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Italian

Pasta alla gricia

Non-vegetarian

The Roman 'white amatriciana': pasta tossed with crisp guanciale, its rendered fat, Pecorino Romano and black pepper, bound with starchy cooking water.

Pasta alla gricia is an Italian pasta dish from Italy, ready in about 25 minutes and made with dried pasta, guanciale (cured pork cheek) and pecorino romano. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Plate of spaghetti alla gricia with guanciale, pecorino and black pepper
Photo: Luca Nebuloni from Milan, Italy / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Total
25 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
696

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the guanciale (opens in a new tab) in a cold wide pan and cook over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the fat has rendered and the strips are golden and crisp at the edges. Turn off the heat.

  2. Step 2

    Cook the pasta (opens in a new tab) in lightly salted boiling water until 2 minutes short of al dente.

    Food safety: Drain boiling pasta water away from you and keep children clear of the stove.

    Pasta boiling in a pot of water
    How it looks · Photo: Gianpiero Ferraro on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Toast the pepper (opens in a new tab) briefly in the guanciale (opens in a new tab) fat, then add the pasta (opens in a new tab) and a ladle of cooking water and toss over medium heat for 2 minutes until the pasta is al dente and coated.

    • 2 min
    • medium heat

  4. Step 4

    Take the pan off the heat. Mix the pecorino (opens in a new tab) with a few spoonfuls of warm (not boiling) cooking water in a bowl to a loose cream, add to the pasta (opens in a new tab) and toss quickly until glossy. Serve at once.

    Pecorino clumps if it meets very hot fat or water — let the pan cool for a moment first.

    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Lazio (Rome), Italy · Commonly attributedOften described as the ancestor of amatriciana, made before tomatoes arrived; the name is linked to the village of Grisciano or to 'gricio' grocers in Rome.More food from Italy
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Pasta · Main courses
Cooking method
Pan-fried, Boiled
Taste
savoury, salty, peppery, rich
Diet
No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday
Cook more with
Dried pasta · Guanciale (cured pork cheek) · Pecorino Romano
Techniques
Pan-frying · Boiling

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom pecorino romano
  • May contain: Eggsfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Wheatfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Glutenfrom dried pasta

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

696 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 158 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 13%
  • Carbohydrate 44%
  • Fat 43%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy696 kcal440 kcal
Protein21.9 g13.8 g
Carbohydrate75.8 g47.9 g
Net carbohydrate72.4 g45.8 g
Sugars2.8 g1.8 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.4 g2.1 g
Fat33 g20.9 g
Saturated fat13.2 g8.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol55 mg35 mg
Sodium——
Salt equivalent——
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
304 mg
Calcium
238 mg
Iron
3.7 mg
Magnesium
63 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
20 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0.5 µg
Folate (DFE)
393 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): salt — so sodium is shown as unknown.
  • Guanciale (cured pork cheek): Raw pork jowl used as a stand-in; guanciale is the same cut salt-cured and dried, so it is somewhat saltier and more concentrated.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Lift some crisp guanciale out before adding the pasta and scatter it over the plates.

Common mistakes

  • Adding garlic, onion or cream; the dish has four ingredients.

Storage

  • Best eaten immediately.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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