Our family goes crazy for this flavorful easy carbonara recipe! This pasta is made with pancetta, eggs, cream, parmesan, and thick spaghetti or bucatini noodles. The perfect Italian comfort food!
I married into an Italian family so pasta has always been on the menu! Bacon carbonara has been a favorite pasta dish of mine since my mother-in-law made it for us about 15 years ago.
It’s a creamy pasta and the thick cut pancetta gives the pasta a salty crunch. All of the flavors blend together perfectly with pepper and parmesan cheese. It’s the perfect pasta to make on a fall or winter day. Serve it with our salad that goes with everything for a complete meal!
What is carbonara?
Table of Contents
Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish made with cream, eggs, pancetta and spaghetti noodles. The name carbonara means “charcoal burner” in Italian. There is speculation that it was a hearty meal for charcoal workers.
How to Make Pasta Carbonara
Ingredients
- Pancetta – Salt-cured and dried pork. You can substitute with bacon if needed.
- Eggs – Buy organic eggs if possible.
- Cream – Heavy cream is what we use for this recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese – Already grated is great.
- Pasta – Use spaghetti noodles.
- Olive Oil – Good quality olive oil.
- Salt & Pepper
Directions
- Cut pancetta into thick cubes. To make it easier, have the butcher cut it for you.
What is the difference between pancetta and bacon?
Pancetta is the Italian way of making bacon. Its cured pork belly seasoned with a lot of pepper and salt and then tightly wrapped into a tight roll and tied with casing.
You can substitute pancetta for bacon in this recipe. Make sure it’s thick cut bacon so you get large chunks of the bacon in the pasta.
- Brown the pancetta in a skillet with olive oil and pepper until brown, almost crispy, on all sides. Remove from heat and let it sit while you make the rest. The bacon fat will be so good mixed in with the pasta!
- In a bowl combine eggs and cream and whisk until combined.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
- Quickly drain the pasta and put it back in the large hot pot. Reserve a small amount of pasta water to use in the mixture.
- Pour the egg and cream mixture into the hot pasta and stir.
- Add in the parmesan cheese.
- Add in the pancetta and any bacon grease from the pan and stir it all together.
- Top with a pinch of salt, lot’s of freshly ground pepper and shaved parmesan.
Bucatini Carbonara
To make bucatini carbonara, use the same carbonara sauce recipe and switch out the noodles to bucatini noodles.
Bucatini noodles are similar are thicker than spaghetti noodles, with a hole running through the middle. I personally LOVE bucatini and it’s personally my favorite noodle to serve with this sauce.
Spaghetti Carbonara
This is the same carbonara recipe but using spaghetti noodles to serve. We used a thick cut spaghetti noodle to make this recipe. It’s easier to find at the grocery store. When you buy it, make sure it’s thick cut.
Linguine Carbonara
Carbonara with linguine noodles. Linguine noodles are similar to spaghetti but flat noodles.
Penne Carbonara
This is made with penne noodles, which are short tube noodles. The best part about serving it with penne is that the sauce and pancetta soak up inside the pasta making it even more flavorful with every bite!
Here’s a fun guide to all different pasta shapes!
Frequently Asked Question
Yes, there is raw egg in carbonara, but the hot pasta helps “cook” the eggs a little.
Yes, there is raw egg in carbonara, but the hot pasta helps “cook” the eggs a little.
Cooked pasta with sauce will last in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Top it was fresh cheese and pepper to add freshness.
Most carbonara recipes have cream in them. It gives the pasta the rich creamy flavor we all love.
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Easy Carbonara
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs pancetta , cut ino 1/2" cubes
- 1 tbsp olive oil , extra pepper to ganrish the pasta
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 whole eggs
- 3 tbsp salt, use for boiling water and pasta
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 1 lbs thick spaghetti or bucatini pasta
Instructions
- Cut pancetta into thick cubes.
- Brown the pancetta in a skillet with olive oil and pepper until brown, almost crispy, on all sides. Let it sit while you make the rest.
- In a bowl combine eggs and cream and whisk until combined.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water and salt until al dente.
- Quickly drain the pasta and put it back in the large hot pot.
- Pour the egg and cream mixture into the hot pasta and stir.
- Add in the parmesan cheese.
- Add in the pancetta and any bacon grease from the pan and stir it all together.
- Top with freshly ground pepper and shaved parmesan.
Jim45377 says
Sorry, carbonara has no cream.
Eden says
traditionally, you are right! However it makes it so creamy and delicious, we love adding a little cream!
Becky Hardin says
Adding this to my dinner list this week. Such a good and easy dinner idea.
Kimyee says
I know what I’m making for dinner tonight! 🙂 Thanks!
Laura Reese says
This recipe is amazing. I love it. What makes it stand out the the pancetta cubes. So much flavor.
wilhelmina says
This carbonara is the perfect easy meal that feels like a restaurant dish! We love it!
Kimberly says
One of my most favorite comfort dishes! I love the simplicity of it, it’s so quick and easy but so unforgettably delicious!
Billy says
One of my favorite all time recipes and absolutely my go to. You make it super easy to make with all the photos in the procedures, thanks for another awesome recipe!