This Is The One-Pot, 15-Minute Pasta Recipe Meghan Markle Swears By

In April of 2015, Meghan Markle spent the afternoon with Athena Calderone, creator of the EyeSwoon blog. Together they crafted one of Markle’s go-to recipes, an acai bowl. But during their interview, Markle also revealed that, although she loves a good acai bowl for breakfast, she loves to make this one-pot, 15-minute pasta recipe for dinner.

“What is your go-to recipe you make with your eyes closed?” Calderone asked. “Cacio and pepe pasta…so easy,” Markle responded.

According to Bon Appétit, cacio e pepe literally means cheese and pepper — which are the main two ingredients (besides the pasta) in this dish. Of course there are about a million and one ways you can put cacio and pepe pasta together, but all recipes revolve around the same basic ingredients: salt, pepper, butter, pasta, parmesan cheese, and pecorino cheese (you can combine the two cheeses or use either/or).

Bon Appétit’s cacio and pepe pasta recipe goes as follows:

Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and season with salt. Add 6 oz. pasta (like spaghetti or bucatini) and cook until about two minutes before it turns tender. Drain and reserve about 3/4 cup of the pasta water.

While the pasta cooks, melt 2 tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tsp. fresh cracked pepper and cook by swirling the pan until pepper is toasted (about one minute).

Add 1/2 cup pasta water to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Add pasta and 1 tbsp. butter. Reduce heat to low and add 3/4 cup finely grated Grana Padano or Parmesan and stir until melted. Remove pan from heat and add 1/3 cup finely grated Pecorino and stir until melted.

Serve in warm bowls and bon appétit!

If a busy duchess can make this meal in under 15 minutes, so can you. We can’t wait to try out this Meghan Markle-approved dish and feel like utter royalty while eating.

If one-pot meals are your jam, you’re going to want to check out our one-pot salmon and pasta dinner.

Meal prep, anyone?