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Introduce your family to a whole new world of creamy pasta with my Pasta Carbonara Recipe! It’s rich, savory, decadent, and so much easier than you think. Ready in under 30 minutes with only a few easy ingredients!
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What is Carbonara?
You’ve probably heard of pasta carbonara, or seen it on menus. This rich, luxurious dish of spaghetti noodles and crispy pancetta is a classic on Italian menus everywhere, but what is carbonara?
It’s shockingly simple! Carbonara is a sauce made of gently cooked eggs mixed with pancetta and Pecorino cheese to make a creamy, custard-like sauce for spaghetti. It’s milk-free, cream-free, and decadent!
Pasta Carbonara Recipe
When I’m in the mood for rich, creamy indulgence but want to serve up something a little lighter than Alfredo, my thoughts drift to carbonara! Buttery, savory, rich and salty- all without a drop of cream. Sign me up!
What you might not expect about carbonara pasta is that it’s quick and easy, too. Carbonara has a reputation for being easy to mess up, but trust me: with this easy carbonara recipe, you’ll have foolproof pasta in minutes! All it takes is keeping a few key tricks in mind.
So give it a try! Find the best quality eggs you can, a big portion of good cheese, and serve up a creamy, luxurious carbonara spaghetti for dinner that everyone will love.
Pasta Carbonara Ingredients
- Spaghetti
- Sea salt
- Olive oil
- Pancetta
- Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
- Eggs
- English peas
- Pepper
How to Make Pasta Carbonara
- Add the olive oil to a deep pot or pan, then set it to medium heat. While it’s heating, chop the pancetta, then cook it in the oil until crisp. Remove the pancetta, and reserve the flavored oil in a bowl.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and cheese.
- Cook the spaghetti to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the spaghetti and set it aside.
- Add the oil back into the pot, and set over medium heat. Add the drained pasta to the pot.
- Once nice and warm, slowly pour the egg and cheese mixture over the pasta, turning the pasta to coat it. Add pasta water slowly to keep it from getting dry.
- Add in the cooked pancetta and peas, then toss until it’s well mixed and warmed through.
- Serve with extra cheese and black pepper, and enjoy!
Carbonara Recipes Tips
- Make sure the pasta water stays nice and hot! If it cools down, it won’t cook the eggs. Feel free to reheat it in the microwave if it cools.
- If you can’t find Pecorino or pancetta, feel free to use parmesan and thick cut bacon.
- The goal is creamy pasta sauce, not chunky eggs, so make sure to stir the pasta very well while adding the pasta water!
- Any eggs will do, but free-range or local farm eggs make a huge difference with carbonara. Check your area for local eggs. I promise, it’ll be worth it!
- This recipe does not reheat well. Make sure to enjoy it right away!
Carbonara Spaghetti FAQ
Carbonara is a creamy sauce made exclusively of eggs, pecorino and parmesan cheese, and crispy pancetta! A little bit of pasta water is used to cook and thin out the sauce, but that’s it. There’s no milk or cream in this sauce; the eggs and pasta water form the creamy base.
The golden rule of carbonara is to keep it simple! Don’t go adding tons of ingredients to carbonara; all it needs is eggs, cheese, pasta, pancetta, and oil. Adding cream will just make it into a cream sauce!
While both Alfredo and carbonara are creamy sauces using parmesan cheese, they differ in what the base ingredient is. For Alfredo, heavy cream is used to create a rich, milky base. Carbonara doesn’t use any milk at all and instead uses very gently cooked eggs and pasta water to create a creamy, custard-like sauce.
Any pasta you like will work well for carbonara, but the classic choice is spaghetti. It makes sense why; spaghetti is easy to mix and coats well with sauce, making it perfect for a recipe like this one that needs lots of mixing. Just be careful with super fragile noodles, as they may break while mixing.
Pasta Dinner Recipes
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📋 Recipe
Pasta Carbonara Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz Spaghetti
- 2 Tablespoons Salt for cooking the pasta
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- 4 ounces Pancetta diced
- 1 cup Pecorino Romano grated
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1 cup English peas
- Black pepper to taste
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- Add 2 Tablespoons Olive oil to a deep pot or pan, then set it to medium heat. While it's heating, chop 4 ounces Pancetta, then cook it in the oil until crisp. Remove the pancetta, and reserve the flavored oil in a bowl.4 ounces Pancetta, 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together 3 Eggs, 1 Egg yolk, and 1 cup Pecorino Romano.1 cup Pecorino Romano, 3 Eggs, 1 Egg yolk
- Cook the spaghetti to package instructions in a pot of boiling water with 2 Tablespoons Salt. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the spaghetti and set it aside.16 oz Spaghetti, 2 Tablespoons Salt
- Add the reserved oil back into the pot, and set over medium heat. Add the drained pasta to the pot.
- Once nice and warm, slowly pour the egg and cheese mixture over the pasta, turning the pasta to coat it. Add pasta water slowly to keep it from getting dry.
- Add in the cooked pancetta and 1 cup English peas, then toss until it's well mixed and warmed through.1 cup English peas
- Serve with extra cheese and black pepper, and enjoy!Black pepper
Notes
-
- Make sure the pasta water stays nice and hot! If it cools down, it won’t cook the eggs. Feel free to reheat it in the microwave if it cools.
-
- If you can’t find Pecorino or pancetta, feel free to use parmesan and thick cut bacon.
-
- The goal is creamy pasta sauce, not chunky eggs, so make sure to stir the pasta very well while adding the pasta water!
-
- Any eggs will do, but free-range or local farm eggs make a huge difference with carbonara. Check your area for local eggs. I promise, it’ll be worth it!
-
- This recipe does not reheat well. Make sure to enjoy it right away!
Let us know what you think or ask a question about the recipe!