These cacio e pepe beans on toast are a rich, cozy twist on the classic Roman pasta, made with creamy white beans instead of noodles. Butter, black pepper, and pecorino melt together into a silky, savory sauce that coats the beans. Spooned over crisp, buttery sourdough toast, it’s quick, comforting, and packed with flavor.
Big Bean Energy
I love cacio e pepe. Love love love it. Also, I looooove beans, so it seemed kinda logical to create a best-of-both-worlds situation.
The beautiful thing about beans is that the liquid they are packed in contains a whole lot of starch, which emulates the pasta water you'd be scooping into a traditional cacio e pepe recipe. Add stir in some salty pecorino Romano cheese, lots of freshly cracked black pepper, and a couple of cans of beans?
The result is creamy, peppery, cacio e pepe beans. Spoon this situation over a slice of hot, buttery sourdough toast, and, I mean, is heaven missing an angel? Because that combo is out of this world. And it only takes about 15 minutes to pull together. Trust me, you need to make this.
I use butter beans in this recipe because I love how creamy they are, but any white bean will be delish. I served this recipe for brunch alongside some soft scrambled eggs and sautéd spinach, but I think it would pair beautifully with these crisp and tender cabbage steaks or a garlicky kale Caesar salad.
Let's make Cacio e Pepe Beans together!
Ok my friend, gather up your ingredients and let's make some beans on toast! Friendly reminder that you'll find specific quantities of the ingredients and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post. But for now, let me walk you through the process step-by-step.
Step 1: toast the pepper
Melt the butter over medium-high heat and grind your black pepper right into the pan. Freshly cracked pepper is how we roll for maximum flavor — aim for a coarse grind if you please.
You're going to toast the pepper in the butter until it's nutty and fragrant — about one minute.
Step 2: add the beans
Add 1 can of white beans along with the liquid, and the pecorino cheese. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to thicken.
Add the remaining beans, and stir to combine. Taste the mixture, and season with salt and extra black pepper if needed.
Step 3: season
If you want to thicken the beans even more (this is totally my vibe), mash about ⅛ of the beans with a fork.
Taste the mixture, and season with salt and extra black pepper if needed.
Step 4: serve!
Ohhh yeah. Spoon those beans over hot, buttery sourdough toast and marvel at how bonkers delicious such simple ingredients can be.
We did it!
Cacio e Pepe Beans on Toast
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper preferably a coarse grind
- 1 cup finely grated pecorino romano
- 14 ounce can white beans + liquid
- 14 ounce can white beans drained but not rinsed
- 4 slices toasted sourdough bread
Instructions
- Heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add the butter, and once it has melted, add the freshly cracked black pepper. Sauté, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.1 Tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- Add 1 can of white beans along with the liquid, and the pecorino cheese.14 ounce can white beans + liquid, 1 cup finely grated pecorino romano
- Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to thicken.
- Add the remaining beans, and stir to combine.14 ounce can white beans
- Taste the mixture, and season with salt and extra black pepper if needed.
- If you want to thicken the beans even more, mash about ⅛ of the beans with a fork.
- Spoon the cacio e pepe beans over hot buttery sourdough toast, and dig in!4 slices toasted sourdough bread
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only and are calculated based on the beans, not the toast.
- Any large white beans will do. I have tested this recipe with both butter beans and cannellini beans. I probably prefer butter beans, but both work great.
- If you don't have pecorino romano, you can use Parmesan cheese instead. Or a blend of pecorino and Parmesan.
- If you are cooking beans from dried, reserve ½ cup of bean broth to stir in with the beans.
- If you accidentally drain both cans of beans, you can add ½ cup of water in place of the bean liquid, and mash a few extra beans to thicken the mixture.
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