Spaghetti Carbonara
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
The easiest pasta dish you will ever make with just 5 ingredients in 15 min, loaded with Parmesan and crisp bacon goodness!
I have yet another super easy pasta dish for you all today. And the best part about this dish is that you only need 5 ingredients to whip this up! No wait, the best part is the bacon. Yeah, the bacon.
No, but really, this is one of those dishes that comes together in 15 minutes or less with just 5 ingredients of spaghetti, bacon, garlic, Parmesan and eggs. And if you’re skeptical about the raw eggs, it actually gets cooked through completely from the residual heat. Just be sure to work quickly so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs. Plus, with the crisp bacon bits, you just can’t go wrong with this dish!
Spaghetti Carbonara
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; reserve 1/2 cup water and drain well.
- In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and Parmesan; set aside.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes; reserve excess fat.
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low.
- Working quickly, stir in pasta and egg mixture, and gently toss to combine; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add reserved pasta water, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
What does the eggs actually do? Is it necessary?
It’s perfect, I added frozen peas only because I hate most green veggies and it’s the only way I’ll eat them. No changes needed!
I think this could be good. However, putting the noodle la in before making the carbonara makes it difficult to temper the eggs in a silky consistency. I disagree with that step. Next time I’ll make the sauce and then add the noodles. Also adding sound dried tomatoes for visual interest.
Amazing! I added some mushrooms and spinach and it was perfect.
My first time making carbonara and it turned out delicious! I think I coukd have added mor pasta water but it was delicious none the less! Thank you for sharing this very easy to follow recipe.
we like it
I made the recipe, and it came together well with no problems. But my wife complained about a bitter flavor in the sauce. I’m thinking maybe the bacon was a little overdone, but she said no. I know the garlic was not overdone. I did use the pregrated parmesan that comes in the green cylinder containers from the grocery store instead of fresh grated. Any thoughts? I tried searching here, but didn’t find a way to search the comments.
Defender, fresh Parmesan and grated have a different taste. Fresh will have a deep flavor and it melts better than grated I would try it again with fresh Parmesan cheese. I think you’ll see a difference for sure.
The pasta water is salty. Don’t add salt before you’ve added the ½ cup of pasta water. The salty bacon, cheese and water is probably more than sufficient.
This was super easy to follow and ended up tasting SOOO good. I totally recommend!
This recipe is so amazing! And so simple! Only thing I added….instead of parsley, I used fresh basil to top it. So so so goooodddd!
This was so tasty and very easy to make for a novice chef like myself. I cut the recipe in half because it’s only me and my son, and it was the perfect amount.
Damn delicious, damn easy to make, and before you know it my boys cleaned out the damn pot… thanks for this recipe – it is officially a family favorite
Can you use maple bacon in this recipe? I am want to make it tonight!
This is a delicious recipe, thank you. It is also very easy. Looking forward to making it again.
I’ve made this so many times, it’s become a staple at our house. What more can I say, we LOVE this. Quick, easy, delicious.
I too am allergic to chicken eggs but duck eggs are fine, it’s a different protein.
Trying this recipe tonight.
fabulous, straightforward and show stopping. even more delicious if you take more time to caramelize thinly-sliced onions with the bacon, add sliced peppers mushrooms. I’ve made this twice, and it makes even more delicious leftovers.
Then it’s no longer carbonara but something else with bacon in it.
Not to be a total stickler (some would say no to garlic in carbonara) but your comment made me laugh. Some dishes have a name for a reason. Carbonara means carbonara, not pasta with veggies.
Easiest and tastiest carbonara I’ve ever made!
i made this for my family another day, they all loved it! 10/10 must try
Made this for dinner this evening…mostly by the recipe….dinner for two. (Make sure you only use half of your 16 oz package of spaghetti). It was really good although I should have saved more than 1/2 cup of the pasta water. I had 1 T of garlic butter which I added to the bacon renderings. The coarse ground pepper is an absolute must and I did use a combination of percorino and parmesan cheese. It was perfect! I added fresh parsley to the top. Served it with Texas Garlic Toast. Do have everything ready to go as it comes together quickly. I also warmed my pasta bowls in the oven to retain the heat. We had a glass of Pinot Noir with it and finished it with lemon cookies. We really enjoyed it. Thank you for the recipe!