Spaghetti Carbonara
Spaghetti Carbonara is an Italian classic that’s a snap to prepare and will get rave reviews from your family!
This Bacon and Egg Pasta or Pasta alla Carbonara is easy comfort food!
Why You’ll Love:
- This classic Italian pasta is made with minimal ingredients.
- It’s quick and delicious!!
- You’ll be shocked at how creamy it is without a drop of cream!
How to Make Spaghetti Carbonara
With the cooler autumn weather, our dinners have become heartier. Creamy pasta and a hot loaf of bread are perfect for a weeknight meal. Pancetta and onions were sautéed, then a bit of white wine added for flavor.
- Cook pancetta over medium heat, then add and cook the onion.
- Deglaze the pan with wine.
- Cook spaghetti in well-salted water till done.
- While pasta is cooking, whisk together eggs, cheeses, pepper, and salt.
- Drain pasta and add to pancetta and onion mixture. Toss well over medium heat, till well mixed. Remove from heat and add egg mixture, tossing to combine. Serve immediately.
Tips for Making Carbonara Pasta
When I try new dinner recipes, especially those that aren’t slabs of beef, I hold my breath when the hubby takes his first bite. He grew up in a home where pizza was about as exotic as entrees would get. I shouldn’t have worried. He was a fan instantly. Creamy, salty, and hearty, this spaghetti carbonara is pure comfort food.
- The classic recipe uses Guanciale, but if it’s difficult to locate, use Pancetta as I did. Guanciale is made from pork cheek and Pancetta is made from pork belly.
- For a true carbonara, do not add cream.
- The creaminess comes from slowly cooking the beaten eggs and cheese at a temperature low enough to cook, but not scramble the eggs. Sometimes some pasta water is added as well since it provides starch to assist with thickening.
- With this recipe, the egg and cheese mixture is stirred into warm pasta which gently cooks the eggs.
- PRO-Tip: Cook the pasta in well-salted water. It should taste like seawater so that the salt infuses into the noodles. Salt added after the pasta is cooked will not taste as good.
- Make a smoked salmon carbonara recipe. Eliminate the pancetta and add strips of smoked salmon just before adding the pasta. It’s already cooked so does not need to be sautéed. This version is nice for Lent.
Serving Suggestions
- Homemade Garlic Bread
- The Best Caesar Salad Recipe
- Italian Sauteed Green Beans
- More of the Best Side Dish Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
Carbonara is a pasta dish that hails from Rome and is made with 5 simple ingredients. The emulsified sauce is creamy without the addition of cream.
The ingredients in a classic carbonara include Spaghetti, Browned Guanciale, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Pecorino Romano, and Beaten Eggs.
Pancetta is another Italian cured meat made with pork and is a good substitute for Guanciale.
This recipe has a few nontraditional ingredients including onions, wine, and Parmesan in addition to the Romano cheese. Also, Pancetta was substituted for Guanciale. So carbonara connoisseurs would not consider this recipe to be authentic, but it’s definitely delicious!
You May Also Like:
- Chicken Carbonara Pasta from a Dish of Daily Life
- Penne with a Quick Sausage Sauce
- Ricotta Gnocchi
- Cheesy Baked Pasta with Prosciutto
- Ricotta Lasagna
- Spaghetti with Sunday Gravy
- More Pasta Recipes
Spaghetti Carbonara
Spaghetti Carbonara is an Italian classic that's a snap to prepare and will get rave reviews from your family!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces pancetta, diced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup Parmesan
- 1/3 cup Romano
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cook pancetta in a saucepan over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
- Add onion and continue cooking till the onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Add wine and cook till reduced by half.
- Cook spaghetti in well-salted water till done.
- While pasta is cooking, whisk together eggs, cheeses, pepper, and salt.
- Drain pasta and add to pancetta and onion mixture. Toss well over medium heat, till well mixed.
- Remove from heat and add egg mixture, tossing to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Gourmet.
Bacon can be used in place of the pancetta.
The onion and wine are non-traditional but add a delicious depth of flavor.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 572Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 193mgSodium: 639mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 22g
71 Comments on “Spaghetti Carbonara”
I love the classic Italian pasta dishes. there’s nothing more comforting, in my opinion. Great recipe and fantastic photos.
My diet says no, but my taste buds say YES!
🙂
ButterYum
Gorgeous!
One of my favorites. Your presentation is beautiful!
Yay. No cream. Love this elegant dish.
Love Spaghetti Carbonara! I always use unpasteurized eggs, but they’re free-range and from a farm I’ve visited, so I actually feel safer using them than the eggs from the grocery store.
I loves spaghetti carbonara – I always have 🙂
Tq for sharing the recipe lizzy, I’m sure this will definitely great to serve with warm bread 😉
I love spaghetti carbonara – so quick to pull off and it hits all those comfort food cravings, especially on Friday nights.
So this is what carbonara is supposed to look like! And it involves cheese and pasta and eggs AND pancetta – heavenly… And that flatware is lovely 🙂
Ahh, I could eat a plate of this right now. Carbonara is one of my favourites! It’s really good with chopped up sausages in too 😀
looks delicious and simple recipe,I love the pictures too
as always.
Ridwan
I adore spaghetti carbonara! And I love that this version has 3 eggs in it – oh yeah!! It is so hard to find pancetta around here so I usually have to go with thick cut bacon or canadian bacon. I would love to try it with this recipe. I haven’t made it in a while. You’ve inspired me (plus, I love to have leftovers of this!!) Love it Lizzy!
This dish is something I could eat every day and not get tired of it! This recipe speaks for itself-simply delicious. Have a great day!
Hi Lizzy! Love your blog’s new look with those cute little berries! ;D
Delicious looking Spaghetti Carbonara and creamy sauces are my fave! YUMS!
This has to be my favorite dish, too! Really, I’ll make it at home, order it out, and whatever slight variation there is, it’s always good. I most often just use bacon at home for Mr. Rosemary and me, but I love it best with pancetta. Dishes like this sure are one good thing about cooler temperatures.
Love pasta carbonara! Yours looks delicious.
Comfort Food! How I love you. This is my most favorite recipe in the world. We Americanize it a bit and add a little cream and less of the cheese (Hubby and Dudette think it smells like feet), but it’s the same delightful dish.
well this a coincidenze i’m making this pasta for lunch today , its quick and easy to prepare-.
This simple recipe with eggs will go down well with us, looks yummy.
Lizzy…looks good. I like this recipe it looks easy and I usually ahve the ingredients. I normally dn’t buy pancetta but living in an Italian section of the city there are plenty of deli’s that always carry it.
Great pics. Thanks for sharing ….:-)))