What is Cheese Wheel Pasta?
If you’ve ever been inside a fancy cheese shop, you’ve seen those huge rounds of cheese laying around and used as displays. It’s a cheese lover’s fantasy! Cheese Wheel Pasta is pasta that is made inside a large round of cheese, and when the hot pasta hits the cheesy “bowl” it melts even more cheese into the pasta! What could be better?
This is equally exciting as an experience as it is a meal, and is perfect for cheese lovers and foodies alike. While this may be new to some of us, this is an age-old tradition known in Italian as dalla forma which means ‘from the shape of the cheese’.
Since going to a restaurant might not always be possible, we’ve found some of the best cheese wheel recipes to make from the comfort of your own home. A large cheese wheel might be tough to get your hands on, but you can order some online (here and here). And don’t fret if you don’t have a cheese wheel, as we have also included some recipes that replicate the process.
1. Easy Parmesan Pasta with Butter and Pepper
We have a super parmesan-filled pasta that is easy to make at home. Only 5 ingredients and the best part? You can make it in 15 minutes and it doesn’t require having a cheese wheel on hand!
This one is reminiscent of a cacio e pepe as its pasta ribbons swirled around in black pepper and parmesan (though you can also use pecorino romano). The author recommends grating the cheese with a fork to form tiny ‘crumbles’. This will help create the right texture as some of the cheese will melt, while some of it will stay in chunks. It’s so good, you’ll feel as though you’re dining in Italy!
Get the full recipe and directions from Inside the Rustic Kitchen.
2. Spaghetti in a Pecorino Oro Antico Wheel
Between the pecorino and the truffle sauce, we can’t decide which ingredient is the star of this recipe. The truffle sauce is made from black truffles and is as luxurious as it sounds. While the cheese is a Pecorino Oro Antico, which is described as “a crunchy cheese that has the perfect combination of being sheepy, nutty, and grassy, with notes of wild herbs and a hint of citrus.”
Since this cheese is one of the most prized pecorinos that currently exists and comes all the way from Tuscany, you can imagine how hard it is to track down. Luckily, Murray’s (the author of the recipe) carries it and sells it by the pound, so you can get the exact amount you need.
Get the full recipe and directions from Murray’s Cheese.
3. Baked Brie Spaghetti Recipe
This baked brie spaghetti is genius and reminds me of the baked feta TikTok pasta that went viral at the beginning of this year.
You start with a very small round of brie with the top sliced off and pop it into the oven. While waiting for the brie to bake, you toss the cooked spaghetti along with the olive oil, garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Once the brie is completely melted, dunk the pasta in the cheese until fully coated. Then serve!
Get the full recipe and directions from Delish.
4. Baked Brie Pasta
This recipe is similar to the last one except that the brie doesn’t meltdown, and instead becomes a bowl for each portion to be swirled into.
It also differs in that it’s baked with the ingredients inside the cheese wheel, which allows the flavors to meld together nicely. These additional ingredients include wine, red pepper, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes, which when combined, really elevate the flavor profile.
As mentioned, each portion needs to be swirled in individually which makes this recipe a cool experience for your guests!
Get the full recipe and directions from The Food Network.
5. Tableside Pasta in a Cheese Wheel Recipe
While this recipe calls for a 4.5-pound cheese wheel, trust us when we tell you that it’s worth it. Plus a lot of local cheese shops sell smaller cheese wheels nowadays, which is perfect for recreating a tableside cheese wheel experience for a dinner party.
This recipe adds a layer of decadence by swirling the pasta in a creamy wine sauce before going into the cheese wheel, which is sure to be something your guests will enjoy!
Get the full recipe and directions from Dining with Danielle.
6. Pancetta Pea Pasta in Parmigiano Reggiano Wheel
If you can get your hands on a large Parmigiano wheel, then this is the recipe to try! Orecchiettepasta is swirled into a luxurious combination of shallots, peas, pancetta, and Parmigiano Reggiano, creating a delicate medley of flavors. Even without a cheese wheel, this is a winning recipe, but trust us, you’re going to want the cheese wheel!
Get the full recipe and directions from CTV.
7. Cacio e Pepe Cheese Wheel Recipe
The beauty of cacio e pepe is that it relies on only 3 key ingredients: pasta, cheese, and black pepper. A lot of the best recipes use both Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano, and this recipe also does the same.
Instead of getting a cheese wheel of both (which would be quite costly), the author of this recipe recommends only getting the Parmigiano Reggiano wheel and using a grated version of the Pecorino.
You could also easily use a chunk of Parmigiano to add to your pasta if you can’t find a cheese wheel, but it would make for a really cool dinner trick if you had one as your centerpiece!
Get the full recipe and directions from Glutto Digest.
Whether you give it a try at home with our recipe recommendations or just make the pasta without the large wheel of cheese, we are sure cheese wheel pasta is something you need to experience. It’s definitely for those of you who enjoy something special with your meal or who just have a love of pasta and cheese. It would make for a great dinner party where all of your guests can grab their pasta out of the giant cheese wheel!
If you like this post, we think you’ll really like our Bucatini Cacio e Pepe Recipe post.
