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
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Made this tonight. It was fantastic! I added a pepper and Zucchini for some veggies(finely chopped). I did no temper my eggs and I did not have scrambled eggs. As you said, work fast on low heat and it worked like a charm. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for the lovely recipe which I used twice. I would probably just throw the pasta in with the cooked bacon/garlic and mix it and then take it off the heat and throw in the egg-parmasen and mix aggressively. Otherwise the eggs risk getting scrambled. Also not a big fan of the pasta water for this recipe as the semi dry sticky texture is quite nice.
Love this recipe but I can’t find nutrition information for this recipe. Does anyone have it to share?
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
This recipe is really delicious. As someone who was not familiar with carbonara before making this, I really enjoyed it. However, you basically should just throw any leftovers away as it just does not taste right reheated (and I’m not picky about things like that). If you plan on having any leftovers or feeding a crowd, I’d definitely recommend going the cream route even if it’s not traditional.
Honestly both versions are very good. I would say the egg version is more silken than creamy and there is a definite egg taste that combines very well with the bacon. You miss this in the cream version, but you can also reheat it and it is less finicky.
When doubling pasta do I double all ingredients?
Yes.
This sounds delicious and so simple. Trying it out for tonights dinner!
Making this for the second time. I love love love love love love love it. I feel like I finally learned how to make the pasta be like I’ve always wanted it. Thank you! Big fan of your site. Use it weekly 🙂
This recipe does not work at all, I’m sorry to say. I brought the eggs to room temperature before cracking them and in the end, it still amounted to a scrambled egg dish with bacon and pasta. It’s tasty (thanks to the bacon), but the consistency is all wrong, and it would have been too dry without some sort of cream. I’m afraid it’s not a keeper for me.
Jenn, if the eggs are scrambling, then your heat source is set too high. It’s the eggs that creates that amazing light coating on the pasta – cream just isn’t needed here when this is cooked properly. I really hope you get a chance to try this again! 🙂
This looks wonderful — thanks for posting it. I may make this for lunch today.
One question: why is there a youtube window in the Print setup for this? It won’t close, and makes the recipe split oddly between two pages when printing.
Hmmmmm, weird. I’m not seeing any kind of YouTube window on my end.
Add some Shallots. Trust me. It will taste even better (if that’s possible)!
Hey, I just wanted to say how much I love it here. Your recipes are ALWAYS great and just what I’m looking for. Easy, delicious and made with fresh ingredients. I often share, Pin and link your blog up from my blog. It’s one of those places that never disappoint. THANKS!
I made this last night for the husband and the kids, and everyone loved it! I made the recipe a little bigger because my family is large. Everything turned out well! Next time, I will probably do a little more bacon (we love bacon) and maybe use a little bit of cream or a slight bit of sun dried tomato / alfredo sauce. Not a lot, just to add a little more moisture. Mine was a tad dry, but I am not super skilled in the kitchen,either, so its probably something I did wrong. Still tasted WONDERFUL! Thanks for sharing, this is now on my list of regular meals to cook 🙂
This was quick, easy and delicious! My family though a professional chef had taken over our kitchen.
Just made this for dinner! Delish!! Thanks!
Loved this! I had all of the ingredients at home already! Super easy and tasty. I do live in Switzerland now, and I tried a carbonara in Bern that had pumpkin in it. Was DELICIOUS for fall flavors. Went well with the bacon!
I made this last night!! It’s a new family favorite!! Delicious and SUPER easy!!
Does this travel well?
This is really best when served immediately.
Looks so simple and good, carbonara made the authentic style, thanks for sharing!
YUMMY! I made this and my husband and I LOVED it! I did not make any substitutions but we always cook up our bacon and freeze it and the fat so I had to guess the amount of reserved fat to use. I must have guessed correctly because my husband couldn’t stop raving about it 🙂 I just recently found your site so I am late to the party but looking forward to trying all your delicious looking recipes!! THANK YOU!
I can’t wait to try this; looks delicious