Enjoy the deliciousness of this simple Pasta Carbonara recipe any time of the week! A 20-minute pasta dish that’s oozing with comfort food feels. This pasta recipe is done in just about the time it takes to cook the bacon and boil the spaghetti. It all comes together with eggs and parmesan cheese to make the most luxurious, creamy sauce.
What Is Pasta Carbonara And Why You’ll Love It
Pasta Carbonara is a classic pasta dish made with bacon, parmesan cheese and eggs. The beaten eggs get “cooked” in the skillet when tossed with the warm spaghetti creating a luxuriously creamy sauce.
Typically a type of bacon called guanciale is used to make carbonara. Guanciale is an Italian cured meat made from pork jowl or cheeks of a pig. If you can’t find guanciale then a good quality bacon works just fine.
- Easy To Make: This spaghetti recipe only takes about 20 minutes to put together, if you have your ingredients prepped and ready to go.
- Simple Ingredients: This recipe only calls for about 6 ingredients, minus the seasonings. Make sure that since there are just a few ingredients, they are all the best quality that you can get.
- Luxurious, Comfort Food Flavor: Pasta alone is one of our favorite comfort foods, then when you add bacon and parmesan cheese in a creamy sauce it’s top notch.
- Affordable: This entire pasta dish feeds at least 4 people and can be made for under 20 dollars.
Ingredients You’ll Need
There are only a few ingredients in carbonara, so you should make sure that the ingredients that you use are all the best quality you can find!
- Spaghetti: Spaghetti is the classic pasta for carbonara but you can also use linguine, angel hair or any other long, thin noodle.
- Bacon or Guanciale: As we talked about before, guanciale is the classic meat for carbonara but a good quality, thick cut bacon works just as well.
- Parmesan Cheese: Here’s where you want to use a good quality parmesan cheese, not the kind from the can. When you’re making a recipe like pasta carbonara that only has a few ingredients make sure each one stands out with the most amount of flavor.
- Eggs: You can use pasteurized eggs if you’re worried about making this pasta with raw eggs. The eggs technically do cook when you toss them with the hot pasta so there’s really no need to be concerned.
Does Pasta Carbonara Use Raw Eggs?
Yes, but they actually get cooked when you toss them together with the hot spaghetti. As we mentioned before, just make sure your eggs are fresh and/or use pasteurized eggs. We use regular eggs from the grocery store to make this pasta recipe all the time!
Does Pasta Carbonara Use Cream?
Classic carbonara does not have cream, the eggs create a creamy, thick texture when they are cooked and mixed together with parmesan cheese make a delicious, flavorful sauce.
There are recipes that do add cream and if you choose to do so, we aren’t going to complain about it! I think you should try the recipe as is first, and then use your judgement.
Can You Reheat Pasta Carbonara?
As with most pasta recipes, you’re probably going to have some leftovers. This pasta recipe can be reheated right in the microwave with an additional splash of water, chicken broth or cream.
If you do add liquid to this spaghetti when you reheat it, check your seasonings too. A dash of salt, a little more pepper and parmesan cheese never hurt!
Variations
This pasta recipe is delicious as is, but you can also add shredded chicken or turkey or additional vegetables like chopped broccoli or frozen peas. Making a spaghetti dinner like this one is a great way to use up leftovers and clean out the refrigerator!
You can leave the bacon out of this spaghetti dish if you’re looking for a vegetarian meal or just don’t have bacon on hand. We do use the bacon drippings to cook the rest of this recipe, but you can substitute olive oil as well.
What To Serve With This Spaghetti Dish
Serve this delicious spaghetti dinner with a crisp, homemade Caesar Salad on this side! Classic Garlic Bread or our Asiago and Rosemary Garlic Bread are also perfect side dishes for this or any pasta recipe!
Other options could include this crispy Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli or these delicious Air Fryer Green Beans.
Looking For More Pasta Recipes?
- Easiest Penne Vodka Recipe
- Classic Beef Lasagna
- Classic Baked Ziti
- 15 Minute Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti
- Chicken Marsala Fettuccini Alfredo
- Beef Stuffed Shells
- Pasta with Sausage & Broccoli
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Pasta Carbonara
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeEnjoy the deliciousness of this simple Pasta Carbonara recipe any time of the week! A 15 minute pasta dish that’s oozing with comfort food feels.
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 8 slices thick cut bacon (save the drippings)
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper, depending on your taste
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions, reserving a cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and set the pasta aside.
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp and then remove to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Drain the bacon drippings from the skillet to a bowl. Once cooled, chop the bacon and set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the drippings back to the skillet.
- Cook the garlic in the drippings for 30 seconds, then add the cooked spaghetti, salt and pepper to the pan and toss together. Add the bacon and chopped parsley, toss and then turn the heat to the lowest setting.
- Mix the eggs, parmesan cheese in a bowl. Pour the mixture over the spaghetti, tossing to combine. You’ll want to toss the spaghetti pretty quickly so that none of the eggs solidify or scramble. This will create the “sauce” for the spaghetti. If the sauce is too thick you can gradually add in some of the reserved pasta water.
- Taste the spaghetti for seasonings then serve.
Recipe Notes
Store: Store leftover spaghetti in a container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Reheat leftovers in the microwave with a splash of water or chicken broth.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
