Simple Carbonara Pasta Recipe

Creamy and delicious spaghetti carbonara with bacon chunks, enriches with eggs, grated parmesan cheese, topped with a deliciously crunchy pangritata and crushed black pepper.

It is no secret that pasta is one of the most loved dishes in the world and carbonara is literally one of the best pasta recipes to make. Yes it is easy to make but the flavors are just BOMB! You don’t need much to prepare the recipe and most often than not you make it with store bought dried spaghetti. I have made a few tweaks to the recipe and it is definitely NOT a classic but trust me, you will LOVE this version.

Keep in mind this recipe is hearty and rich, it is not a dish I would serve up every week but definitely would treat myself to a plate of this every now and then. I would suggest reading a little about the dish before you get to recipe as it is not authentic I felt it important to discuss the traditions of the recipe, why? Because I think fusion food is great and delicious but it is important to know a little about the roots as well to give the fusion even more meaning.

What is carborana made of? What is carbonara cream made of?

Carbonara is a sauce that is served with pasta. The sauce is traditionally made with eggs, parmesan cheese, guanciale (cured pork), spaghetti and black pepper. However there are many variations to this recipe today, you can use bacon, white pepper, a little garlic, some people use a dash of cream and butter as well. Are they authentic or classic recipes? No. But they taste delicious and contain a piece of culture from their own travels and experiences.

Why is it called carbonara? & Who invented carbonara?

The word carbonara comes from the word “carbonaro” which means coal burner. The dish is rich, easy to make and hearty, which is said to have come about by men working outdoors for long periods of time and needed substantial fuel to keep them going. Having said this apparently it got its fame from the Americans who were living in Italy after world war 2, they re-coined the name as spaghetti breakfast since eggs and bacon were a staple on the breakfast table. So who ever invented it, this dish is now a classic and you can find it in most restaurants.

Where is the original carbonara from?

This is a straightforward answer, Italy. Most of the famous pasta dishes are traced back to Italy – the holy ground of pasta and pizza.

Why is carbonara so rich?

The Italian pasta recipe is made with eggs, guanciale and cheese hence it is rich. The fat from the pork makes this dish even more creamy and rich also helping to bind the sauce.

What is traditional carbonara made of? Does authentic carbonara contain cream?

Traditional carbonara has guanciale (cured pork), eggs, pecorino Romano cheese, spaghetti pasta, black pepper. Authentic carbonara will never have cream, garlic or butter.

What is the golden rule of cooking carbonara?

There are a few, the eggs must be fresh, the cheese has to be grated and you have to use hot pasta cooking liquid to cook the eggs before tossing with the pasta. Do no put this pasta over the heat again once you’ve tossed it or else the eggs will get scrambled.

What thickens carbonara?

The egg yolks are a thickener here but the fat drippings from the bacon emulsify into the liquid and create a deliciously creamy and indulgent sauce that gives it a thick consistency.

What is the secret to making carbonara?

Whisk the hot pasta liquid into the egg mixture gradually to temper them before adding the pasta and bacon. If you rush this step the eggs will scramble and get grainy, you will not be able to bring the sauce back once it has scrambled.

What ingredients do you need to make this carbonara?

I have made this carbonara with bacon (regular bacon but you want chunks so try and get thick slices of bacon), spaghetti, egg yolks (save the egg whites for later for the love of humanity), parmesan cheese, crushed black pepper, lemon zest and juice, also the pasta cooking liquid. I have topped the carbonara with a pangritata aka toasted breadcrumbs.

What equipment do you need to make this carbonara?

To make this pasta recipe we need a sauté pan to cook the bacon, a stock pot to boil the spaghetti, I also like using tong to handle the spaghetti. You will need a microplane grater to grate the cheese, a bowl to whisk the sauce and a whisk as well.

How to make this carbonara?

We start by cooking the spaghetti as per the pack instructions. My pasta took 9 minutes to cook until al dente. When this is cooking cut up the bacon and place it on a sauté pan, cook on low to medium heat for 6-8 minutes until most of the fat is rendered (don’t throw away the fat we need it). While this is happening in a bowl add the egg yolks, crushed black pepper, parmesan cheese and whisk until smooth. Once the pasta is done remove from the heat and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water. Drain out the rest. Add half of the hot cooking liquid into the egg mixture gradually, whisking constantly. Add the cooked spaghetti into the sauce, the bacon and 2 tbsp of the fat, toss together. Adjust the consistency with more cooking liquid if needed, add salt and more crushed pepper if needed and squeeze of lemon juice and transfer to the platter. Top with the pangritata and more cheese. To make the pangritata: in the same pan of the bacon add the bread crumbs and dried basil, toast until golden and take off the heat.

Commonly asked questions when making carbonara at home:

How do you stop carbonara scrambling?

Whisk the egg yolks and cheese well. Temper the egg yolk mixture gradually with the hot pasta cooking liquid. Do not put the tossed pasta onto the stove and heat again.

Does the egg stay raw in carbonara?

The heat from the hot cooking pasta liquid cooks the egg yolks and hence you are not eating raw eggs but the cooking liquid must be hot hot hot.

What happens if you overcook carbonara?

The pasta will break apart and get soggy but more importantly the egg yolks will get scrambled and make the sauce grainy – it wont have that velvet smooth, luscious, creamy pasta sauce.

Why is my carbonara not creamy?

You must adjust the consistency by adding more cooking pasta liquid as needed. Also you must add the fat drippings from the bacon. And when in doubt add more cheese into the pasta and stir well. I like my pasta saucy so don’t be shy with the pasta cooking liquid. Also the liquid is salty, the cheese is salty, the bacon is salty, so season as needed.

Which cheese for carbonara?

Ideally pecorino romano cheese is the best option however I have used parmesan cheese. You can use either or to make this recipe. You cannot use a cheddar or mozzarella here.

Serving & storing this carbonara?

This pasta is best served warm when it is tossed and freshly made. If you are serving it later I would suggest not topping it with the pangritata but instead only garnish the portion that you will be serving. The rest can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge. When you are ready to eat it I like reheating the pasta over the stove on low flame with a dash of water, stirring. Do this fir 4-5 minutes. Also I never usually have leftovers so this doesn’t happen but I would suggest consuming it in the same day. The pangritata can be stored in an air tight container for 1 month.

Looking for more pasta recipes?

Now that we have covered how to make this Simple carbonara pasta recipe, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more healthy recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.