Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe
This Spaghetti Carbonara recipe is a rich and decadent pasta dish that is simple to make and kid-approved. It was one of my favorite dishes that my mom made when I was a kid, and my boys love it!
The recipe for spaghetti carbonara only has a few ingredients, many of which you may already have on hand.
Spaghetti Carbonara Ingredients:
- Bacon
- Spaghetti Noodles
- Onion
- Garlic
- Eggs
- Parmesan Cheese
- Cooking Sherry (you can use white wine if you have it on hand)
- Parsley
- Salt and Pepper
Tips for making the sauce:
The sauce is made with raw eggs, provided you prepare it correctly the eggs will be fully cooked. You have to work fast and ensure you pasta is still hot!
- Your pasta has to be hot! However, you do not want your pan on the heat as that can cause the eggs to cook too quickly and result in scrambled eggs versus the creamy sauce.
- I recommend having the Parmesan/egg mixture ready to go so you can dump it onto the pasta once it is drained.
- Once the noodles are done cooking, save about 1 cup of the water, they cooked in. Drain the noodles and immediately put back into the pot and add the Parmesan/egg mixture.
- Begin to toss the pasta in the mixture.
- Add about one tablespoon of the pasta water to the pasta until the desired consistency is reached.
Variations to Spaghetti Carbonara Recipes:
- Peas– I would add the frozen peas in at step three to the large skillet.
- Mushrooms- I would recommend to sauté the mushrooms in a separate skillet and when soft add-in at step three to the large skilled.
- Ham– If you are looking for a lower fat version or trying to use up leftover ham, this is a great alternative. You will just swap out the bacon for ham. In step 2, cook the ham until it starts to brown.
- Pancetta – Just swap out the bacon for pancetta, follow the recipe as written.
What’s the difference between Pancetta and Bacon?
Honestly, not a lot, The Kitchn explains that both pancetta and bacon are made from pork belly and are cured. Both are raw and need to be cooked before eating. The main difference is bacon is smoked after it is cured while the pancetta is not. Due to the smoking there is a slightly different taste.
Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe: Let's Get Cooking!
Take the bacon directly out of the package and put on the cutting board.
Do not separate the slices (it is a waste of time, when the bacon cooks it will separate on its own). If you see in the picture below, the individual slices of pre-cut bacon are still together.
Cut the pack of bacon into thin slices. Put in the large skillet.
Occasionally stir the bacon as it cooks. You will see below, just by cooking the bacon separates on its own.
Cook the bacon until it is just starting to brown and add the onions and garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Once the onions and garlic start to brown, drain all of the bacon fat. Then you will want to add the cooking sherry and simmer on low until the liquid has reduced to about 1/3 left.
Your water should be boiling at this point, so you want to drop your pasta.
While the sherry is cooking off, you will want prepare your egg mixture. Beat the eggs by hand for about 1 minute and set aside until the pasta is done cooking.
Once the pasta is cooked you will want to drain it and return it immediately to the pan. Add the egg mixture and begin tossing the pasta to evenly coat it.
You want the pasta still hot but do not have the pan on direct heat.
You should toss the pasta for about 2 minutes until a cream sauce forms.
Add the bacon and sherry mixture, toss and serve!
Are you looking for more Italian food? Check out some of our other recipes:
Spaghetti Carbonara
Ingredients
Method
- Bring a large pot of water to boiling.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook chopped bacon over medium heat until slightly crisp; Add chopped onion and garlic and cook until they start to brown.
- Place the pasta in the boiling and water. In the large skillet, drain the excess bacon fat and add the cooking sherry and parsley. Cook on medium-low heat, uncovered. Once about 2/3of the cooking sherry has evaporated, remove from heat.
- While the cooking sherry is simmiring, prepare the egg mixture in a bowl adding the eggs, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Beat by hand for about 1minute. Set aside.
- Once the pasta is al dente, retain about 1 cup of the water. Drain well and immediately return to the pot.
- Immediately add the egg mixture to the HOT pasta. Toss the pasta in the mixture constantly with tongs or a large fork. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to achieve desired consistency. Add the bacon and sherry mixture to the pasta and toss together.
- Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese.
