This time of year many of us have resolved to incorporate healthier habits into our lives, to commit to our health and wellness. This might involve drinking more water, regular exercise and/or eating more healthfully. Then there are those of us who are just happy to continue their love affair with ... bacon! This describes my husband and two sons well. While they mix healthier foods in with their bacon and pancetta, they sure do love their pork! I enjoy making pasta dishes, so spaghetti carbonara is about as crowd pleasing as dinner gets at my house.
Before we get to the delicious spaghetti carbonara recipe, you may be wondering what the difference is between regular bacon and pancetta. It’s actually quite simple: Bacon is cured and smoked while pancetta is cured and unsmoked. Both need to be cooked before you eat them. Bacon and pancetta are often used interchangeably in recipes, though it really should depend on whether or not you prefer a smoky flavor. My boys love a smoky flavor (my husband’s favorite way to cook is on his smoker!), so it’s pancetta for us with this spaghetti carbonara recipe.
I must say that I typically like mypasta recipes without pork, but I have to admit that this dish is very tasty. No one could ever love it more than my boys, of course, but it really is good, and fairly easy to make, too. My sons will tell you that the very best bite has some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on top (and not only mixed in with the other ingredients).
Buon Appetito, from my famiglia to yours!
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Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 1 pound (16 ounces)spaghetti
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 pound pancetta (or bacon), chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped finely, for serving (optional)
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Recipe Notes
- For a vegetarian pasta, omit the pancetta.
- Fresh is always best when it comes to cheese, so if you can, grate your own.
- Try this recipe with angel hair or fettuccine instead of spaghetti noodles.
Here’s how to make it:
- Fill a sauce pot with water. Add a pinch or two of salt and bring to a boil. Add spaghetti and boil for about 8 minutes, or until al dente. Use a strainer to drain and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, season beaten eggs with salt to taste. Add the whipping cream.
- In a large skillet, cook the pancetta over medium-high heat until crispy, about 5 to7 minutes. Transfer pancetta from skillet to paper towels to drain. Pour out all but 3 tablespoons of bacon fat. Add garlic, season with pepper, and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add the cooked spaghetti and crispy pancetta to the skillet and stir. Add egg mixture and stir quickly, until eggs thicken into a sauce (but don’t scramble!).
- Remove skillet from heat and add cheese. Mix thoroughly. If desired, garnish with parsley and/or sprinkle with additional grated cheese on top.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving
Calories: 345
Total Fat: 21g
Saturated Fat: 9.8g
Cholesterol: 253mg
Sodium: 616mg
Total Carbohydrate: 17.3g
Dietary Fiber: 0.9g
Total Sugars: 0.6g
Protein: 22.8g
Vitamin D: 24mcg
Calcium: 299mg
Iron: 4mg
Potassium: 333mg
Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. This recipe has been analyzed by VeryWellFit. However, any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.
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FAQs
Carbonara is made with guanciale (cured pork), eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, spaghetti pasta, and lots of black pepper. Italians don't add extra ingredients like cream, milk, garlic, or onions.
What is the golden rule of cooking a carbonara? ›
Whisk Like You Mean It
You're using more egg yolks than whites here, which is what makes carbonara so rich and luxurious. But there's still two eggs-worth of whites in there. Whisking your eggs so that the whites are completely incorporated into the yolks will give your sauce a more uniform texture.
Which ingredient should never be used in traditional carbonara? ›
What not to put in Spaghetti Carbonara? Don't put garlic, cream, milk or butter. It is not needed. It is fine if you want to make a dish with those ingredients, but if you want to learn how to make this dish correctly, use only pecorino, eggs/egg yolks, black pepper, guanciale, and pasta water.
What are the ingredients in spaghetti alla carbonara? ›
The ingredients are simple—just spaghetti (or another long pasta), and the carbonara is made with pancetta or bacon, eggs, Parmesan, a little olive oil, salt and pepper. The silky carbonara sauce is created when the beaten eggs are tossed with the hot pasta and a little fat from the pancetta or bacon.
Does Italians use cream in carbonara? ›
Should carbonara have cream? Typically carbonara sauce is only made of eggs, bacon, parmesan, olive oil, seasoning, and sometimes, vegetables. As for cream, Italians will tell you that is a big no no.
What makes carbonara so good? ›
Egg yolks and whole eggs – The egg combined with the guanciale fat is what makes the stunning creamy carbonara sauce that the world is obsessed with. There's no need for cream for a creamy sauce! See section above for why. We use a combination of whole eggs, plus egg yolks for richness.
Why no garlic in carbonara? ›
Because in the traditional recipe there is no garlic, if you add it you will lower quality of a very good food. Why is there no garlic in carbonara? Because it's an Italian dish, not an Italian-American dish, and Italian cooking does not use garlic as heavily as Italian-American cuisine.
Do you put raw egg in carbonara? ›
Authentic Carbonara is an Italian pasta recipe using eggs, cheese and bacon, while the ingredient list is simple, the execution, particularly raw egg yolks, can be challenging or at the very least, intimidating. The truth is this is a rich dish, but not challenging and you only need a few key ingredients.
What is the best meat for carbonara? ›
Carbonara is traditionally made with guanciale, or cured pork jowl, though pancetta is often substituted, and both are fatty, salty and deeply savoury.
Does garlic belong in carbonara? ›
While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the pancetta with the garlic. Drop 50g unsalted butter into a large frying pan or wok and, as soon as the butter has melted, tip in the pancetta and garlic. Leave to cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the pancetta is golden and crisp.
The carbonara sauce in pasta primarily consists of egg yolks. Achieving a smooth and creamy consistency is often the most challenging step. Since the raw egg yolks have to be mixed with the pasta, you have to make sure to add the egg yolks to the pasta OFF the heat so the eggs don't scramble.
Why only egg yolk in carbonara? ›
A sauce of mostly yolks has a richer, silkier, tighter texture than one made with only whole eggs. A mixture of Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano delivers that essential Roman flavor without making the pasta taste excessively salty or sharp.
What spaghetti is best for carbonara? ›
The most common options are traditional spaghetti and tube-like rigatoni. Both are delicious and hold the sauce perfectly, so it all comes down to taste!
What kind of cheese do you put in carbonara? ›
Carbonara (Italian: [karboˈnaːra]) is a pasta dish made with eggs, hard cheese, fatty cured pork, and black pepper. The dish took its modern form and name in the middle of the 20th century. The cheese is usually pecorino romano. Some variations use Parmesan, Grana Padano, or a combination of cheeses.
What meat goes with spaghetti carbonara? ›
Italian carbonara is famously rich, combining pancetta or guanciale (cured pork jowl), egg yolks and cheese.
What is the origin of the carbonara recipe? ›
Though the origins of carbonara are not clear, the very first traces of a carbonara recipe date back to the 1940s. Some hypothesize that its birth is linked to the charcoal burners in the Apennines, while others attribute it to American soldiers who arrived in Italy during World War II.
Does traditional carbonara have garlic? ›
Must-have ingredients
that there are only five ingredients: pasta, pork cheek, eggs, cheese and pepper. That's it. A real carbonara does not contain onion, garlic, or cream.
What does traditional carbonara taste like? ›
It's sort of its own thing. Mostly it's salty, rich, peppery, and a bit smokey. It's such a simple recipe that you should taste the individual components; egg yolk, cured pork fat, salt, pepper, Parmigiano cheese.
What kind of cheese is good in carbonara? ›
Pecorino Romano: This aged sheep's cheese is always traditionally used in the Roman pastas, and its salty, grassy, earthy flavor is absolutely delicious in carbonara. That said, if Pecorino is unavailable at your local grocery store, you can use Parmesan as a non-traditional substitute.
