Traditional Spaghetti Carbonara
Traditional Spaghetti Carbonara is essentially bacon and egg pasta. An easy, rich and creamy pasta dish that has no cream, the creaminess comes from eggs and Parmesan cheese.
A childhood friend of mine (who now lives in Perth, Australia) that I haven’t seen since we were about 7 or 8 years old in England came to California on vacation, I couldn’t have been more excited. We had a fantastic night out with our husbands and there just wasn’t enough time to catch-up.
While they were in Las Vegas, she sent me a message asking if I had a great recipe for carbonara because her husband had the dish at a restaurant and wasn’t happy with it and she wants to make it for him when they get back home to Australia.
There is no cream in traditional spaghetti carbonara
I’ve made carbonara for my husband and myself this way for many years and wanted to see if the recipe I used was traditional. After doing some research I found that my recipe was pretty close to authentic in that no garlic is used.
What I also found out in my research (and already knew) is that there is no cream in the carbonara sauce. The secret to getting an extra creamy sauce is using egg yolks as well as a whole egg.
To make this easy carbonara dish really authentic, guanciale (pronounced gwan cha lay) is typically used. Guanciale is the jowl of the pig but not everyone can find this, so the next best thing is pancetta or thick-cut bacon if pancetta is not available to you.
When I was testing this recipe, I mixed equal amounts of parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese in with the eggs. I found this to make the dish way too salty because the Pecorino is very rich and fairly salty, so the perfect balance is using all parmesan in the sauce and keep the rich Pecorino for grating on the finished dish. If you’re not a fan of Pecorino, you can leave it out all together.
If you’ve tried this Traditional Spaghetti Carbonara or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see daily recipe updates.
Yield: 4
Traditional Spaghetti Carbonara
An easy, rich and creamy pasta dish that has no cream, the creaminess comes from eggs and Parmesan cheese.
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
11 minutes
Total Time
21 minutes
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup extra for garnish
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces pancetta, cut into cubes * see note
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt, enough so it tastes like sea water. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions.
- While spaghetti is cooking, add the egg yolks and egg to a medium bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the parmesan cheese to the eggs and mix. Set aside.
- Add the olive oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta or bacon and cook until crisp, turn off the heat and set aside.
- When the spaghetti is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the liquid and drain.
- Add the spaghetti to the pancetta and toss with half of the reserved pasta water, mix well over low heat.
- Turn off the heat and add the egg mixture and mix well using tongs until the spaghetti is coated and sauce is creamy. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the reserved water until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Serve warm topped with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
Notes
* Note: If you can't get pancetta, you can use thick cut bacon
Nutrition Information
Yield
2Amount Per Serving Calories 680Saturated Fat 14gCholesterol 292mgSodium 2522mgCarbohydrates 44gProtein 27g
34 Comments on “Traditional Spaghetti Carbonara”
I just received this recipe in email, i was curious about the cheese, can i use already grated parm in container from kraft? and i have some mozzarella here alrdy, and wondered can i use this instead of romano? if not i will go out to look for romano
Thank you for being a subscriber. You can use the Parmesan you have. Freshly grated is better, but since you already have it, use it. I would not use mozzarella, it is very different to Romano cheese in texture and flavor. The Romano is very similar to Parmesan and is added because it has a more tangy flavor than Parmesan. If you can’t find it, I would substitute more Parmesan for the Romano and no mozzarella. Also, if you can’t find pancetta, you can substitute bacon. Pancetta is not smoked, so bacon add a smoky flavor to the dish. Enjoy the recipe and please come back and leave a comment and a rating on the website if you get a chance.
I first had the most amazing carbonara on a trip to Rome last year. I made your recipe last night and was just as good as I had in Italy, really easy too. I’m going back to Italy this year and hope to find a carbonara just as good.
I found your recipe on pineterest and made it for dinner last night. So good and so easy. I can’t wait for lunch to eat the leftovers. I am loving that shrimp pasta from the video, I think I’ll make that this weekend.
I wish I was having this today. Thank you for the feedback and you will love the linguine shrimp too 🙂
I remember reading your recipe awhile ago, had company over for dinner, and decided at the last minute to add this as an appetizer course, had to make it from scratch, forgot to look it up. so the only thing I forgot was the olive oil, and I did add 1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped up. also, I forgot to turn the heat off. the first 6 people got it perfect and creamy, me and my brother got it where it had scrambled eggs, the importance of turning that heat off. but everybody loved it. this is slightly difficult when cooking it for 8 people.
I love the idea of serving this as an appetizer. I’ve been there and eaten scrambled eggs too. I suppose it’s just part of being the cook. Thank you for leaving the comment with your input.
I took a chance and made this for my family and Italian mother in law last night. Everyone loved it, this recipe gets my MIL’s Italian seal of approval and my new quick and easy go-to dinner. Thanks.
Thank you for having confidence in my recipe to try it out on your mother in law. Phew, I’m glad it was a hit 🙂
Always enjoy seeing your posts Janelle and thanks for sharing ! Pinned
This is what I made for dinner last night! One of our family’s favorites! However, your recipe is much more authentic than mine (although, since it’s a Roman dish, using Parmigiano instead of Pecorino Romano could ignite a battle! haha!)
Although mine is very inauthentic, (I add half and half to the beaten eggs! I’m going to start WWIII by doing that!) I like it so much because of its creamy sauce. My cousin in Italy yelled at me for this! 😉
I think your friend will be very pleased with your recipe and I love your pronunciation for guanciale! PERFETTO!! 🙂
Thank you Christina for stopping by. I did use pecorino at first and it was very salty so I changed it up. Pecorino I can only take in small amounts. I can imagine your cousin would not be happy about the half and half, they’re very protective of their recipes. If I took nothing else away from my trips to Italy, I try and respect them and not butcher the language 🙂
Great recipe, as a chef, I can recognize a great recipe, I recommend that everyone try it.
Paul
This Spaghetti Carbonara recipe looks delicious. LOVE all the freshly grated cheese you put on the recipe. Nothing like a good meal enjoyed with long time friends.
I have never made spaghetti carbonara but now I cannot wait to make yours – probably tonight! Looks divine!
Thank you Jen 🙂
Love carbonara Janette and I have now put your recipe on my list to do!
I look this dish but not had it for too long. Makes a fab change from tomato or cheese pasta sauces!
Dear Janette, What a delicious meal. Carbonara is such a treat…a comforting meal. xo, Catherine
Delicious and simple recipes are the perfect comfort foods. Gorgeous photos.
This sounds so good!
This carbonara is just fantastic!! I always love this dish and your recipe sounds perfect 🙂
One of my favorite easy meals! Looks amazing!
So glad you were able so see your friend after so long! Love this carbonara and will be making it soon 🙂
Thank you so much Mira 🙂
Yum.. Inspired me to start making this again. A dish I had forgotten about but love.
I hadn’t made it in a while either, I missed it 🙂
Cabonara is such a great dish, something I normally only order at restaurants. Always loved the version at the Cheesecake Factory. Yours looks even better though; I can’t wait to try it.
So simple. So delicious. So beautiful. Lovely recipe!
One of the best pasta dishes I have tried. Great recipe, easy to follow, highly recommended.
Such a great dish. I like that you shared what a real carbonara pasta is.
This looks so fantastic Janette! I love easy dishes like a carbonara!!! Love the cheesy goodness!
One of my favorite indulgences!! Love your recipe!!
Thank you Tara 🙂