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Lemon Basil Cacio e Pepe with Bacon – a simple, creamy lemon pasta tossed with crispy bacon, rich brown butter, peppery arugula, and fresh basil. A few freshly cracked black pepper grounds and high-quality cheese—come together to create the silkiest sauce. Give it a good toss, and you’ve got a bright, flavorful pasta that’s anything but ordinary.
I know I say this often, but I’m so excited to share this pasta. I worked hard to get the lemony sauce just right. It’s always the simplest recipes that prove to be the most challenging to perfect—but that’s also what makes them so rewarding.
This recipe is inspired by three of my favorites: carbonara (bacon, eggs, parmesan), cacio e pepe (butter, black pepper, parmesan), and pasta al limone (lemon zest, lemon juice, parmesan). In the end, it’s a beautiful blend of all three.
Simple, flavorful, and easy to make—this pasta is sure to become a favorite!
Here are the details
Ingredients
- thick-cut bacon
- long or short pasta – though I prefer a longer cut
- salted butter
- lemon zest
- garlic
- fresh cracked black pepper
- lemon juice
- parmesan cheese
- pecorino cheese
- baby arugula
- fresh basil
Tools
For this pasta, you will need a large skillet, a large pot (for cooking the pasta), and the everyday cooking basics.
Steps
Step 1: cook the bacon and get it crispy
Start with the bacon. Cook it in a big skillet until it is crispy. Then set the bacon aside and discard the grease in the skillet.
Step 2: boil off the pasta
While the bacon is cooking, I like to boil the pasta. I use Pappardelle Pasta, but you can really use any cut of pasta you like.
Cook the pasta, then remove a couple cups of the pasta cooking water. Reserve the water for creating the sauce. There is no milk or cream in this recipe.
Step 3: make the sauce
Add some butter to the skillet you cooked the bacon in. Then add the garlic, lemon zest, and pepper. Get the pepper toasted.
Add the remaining butter and lemon juice. Whisk this all together until you have a smooth sauce. Add 1 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. Add the cheese, stir again until smooth. Now add the pasta toss until the sauce coats the pasta.
Step 4: finish the dish
Add both cheeses, and the arugula, plus plenty of fresh basil. Toss it all together until the pasta is well sauced and the arugula is wilted.
Now plate the pasta and top with bacon, plus additional cheese, and fresh basil.
It’s delightful!
Serve this with a simple arugula salad. The perfect pasta dinner, and we love how quickly this comes together too!
Looking for other simple pasta dinners? Here are a few of my go-to’s.
One Pot Lemon Butter Ricotta and Zucchini Pasta
Pesto Cheese Zucchini Ravioli with Burst Tomatoes
Spicy Zucchini Ricotta Lasagna with Oregano Breadcrumbs
Cherry Tomato Pasta Alla Vodka
Roasted Tomato Basil and Feta Orzo
Lastly, if you make this Lemon Basil Cacio Pepe with Bacon, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Lemon Basil Caico e Pepe with Bacon
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 709 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6-8 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 1 pound long or short-cut pasta (I use long)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons raw pine nuts (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1-2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese
- 2 cups fresh arugula
- 1 cup fresh basil
Instructions
- 1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet set over medium heat until crispy, 5-8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the skillet. Set aside. Discard any excess bacon grease.2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Just before draining, reserve 1 1/4 cups of pasta cooking water. Drain.3. Working in the same skillet used to cook the bacon, add 2 tablespoons of butter, the pine nuts, if using, garlic, lemon zest, and pepper. Cook 1-2 minutes, until toasted. Add 4 tablespoons of butter, and lemon juice, whisking until smooth. Whisk in 1 cup pasta cooking water, the parmesan, and pecorino. Toss vigorously to melt the cheese. Add the pasta, the remaining 1/4 cup of water, the arugula, and basil. Then season with salt. Toss well.4. Plate the pasta. Then add the bacon and top with fresh parmesan, cracked pepper, and basil. Eat!
This post was originally published on May 15, 2025
I love love LOVE this recipe!!! Perfect for summer YUM!
Thank you so much Rachel! So glad you’re loving this recipe for summer! Have a great week! 🙂 xT
I don’t know why this recipe doesn’t have 5 stars! It was easy to make with not too many ingredients and most importantly delicious!! I made without garlic (because I’m allergic) and it was still very flavorful. I’ll be adding this to my dinner rotation. Thank you!
Hey Gabrielle! Thank you so much! I am so glad you are loving this cacio e pepe, it’s a fun one for summer for sure! Have a great week! 🙂 xT
Delicious twist on Caico e Pepe. It does help the sauce come together well if you boil the pasta in a small amount of water so that it is full of starch.
Hey there,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was a hit! xx
This pasta was out of this world! I read the comments as I was cooking and noticed there were a few that felt otherwise, so adjusted some of the recipe and it turned out fabulous!
Instead of cooking bacon in a pan, I air-fried it (simpler and cuts the grease). Started with 2 tbsp butter, added extra garlic (5 vs 3 cloves, pine nuts, lemon zest, etc). Cut the second helping of butter in half (added only 2 more tbsp vs 4) and the parmesan cheese, but held the pecorino until the very end and grated it on top as the finisher. Pecorino if you add to early will get too clumpy and clumps up the sauce, that’s why you should wait until the end.
This dish was decadent and definitely a do-again-er!
Hey Eva,
Happy Monday! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your tips, love to hear it turned out well for you! xx
I bought the ingredients then got worried when I read the comments before I started cooking because my wife can be a little picky sometimes. Buuuut we loved it! My wife was excited to take leftovers to work the next day and said it was even better! I love the idea of combining 3 classics, cheers!
Hey Luke,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your feedback, I’m so glad it was a hit! xx
Ending up pitching this and ordering pizza – nothing about this recipe turned out well.
Sorry to hear this, Patricia. Thanks for giving the recipe a try.
I am fairly certain the negative reviews have come from inexperienced cooks. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this dish; it was truly delicious!
Hey April,
Amazing! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
Delicious! We really enjoyed this. You never disappoint!
Thank you so much Erin! I’m so so glad you enjoyed this pasta! Thank you for giving it a try! 🙂 xT
Thought it was a quick, easy, delicious meal!
Thanks so much, Chelsey!! So glad you enjoyed this dish, I appreciate you making it! xT
This had too much going on, sometimes you should just keep it simple. I feel like without the bacon and lemon it would have been better. The flavors weren’t great and the sauce was clumpy, not creamy. This was a miss.
Hi Laura,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it had too many flavors going on for your liking. xx
Sometimes you should just let the person whose website it is decide how simple or complicated they want to make their recipes. With all due respect, it seems a bit rude for you to suggest how she should run her website. If you want simple, either start your own or go on one of the millions of websites out there that specialize in simple recipes. They all are the same and there is nothing special about them. This website doesn’t cater to lazy or time-pressed cooks who just want simple.
Served this last weekend–because there were a few people at the table who I knew would love the pasta, would not be happy with the greens, I served the arugula and basil on the side. And everyone was very happy. it was delicious!
Hey Georgette,
Amazing! So glad to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it! Have a great day!
Flavor was good, but it was greasy and the cheese didn’t want to incorporate. (I cheaped out on the cheese and I had course grated. I will try again, with less or no butter, and as recommended in another comment, finely grated (better quality) cheese.
Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Unfortunately, this recipe is a miss for our family. It is trying to do so many things, it ultimately doesn’t do any of those things well. It was eaten because we don’t like to waste food, but my poor son was up all night with a tummy ache. I should have made a separate dinner, but was too tired by the time this was over.
Hi Ester,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! I hope your son is feeling better! xx
I love your different take on the delicious Italian Cacio e Pepe dish with adding the flavours of lemon, garlic, parmesan and basil. I had read the reviews so was aware this dish might be a little challenging and it did prove to be because of the pecorino cheese. It was clumpy and although the original Italian dish is just pepper & pecorino cheese with pasta & pasta water, it’s a very finicky dish to make. I learned after researching that pecorino cheese doesn’t like heat…to get the creamy sauce without clumping it’s best to remove the skillet from heat so it’s just warm. Adding the noodles & a little more pasta water to the warm skillet and then adding very finely grated pecorino cheese so it’s just stirred in and melts would likely prevent the clumping. Also, making sure the cheese (if bought pre-grated) doesn’t contain any caking agents such as potato starch. I’m excited to try this recipe again using this method as the flavours were as delicious as expected.
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, Jenny! Let me know how the dish turns out for you, glad you enjoyed the flavors the first time around:) xx
Just want to make sure my rating was logged so others hopefully take it into account.
Unfortunately this was a flop for us. I see the recipe has been changed. We must have printed the original. I wouldn’t have thought to check back to see if the recipe was still the same. I mean this with kindness, but this is very frustrating. Please make it clear what edits you’ve made to recipes. Honestly I wish you’d just get it right the first time. I know you always say your family enjoys it as written, but it seems many others had trouble with the original. I think you may need to start testing outside of your family. Thank you for hearing my feedback.
Sorry to hear this, Dessa. This recipe was tested quite a bit, I used mayo to help make the sauce creamy, my family and I both loved it. Unfortunately, a lot of readers did not enjoy the mayo, so I removed it from the recipe. Sorry it didn’t turn out for you!
My family loved this dish! I prepared it as per recipe and it was the perfect amount of creamy sauce for the pasta!
Hi Debbie,
Happy Monday! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was a winner!!