I tried Ree Drummond's easy cacio e pepe recipe. This 20-minute pasta dish is my new favorite weeknight dinner.

I attempted Ree Drummond's easy cacio e pepe recipe. The dish turned out flavorful and delicious. Justine Lee set out to find a new, easy comfort meal and tried Ree Drummond's cacio e pepe ravioli recipe. The recipe only required six ingredients and took just 20 minutes to prepare. Justine Lee was a fan of The Pioneer Woman but had never made one of Ree Drummond's recipes herself.

She stumbled upon the 20-minute cacio e pepe recipe while searching for a creative, easy way to cook Trader Joe's ravioli. The recipe called for five ingredients beyond ravioli, mostly staples like salt and butter, but Drummond promised the peppery sauce would taste magical. The ingredient list was simple: salt, store-bought ravioli, whole black peppercorns, salted butter, heavy cream, and grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

Drummond recommended using cheese or mushroom ravioli, but most kinds should work. After gathering all the ingredients, Justine Lee cooked the ravioli in a pot of heavily salted water, reserving a little over a cup of the cooking water. She crushed the whole peppercorns using Drummond's method of placing them in a resealable plastic bag and crushing them against a cutting board.

Next, she heated butter in a skillet, adding the crushed pepper and lightly toasting it. She then poured in the heavy cream and pasta water, bringing the sauce to a simmer. Drummond added the ravioli, and the kitchen smelled amazing. Once small bubbles started forming in the sauce, Justine Lee added the ravioli, which became coated in a thick, opaque white cream.

She removed the pan from the heat, showered the ravioli with Pecorino Romano, and tossed the dish one more time until the cheese was melted. Drummond suggested adding extra cooking water if a less thick sauce was desired, and Justine Lee only needed to add a single additional tablespoon. She garnished the dish with more cheese and a bit of crushed red pepper.

The cacio e pepe ravioli was simple but tasted gourmet, with a creamy yet not too rich sauce. The toasted peppercorn shone through amid the butter and heavy cream, and the sauce clung to every nook and cranny of the ravioli. Drummond's recipe was quick and easy, taking less than 20 minutes to prepare and cook.