Pasta Carbonara Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (2024)

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posted by Christy Denneyon Aug 3, 2020 (updated Feb 19, 2022) 5 comments »

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Easy Pasta Carbonara – pasta, crispy bacon, garlic, eggs, and Parmesan cheese make this Italian dinner taste out of this world. Some carbonara recipes have heavy cream in them but an authentic pasta carbonara recipe does not. This pasta dish can be ready in under 25 minutes.

PASTA CARBONARA

We moved and I still don’t know where any of my cooking supplies are but I was dying to make a recipe. This recipe I’ve made for years and only has a few ingredients. Five to be exact! My daughter was hovering over me eating it out of the pan as soon as it was finished.

INGREDIENTS IN PASTA CARBONARA

There a simple ingredients in an authentic carbonara. While this is super traditional, the ingredients are very similar.

Pasta – In traditional carbonara spaghetti is used but any pasta will do! A pound of pasta, any shape or size will work.
Whole Eggs – you want to stir these into the hot pasta but you don’t want it too hot that they scramble. The egg yolks add a creaminess to the carbonara sauce.
Parmesan – shredded is the best kind to use here. You can also use grated cheese like Percorino Romanowhich has a stronger flavor.
Bacon – Pancetta can also be use here. I like to use a thick-cut bacon.
Garlic – In my opinion a few cloves of garlic are essential to any good Italian dish.

TIPS FOR THIS RECIPE

Make sure your cooked pasta is hot! The heat of the pasta is what cooks the raw eggs in the cheese mixture. The mixture is removed from the heat so that the eggs don’t get too hot and scramble.
Reserved hot pasta water is essential to making a silky creamy sauce without cream. Whisk in enough to your desired consistency to make a luxurious sauce.

CAN I HALF THIS RECIPE?

Yes! It can be tricky because there are three eggs in this recipe but do your best. Other than that, it’s totally easy!

OTHER ONE-PAN RECIPES:

One-Pot Sausage Broccoli Pasta
Easy Baked Ziti
One-Pan Chicken and Spinach Orzo
Sausage and Spinach Pasta
One-Pan Monterey Chicken Pasta
Chicken Parmesan Pasta
One-Pan Spinach Artichoke Pasta
Pizza Pasta Salad

Pasta Carbonara

4.89 from 9 votes

Ingredients

1 (lb) dried pasta, any shape or size
3 large eggs
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
8 slices bacon, cut into small pieces, (about 6-8 ounces)
4 cloves garlic, minced
(optional) chopped parsley or basil for garnish

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente according to package directions, about 8-10 minutes. Prepare sauce while the pasta cooks so that the pasta is hot. Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water for the sauce.
For the sauce: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and Parmesan cheese. Add some ground black pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon or more if you like pepper).
In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute over medium-high heat. You do not need to drain the bacon grease but can drain some of it if you have a ton . Remove from the heat.
Quickly stir in the cooked and drained pasta into the bacon mixture. Stir in the egg mixture. The pasta should be hot enough to cook the eggs but not too hot so that they start to scramble. Whisk in the cup of the reserved pasta water a little at a time to the desired consistency you want for the sauce.
Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with additional cheese. Garnish with chopped parsley or basil if desired.

Cuisine: Italian

Course: All Recipes, Main Course

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5 comments on “Pasta Carbonara”

Lisa R — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 @ 09:16:14 EST Reply
Does this reheat well?
Tina — Sat, 14 Nov 2020 @ 14:27:28 EST Reply
Came out awesome!
christian thompson — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 @ 14:59:57 EDT Reply
Garlic? In a carbonara?
You are taking your life in your hands!
Please call it something else quickly!
- christian thompson — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 @ 15:04:55 EDT Reply
  Sorry I didn’t check out your method, but seeing garlic in the ingredients was enough.
  Look into it .check some real Italian chefs and recipes. Revise… you can get there!
- Christy Denney — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 @ 02:05:07 EDT Reply
  I say in the beginning that this isn’t traditional carbonara so…