Easy Pasta Carbonara

Learn how to make classic Italian Carbonara with this Easy Pasta Carbonara recipe. Made with basic ingredients, it’s ultra rich and creamy, and it’s on the table in under 30 minutes! Serve it with a side salad and you’ve got an easy and delicious dinner!

 

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

There’s nothing better than tucking into a warm, comforting meal at the end of a busy day, but who has the time (or energy) to cook a 3 course meal on a weeknight? Not us! That’s why we love recipes like this Easy Pasta Carbonara – it’s a classic, restaurant-quality dish that tastes like it takes hours to make, even though it’s on the table in under 30 minutes. It’s one of our go-to easy meals on a weeknight, it tastes like something you’d order at a high-end restaurant, and it’s made with super basic ingredients that are easy to find at almost any grocery store. What’s not to love?!

Pasta Carbonara is a classic Italian dish that’s as comforting as it is simple to whip up. It originated in Rome and it’s become a staple Italian dish all over the world. As is the case with many Italian dishes, its flavour is out of this world but it’s made with just a handful of quality ingredients. Carbonara is known for its creamy texture and rich flavour, but it’s shockingly easy and quick to prepare!

The traditional Carbonara calls for just a few key ingredients: eggs, cured pork, cheese, and pasta. Here’s a breakdown of these components:

• Eggs: The eggs are crucial as they form the silky, creamy sauce when mixed with the hot pasta and pasta water. Some carbonara recipes call for the whole egg, others for just the yolks.
• Guanciale: This is an Italian cured meat made from pork cheek. Its rich fat renders out during cooking, providing a ton of flavour. If guanciale isn’t available where you live, pancetta or even bacon can be used as substitutes. If you choose to use bacon, choose thick cut bacon and chop it well.
• Cheese: Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) is commonly used, but some traditional recipes often call for Pecorino Romano, a saltier, tangier cheese.
• Pasta: Spaghetti is the most commonly used pasta, but other long pasta like fettuccine also work well.

One ingredient you won’t find in traditional Carbonara recipes is cream. Authentic Carbonara relies on the eggs and cheese and the starch from the pasta water to create a creamy sauce.

There are SO many reasons why we LOVE this easy carbonara recipe. Here are just a few!

1. It’s QUICK: from start to finish, this recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes.
2. It’s RICH and CREAMY: it has a velvety sauce that coats every bit of pasta even without adding any cream!
3. It’s a CROWD PLEASER: it’s the perfect little taste of Italy for your guests, if you’re entertaining. If you’re cooking for your family, it’s a kid-friendly dish too!
4. It CELEBRATES basic INGREDIENTS: it’s a simple recipe where basic ingredients really shine through.

Here’s how to make the BEST easy carbonara recipe!

Guanciale is the best cured pork for this recipe… no wonder the Italians chose it! It has the perfect fat to meat ratio to give you the crispy bite and the velvety sauce. It also provides such a nice, smoky, cured aroma to the dish. If you can’t get guanciale, thick cut bacon will work well too.

We know shredding cheese is not the nicest kitchen job but freshly shredded cheese will give you that perfect, velvety sauce you’re looking for in a good serving of carbonara. Avoid pre-shredded or shelf-stable Parmesan cheese when making carbonara.

Don’t forget to save about 1 cup of pasta water to use later in the sauce. It might not sound like much, but it helps emulsify the sauce, making it extra creamy and smooth. It also adds just a touch of saltiness throughout the sauce as well.

It is important to mix the pasta, egg mixture, and pasta water together as quickly as possible to make sure you’re not scrambling the eggs.

A couple twists of the pepper mill and some cheese shavings elevate this pasta to a restaurant style look and taste. Optionally, you can even add a sprinkle of parsley.

Pasta carbonara is best served fresh, so after you’re done mixing, plate, garnish, and serve quickly as the sauce thickens while it sits.

Running into trouble with this Carbonara recipe? Here are some common issues you might encounter and how we recommend fixing and preventing them:

To fix a sauce that is too thick, simply pour in more warm pasta water, mixing vigorously to emulsify.

Make sure you add the pasta water in gradually, emulsifying it as you go. If your sauce is too thin you can add in some more fresh grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese. Do NOT put your pasta carbonara on the stove to thicken the sauce as strong heat will scramble the egg sauce.

Make sure you use as high quality ingredients as you can afford and that they are fresh. If you feel like your pasta lacks flavour, add a pinch of salt to bring out the flavours and add a little more fresh cracked black pepper. Salting the pasta water goes a LONG way, so be sure not to skip this step!

Unfortunately if you overcook the eggs in the sauce you can’t really fix it. To prevent this from happening make sure that you are very fast while mixing the pasta with the egg mixture.

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this easy pasta carbonara recipe (paid links):

• Cutting Board and a large knife
• large skillet
• Large Pot
• Tongs
• cheese grater
• Large bowl

Here’s a list of the ingredients you’ll need to make this easy carbonara recipe (paid links):

• 1 pound spaghetti noodles
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 liters water
• 6 ounces guanciale, pancetta, or thick cut bacon
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 1 cup pasta water reserve more just to be sure

Aside from how easy and fast this Easy 15-Minute Pasta Carbonara is, it’s also incredibly versatile. We know, we know, traditional is best, but here’s a few ideas if you want to think a little bit outside the box with your Spaghetti Carbonara.

1. Add veggies. Toss in peas, asparagus, or mushrooms as you cook the guanciale. This adds flavour, texture, and some nutrition.
2. Add a spicy kick. Add a few pinches of red pepper flakes.
3. Add some garlic. While not traditional, you can add some thinly sliced garlic, right before the guanciale finishes cooking.

We hope you like this Easy Pasta Carbonara recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite easy-peasy weeknight meal? We’d love to know!!    

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• Easy 20-Minute Tomato Asparagus Carbonara Pasta

Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this quick recipe. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel