Spaghetti Carbonara

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Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish from Rome made with egg, hard cheese, guanciale, and pepper. Spaghetti carbonara should be made with guanciale but may be replaced with pancetta. The egg and cheese sauce coats the pasta making it spaghetti carbonara a delectable dish.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Traditionally, pecorino cheese can used but you can use parmesan reggiano cheese. For instance, the two cheeses mixed together accompany more flavors. Therefore, this recipe is an easy spaghetti . The recipe only features four ingredients.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti carbonara ingredients are just cheese, egg, pasta, and pancetta. Hence, I do not use heavy cream as it is not used traditionally. The combination of the egg and cheese creates the sauce. Along with a bit of the pasta water. Additionally, the smoky flavor of the pancetta builds flavor.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Creamy Carbonara is in the top 10 of all time favorite pasta dishes. Hence, the ease of making this pasta is great for a fast weeknight dinner. Carbonara is the perfect crowd pleaser for plenty of guests at a dinner party.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Furthermore, this creamy pasta dish is budget friendly. Additionally, bacon as a substitute for the pancetta can be used. I put the pasta on then cook the pancetta. Whisking the eggs and cheese while the pasta cooks. Lastly, this cuts down on preparation time.

This is honestly one of my favorite dishes to make at home. Simple and complex flavors make this great for serving up carbonara at a nice dinner party. For more pasta recipes check out these below.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara

Jenne Kopalek
Creamy spaghetti carbonara in an egg and cheese sauce.
5 from 7 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
Course Pasta
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6 Servings
Calories 371 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup parmesan reggiano; more for topping
  • 16 oz spaghetti noodles
  • 1/2 lb pancetta; diced
  • 2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
  • water

Instructions
 

  • Place pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook pasta as directed on the box. Do not strain or drain.
  • Place diced pancetta into a saute pan. Cook on medium low heat until pancetta is crispy. 
  • In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks and parmesan cheese. 
  • With tongs pull noodles from the sauce pan and add them to the saute pan with the pancetta. Do this in group until all the pasta is in the saute pan. 
  • Add about 1/2 cup of pasta water to the saute pan. This helps make the sauce creamy from the starchy water.
  • Pour in egg mixture and toss with tongs until well coated. If the sauce is to thick add more pasta water. 
  • Serve topped with parmesan and cracked black pepper.
Keyword Pasta, Spaghetti Carbonara

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Spaghetti Carbonara

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28 Comments

  1. YES! YES! I finally find someone who makes the recipe how it is supposed to be.
    Thank you for this. It happened to me last week to have an argument with a blogger who wrote about pasta carbonara and the fact that it was “ranked in the top 15 of most unhealthy recipes in the US”, because of all the heavy cream! but nope! pasta carbonara doesn’t have cream!!!

  2. I’ve never had carbonara. It looks like a great recipe, and a nice, light dish. Thanks for sharing this, it’s nice to try out new recipes!

  3. This does look like it would be so delicious. I have never made this with spaghetti before but it looks like it would be just as good.

  4. I love finding a new pasta recipe to try. I’m always so scared I am going to mess it up somehow. This looks easy enough for me though. Thanks!

  5. Oh my goodness this looks amazing! I am a pasta lover so I am going to have to try to make this gluten free for sure 🙂

  6. Spaghetti Carbonara is one of our favourite pasta recipes. My recipe only uses 1 eggs, some cream and a mix of cheddar and parmesan cheese. I will give yours a try the next time to see the difference.

  7. 5 stars
    I’ve never actually had carbonara because when I see it on menus, it also has stuff in it that I don’t eat. I don’t remember just spaghetti carbonara on the menu. This sounds really good and pretty simple to make. I’ll have to try it!