Cacio e Pepe Ciabatta

So simple & just a great special touch when you want to serve a special bread with a special meal or any meal for that matter.  Crunchy, cheesy, peppery bread with that mouth watering parmesan saltiness that leaves you wanting just one more, and one more after that.

Cacio e Pepe translates from Italian literally to cheese and pepper.  It is an adored pasta dish featuring those two start ingredients, but I use it here on one of my favorite breads and have been making this "side dish" for many company meals for years.  It's too simple not to share.

I buy store bought ciabatta rolls, cut them in half to expose all the nooks and crannies, douse them liberally with olive oil and then add a nice amount of shredded parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper...lots of it.

Ciabatta - with all the crevices in ciabatta I liken it to a good old English muffin.  It lends lots of opportunity to hold onto all the goodness you top it with.  In this case good, grassy, extra virgin olive oil, salty parm & ground black peppercorns.

You can use parmesan right out of the jar if that's what you have on hand.  This will still be phenomenal.  I am not a parmesan snob, and neither should you be.  A dusting of the powdered stuff is totally fine in this recipe.

Pepper - while you can certainly use preground black pepper, the freshly ground potent kick that you get is incomparable, so that's where I assert any snobbishness I might have.  You can even buy those pepper grinders you see in the spice isles now that have the peppercorns already loaded in them.  For cacio e pepper, fresh is best.

This is so easy, toasts up to golden, crunchy perfection in your oven, and will be devoured posthaste. 

Cacio e Pepe Ciabatta. (Cheese & pepper ciabatta)


Preheat oven to 425 degrees


1 package ciabatta rolls, cut in half to expose the nooks & crannies
Olive oil, extra virgin 
Parmesan cheese, shredded. (for a great vegan alternative click here for my ThriveMarket find made with nutritional yeast)
Freshly ground black pepper
Small handful chopped fresh parsley (optional)


While the measurements are not exact, you can use the following as a guide, but use your palette to judge the amounts you'd most likely appreciate on your ciabatta.


Olive oil - 1 scant tablespoon per ciabatta roll half
Parm - also 1 scant tablespoon per ciabatta roll half
Pepper - 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per ciabatta roll half


Cut ciabatta rolls in half to expose the nooks and crannies. 
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet cut side up.
Drizzle the cut sides liberally with olive oil, sprinkle over Parmesan then pepper. 
Place in a preheated 425° oven for approximately 8 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

​Try this with my Lemon Garlic Pasta.