Pasta Carbonara is on your table in 20 minutes and is absolutely delicious. Follow this simple recipe for a fast dinner recipe everyone will love!
Carbonara is such a simple and traditional pasta dish. I love that it has just a few ingredients but still lands on your table as a big bowl of flavorful comfort.
This pasta Carbonara recipe deviates from the traditional recipe a little, but still has that same amazing comfort and quick cooking time. In this recipe we are swapping the guanciale for bacon. It is easier to find, less expensive, and gives you a very similar flavor. We are also tossing in fresh garlic. I love what it adds to this dish.
Great taste. Wonderful!!
Carbonara Ingredients
The ingredients for Carbonara are so simple and also very easy to keep on hand, making this a great last-minute meal in my house. For the full list of ingredients and their measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Spaghetti: The base of the dish, spaghetti provides a satisfying texture and serves as the vehicle for the rich, creamy sauce. You can also use other types of pasta such as fettuccine, bucatini, or rigatoni.
- Thick Cut Bacon: Adds a salty, savory depth and a bit of crispiness to the dish. Read more below on using bacon in carbonara
- Garlic: While not a traditional ingredient in carbonara, I absolutely love what it brings to the recipe. It is sautéed with the bacon to add an additional layer of flavor.
- Eggs: Create the creamy, silky sauce that coats the pasta. A combination of whole eggs and egg yolks is used to enhance the creaminess. The heat from the pasta gently cooks the eggs, giving the dish its signature texture.
- Parmesan Cheese: Adds flavor and helps to thicken the sauce.
- Salt and Pepper: Enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
How to Make Pasta Carbonara
While this dish is very simple there are a few important steps to it. Here is a brief overview of how this pasta carbonara recipe comes together. I urge you to read through the recipe at the bottom of the post, always a good idea, before you start the recipe.
- Prepare all of the ingredients before you start cooking. Dice the bacon and shred the cheese. Whisk together the eggs, Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper together in a bowl until fully combined.
- Cook the spaghetti. Follow the package instructions, making sure to reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before you drain it. Be sure to be working on the sauce while cooking the spaghetti.
- Cook the bacon. Cook the bacon until almost crisp in a large skillet. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, until just fragrant.
- Combine the pasta and bacon. Toss the pasta with the bacon and garlic making sure the pasta gets coated with the bacon fat.
- Put it all together. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the egg mixture. It will thicken and coat the pasta.
- Serve and enjoy! Plate the hot pasta and top with freshly ground black pepper and additional Parmesan.
Guanciale vs. Bacon
Traditionally, carbonara is made with a cured pork called Guanciale. It is perfect for thickening a pasta sauce because of the amount of fat on it that is rendered during heating.
While you can absolutely use Guanciale in this recipe, I am calling for bacon for two reasons. The first reason is that it is easier to find. If you live near a big city, finding Guanciale might be easy, but those who live in rural areas will be able to easily find bacon and use it in this delicious recipe. Second, bacon is cheaper than Guanciale, and I’d like to keep this dish on the more affordable end.
Cooking Pasta Tips
Cooking pasta is a fairly simple step of any recipe, but can also ruin a recipe if not prepared correctly. By following these tips, you’ll have perfectly cooked spaghetti ready to be transformed into a creamy, indulgent spaghetti carbonara recipe.
- Use plenty of water. Use a large pot filled with plenty of water to give the noodles enough room to cook evenly. A pound of pasta needs about four to six quarts of water.
- Add salt. Add a generous amount of salt (one to two teaspoons of kosher salt) to the boiling water before adding the spaghetti. The water should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself.
- Don’t add the pasta to the water too soon. Make sure the water is at a rolling boil before adding the spaghetti. Adding pasta to water that isn’t fully boiling can result in uneven cooking and gummy noodles.
- Set a timer. Follow the package instructions for cooking time, but start checking for doneness a minute or two early. The spaghetti should be al dente—firm to the bite. Set a timer as soon as you add the noodles to the boiling water.
- Reserve pasta water. Before draining the pasta, reserve a cup of the starchy hot pasta water. This can be added to the sauce later to help achieve the perfect consistency.
Cooking The Egg
As noted in Step 5 above, the heat from the pasta will cook the egg. This is why it is key that everything is ready to go when the pasta is finished cooking. You don’t want the pasta to cool while you prepare everything else.
It’s also important to remove the skillet from the heat before adding in the egg mixture. Keeping it over the heat runs the risk of scrambling the eggs, a texture that wouldn’t be great in this recipe.
Cooking Bacon
While I love making bacon in the air fryer, in this recipe we need the rendered fat from the cooked bacon to make the Carbonara sauce. Once it has just started to crisp, add the garlic, being sure that you don’t drain the bacon grease.
Freshly Grated Parmesan
I’ve made this recipe with both freshly grated Parmesan and Parmesan that you buy finely grated in a can. I will say that both versions of this recipe are delicious, but I do prefer freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It melts better into the sauce and has a much better taste.
That being said, a block of Parmesan cheese can be expensive. If that holds you back from making this dish, please go with the cheaper version so you can still have this delicious pasta recipe.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Store any leftover carbonara in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat the portion you plan to eat in the microwave or a small skillet until heated through.
Other Fast Dinners
You just can’t beat a dinner that is on the table in less than 30 minutes. Here are a few others I think you’ll like.
- My Chicken Wraps are so fast and delicious – plus I have several flavor options.
- Baked Chicken Fajitas are a great option because the hands on time is so short.
- This Creamy Cajun Shrimp recipe is a huge win in my house!
If you make this recipe for Carbonara pasta or any of my other recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Pasta Carbonara
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese plus more for serving (100 grams)
- 1 pound uncooked spaghetti (453.6 grams)
- 6 ounces thick cut bacon diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
- Read through the instructions and prep all of the ingredients before beginning this recipe.
- Beat the eggs, Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper together in a bowl until fully combined.2 large eggs, 2 large egg yolks, 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and the dry spaghetti. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. It is important that while the pasta is cooking you work on the sauce so it is ready when the pasta is done and still hot. Be sure to reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water when you drain it.1 pound uncooked spaghetti
- Once the spaghetti is cooking, cook the bacon until almost crisp in a large skillet. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, until just fragrant. (If the pasta isn't done yet, remove from heat, making sure the garlic does not burn.)6 ounces thick cut bacon, 4 cloves garlic
- Add the drained hot pasta to the bacon and garlic and toss over the heat to combine for about 45 seconds to 1 minute, ensuring that the spaghetti gets well coated in the rendered bacon fat.
- Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the egg mixture. It will thicken and coat the pasta. (It is important to remove the pan from the heat. If you leave it over the heat when you add the egg-cheese mixture, it will scramble the eggs.) If the sauce becomes too thick, you can add a little of the reserved pasta water.
- Plate the hot pasta and top with freshly ground black pepper and additional Parmesan.
Micheline Briere says
Great taste. Wonderful!!
So glad you liked it Micheline!
Jody says
Delicious dinner for a busy day.
Thanks Jody!
joyce says
Thanks love this stuff, make it often but needed the reminder to make it more often. Love gma
I hope you love it, Joyce!
julieta says
DELICIOUS!!!! AND THANK VERY MUCH FOR THE TIP
You are welcome Julieta!
Marjorie says
I cut the recipe in half half as there is only my old dear & me. It was delicious &would certainly make it again. Thank you for your great recipes.
So glad you liked it Marjorie!
Harriet Smith says
My question is : 2 large eggs and 2 large egg yolks.
does this mean 4 eggs?
Yes, this means 4 eggs total.
Diana says
I am wondering if you can use spaghetti squash in place of spaghetti
I haven’t made this with spaghetti squash, so I’d want to test it. The only thing I’m concerned about is the amount of liquid it would bring.
Linda B says
Thank you for sharing this simple recipe and the warning to read ahead :) which I know to do but get ahead of myself lol and forget lol
I hope you enjoy it!
Jennifer Benton says
OMG, I’ve never made this and it was amazing. I added chopped shallots to the bacon and fresh peas when I added the pasta. I also used 1 cup of pasta water. So easy and thank you for a recipe not loaded in cream.
I’m so glad you liked it!
Frances says
Didn’t make it yet but looking forward to it soon
I hope you enjoy it!