Spaghetti Carbonara
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Ready in 15 minutes with just 5 ingredients. This ultra-easy pasta is packed with crispy bacon and rich Parmesan flavor. Perfect for a quick, satisfying meal!
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This is one of those dishes that comes together in 15 minutes or less with just 5 simple ingredients – spaghetti, bacon, garlic, Parmesan and eggs. A lightening fast weeknight meal yet still fancy enough for date night or weekend company. And if you’re skeptical about the raw eggs, have no fear! 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 (not that scrambled eggs would be the worst thing in the world here).
Why Spaghetti Carbonara Is a Must-Try Recipe
- Weeknight superhero made in less than 30 min
- Super short ingredient list, most of which you probably have on hand
- Restaurant-worthy rich, silky, velvety pasta dinner the whole family can enjoy
What Is Spaghetti Carbonara?
Spaghetti Carbonara is an Italian dish typically made with pasta (most commonly spaghetti), eggs, guanciale (cured pork), hard cheese, salt and pepper.
Spaghetti Carbonara vs Alfredo: Key Differences
Spaghetti Carbonara relies on eggs for its silky texture, giving it a lighter, savory finish. In contrast, Alfredo is richer and creamier, made with butter and heavy cream as its base. Both are delicious, but their flavors and textures are distinct.
Ingredients
Spaghetti
Spaghetti pasta is typically used in carbonara as its long strands can easily soak up the silky, creamy goodness but linguine, fettuccine or bucatini can be used as well.
Eggs
Room temperature eggs are key here! It serves as a thickening agent without scrambling, binding with the fat from the bacon (or pancetta) and creating that favorited smooth, silky sauce.
Parmesan
Use hard cheese such as pecorino romano or Parmesan. Pre-packaged cheese contains anti-caking agents that can hinder their ability to melt smoothly. Freshly and finely grated cheese is best here, adding a handful at a time for a smooth consistency.
Bacon
Bacon is more readily available but pancetta or guanciale can also be used for a more authentic carbonara.
Garlic
Although garlic is not traditionally used in carbonara, it will add a lovely boost of flavor.
Parsley
Add your finishing touches with a sprinkle of fresh parsley (or basil).
Tips for Perfect Spaghetti Carbonara
- Use room temperature eggs. Using room temperature eggs will ensure a smooth, well-emulsified silky consistency (cold eggs can seize when added to hot pasta). To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes. According to the USDA, eggs should not be left at room temperature for over 2 hours.
- Make it richer. For an even richer, creamier consistency, use egg yolks only.
- Lower the heat. Working quickly over low heat, stir in the egg mixture, allowing the residual heat from the pasta to cook the eggs gently to yield that velvety, silky sauce. Remove the pan from heat if needed.
- Reserve pasta water. Thanks to the starch in the pasta water, this will help the sauce stick to the pasta as well as thicken the sauce for extra creaminess.
- Halve the recipe. If cooking for 2, say for date night or a romantic night in, this recipe halves very well. Utilize the same cooking time with a smaller cast iron skillet.
Tools For making spaghetti Carbonara
Frequently Asked Questions about Spaghetti Carbonara:
Spaghetti is a classic choice for carbonara but linguine, fettuccine or bucatini are all great alternatives.
One of the most common reason for scrambled eggs in carbonara is cooking at a high temperature. Lower the heat and add the egg mixture into the center of the skillet over the pasta, avoiding the edges, tossing immediately and quickly to avoid overcooking and scrambling.
Spaghetti carbonara is best served immediately but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days, adding a splash of water when reheating (to loosen if needed).
Pecorino Romano is the classic choice, but Parmesan can be used as a milder alternative.
Yes! Traditional carbonara doesn’t use cream. Eggs, cheese, and pasta water create the creamy texture.
Remove the pan from heat before adding the egg mixture, and stir quickly to create a smooth sauce.
Yes, you can use other long pastas like fettuccine or bucatini, or even gluten-free options.
Pancetta is more traditional, offering a richer, saltier flavor, but bacon works well in a pinch.
Spaghetti Carbonara
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 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.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
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Im going to make this today but after you cook the bacon and cook garlic in bacon grease do you than drain grease or do you stir with spaghetti?
You do not have to drain the excess fat.
I love this! It is one of my husbands favorites. I like to have some sautéed zucchini and squash on the side with it. Sometimes I cut up some fresh tomato in my serving to add some more veggies. I have been coming back to this one off and on for a while. Thank you!
Overall a good recipe
I had a craving for buttered pasta with garlic and decided to take it a step further. Having never made spaghetti carbonara before, this recipe seemed easy enough. I read some of the reviews before I started cooking and found some of the advice useful. I added a few Tbsp of the pasta water to the egg and Parmesan mix to avoid getting scrambled eggs when I added them to the hot skillet. I also put the pasta in first and tossed it with the bacon and garlic before adding the egg and Parmesan. With all that being said, I was delighted with how this recipe turned out and will certainly be making this dish in the future. I might add some sliced cherry tomatoes for a little contrast to the garlic and bacon.
Yummmoooooooo!
Made it 2nite. Damn good. We’ve now blown it lol
Love this and it’s so easy!
This came up when I searched for an easy dinner to make for my family. I had all the ingredients on hand, except I had to use dried parsley. I read the reviews beforehand (took advise with eggs) followed receipe (just doubled it) and it was just as I hoped, delicious! Myfamily enjoyed it. Looking forward to trying the alfredo tortellini recipe next. Thank you!
Super yummy! My whole family loved it!
Hey,
Better to mix the parmesan cheese with the eggs in a bowl.
Separately, bake the meat with Garlic.
Pasta in the water.
When it’s all done, you mix it all together in the pan where you cooked the pasta (minus the water of course now)
Wait a little bit, making sure that the pot isn’t too hot. Scrambled eggs need to be avoided.
I’m mentioning this because the video is slightly misleading, in that throwing the egg/cheese mixture in the pan will lead to instant scrambled eggs. Also the water isn’t needed in my technique.
Side note: little bit of Nutmeg can be very nice, in the parma egg mixture.
Good luck
Just made this for dinner and it was great! I did temper the egg/cheese mixture with some pasta water and it was very easy to toss in the pasta without it getting scrambled. I also used Trader Joes grated cheese which has more of a powder like substance. It did not get gummy and I think it mixed it perfectly. I also did the sauce in my electric skillet so the bacon wouldn’t make a huge mess over the stove. Overall, the pasta had a smoky background note due to the bacon. I would definitely make this again and would like to use pancetta next time for comparison. I have always wanted to try carbonara at home and the video gave me the courage to give it finally make it. Thank you!
Super great!!
Great recipe, I make carbonara a few times a year but I only use 1 egg. Most recipes use too many eggs and some use cream? cream? Thanks for posting this recipe.
t.r.
Made pasta carbonara last night, soo o delicious and easy. Will make again.
I was SO excited to make this dish and I REALLY wanted to like it. Really! But it wasn’t to be . . .
1. It took a lot longer than 5 minutes to prep.
2. It took a lot longer than 6-8 min to cook and crisp the bacon.
3. “Reserve the excess fat” means to cook the bacon and set the fat aside. (Looking at the comments after I’d made this dish showed that I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t sure what to do with the leftover fat.)
4. I had to add WAY more than a few tbsp. of the pasta water in order to reach a “dry consistency.”
5. But, using the pasta water only diluted the flavour of this dish. Using cream would have been much better.
The end result? Way too much work for a dry, pasta dish that lacked flavour.
Oh yum! Even my husband liked it and he hates everything new.
When you say to reserve the excess fat from the bacon, do you mean leave it in the pan to cook with?
Yes, that is correct.
So good! This will definitely go into my monthly rotation of dinners! You can easily add in spinach or asparagus.
Great idea for additions.
What do I do with the “reserved” grease?
It remains in the pan – it’s the grease for your garlic, infusing the carbonara dish with bacon fat! 🙂
Thanks for this spaghetti carbonara recipe, it’s so easy nutritious and saves alot of time in preparation keep up the good work
It’s one of our all-time favorites. Glad you found it!
I love this!! Made it many times. I just wish it could be made ahead someway!
This was so delicious – my husband wanted it twice in 1 week!!! Second time I forgot the parsley – won’t do that again. It makes a huge difference. So Yummy!!!! Many thanks
Awesome Jo Ann! Thanks for sharing.