the dish.
What Goes Well With Cacio e Pepe?
A nice Chianti or Sangiovese would work perfectly here. A salad, garlic bread, roasted vegetables, and chocolate-covered almonds for dessert are also great.
How do you keep Cacio e Pepe from clumping?
Cacio e Pepe is a simple dish, but it’s tricky to make it properly. The key is to use the right cheese: Grana Padano Parmesan. The cheese and pasta need to be hot when you add them together, so they melt together. Therefore, traditional recipes call for using the pasta cooking water. The sauce needs something to cling to. You can do this by stirring a beaten egg yolk into the cheese before adding it to the pasta. Or you can toss in lots of butter with the cheese — that will also help keep it from clumping.
Was Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Discontinued?
Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe remains available. It is still available in Trader Joe’s stores but tends to run out fast.
Conclusion
Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe is a simple dish of pasta tossed with black pepper and cheese. This dish features noodles topped with grated Pecorino Romano and plenty of cracked black pepper. The result is a gutsy bowl of flavor that I would (and have) order again and again at the grocery store. If you’re looking to treat your taste buds to an easy yet delicious bowl of pasta, this is the one.
