September 30, 2018
updated
All the articles & recipes on this website have been created through real-life testing and experience (no ai) since 2010.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
I had the best Spaghetti Carbonara in Rome when I was pregnant with my first child. For years, I’ve wanted to make my own but didn’t know how. Until, I played around a little and made my own easy Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe. Now, it’s one I regularly make for my family.
Spaghetti Carbonara
I still remember the Italian waiter bringing the fragrant bowl of pasta to the table. While there are not a lot of spices in the dish, the toasted bacon flavor is one I love smelling every time I am cooking it. I mean really, everything is better with bacon, right?
I didn’t make this dish for years because I thought to make it was complicated. It sounded fancy until I made it. And, if you’ve never made Spaghetti Carbonara before, you’ll love this quick video. Once you see that the only thing fancy thing is the name of the dish, not the ingredients or the method for this recipe, I’m hopeful that you’ll be inspired to make it.
This recipe works great with traditional pasta, whole-wheat, and even gluten-free pasta –and making it work for any dietary need is a bonus in any household. You can use regular bacon or turkey bacon for this recipe, just make sure you cook it crunchy, so it provides that crispy texture in each bite everyone will love. This pasta recipe is one of those dinner ideas my family can’t live without!
Easy Carbonara
Besides boiling the pasta, which you can make ahead of time and store it in the fridge along with the pasta water inside a jar, the entire recipe comes together inside one of my favorite kitchen tools: a large skillet. You know what else is great inside a skillet? My skillet lasagna recipe. That’s another mid-week meal that comes to the rescue inside my handy skillet.
For weeks like this one, where I just returned from Spain a couple of days prior and barely had time to create a meal plan for the week or shop for food before my next trip (I’m writing this from New York in between work events), having easy recipes that come to the rescue with kitchen staples are a must! Bonus: this dish makes a terrific thermos lunch. Win-win!
I hope you enjoy this recipe in your kitchen as much as I loved sharing it with you today.
Easy Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ pound dried spaghetti
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- ¾ cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot, over medium-high heat, bring water to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook pasta, until al dente. When pasta is ready; reserve ½ cup of pasta water, drain pasta, and set aside.
- In a large skillet, saute bacon over medium-heat high.
- When bacon is browned and just beginning to crisp, add garlic and onion. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until bacon is brown and crisp and onions are translucent.
- In a separate dish, whisk together eggs, parmesan, pepper and set aside.
- Turn heat to low and add the drained pasta to the onion, garlic, and bacon in the skillet. Mix pasta and cooked bacon and pour egg mixture over pasta.
- Working quickly, use tongs to toss and combine pasta with egg, bacon, and onions. If pasta is too dry, add a tablespoon of reserved pasta water at a time, until a creamy consistency is reached. This will create the carbonara sauce.
- Garnish with parsley, black pepper, and additional parmesan cheese.
CR Adams
The best. Always my go to recipe!
Sandy
I felt so fancy making this carbonara, and it was so easy!
Louise
Is this recipe safe to eat for pregnant women?
Laura Fuentes
Hi Louise, I would say the eggs are cooked enough so that it’s safe, but please use your own discretion or consult with your healthcare professional.
Kay
I thought carbonara was only made using
the yolks? Is it actually the entire egg?
Laura Fuentes
I use the entire egg in my recipe and it comes out perfect every time.
Good Bitee - Homemade Food
This is a near perfect and flawless recipe for the classic Spaghetti alla Carbonara. And even it it wasn’t, who cares? It’s darn good, which is really the only thing that matters. Traditionally this is made with pancetta (an Italian style bacon) but I actually prefer it this way, with regular ol’ bacon! Just one suggestion–to ensure a creamy, silky sauce, mix the cheese and beaten eggs together before stirring into the pasta, off heat. Really nothing else to fiddle with or change here, because this is just delicious stuff!
KL Hickman
This looks great! Would there be something that could be used instead of the eggs, in the case of a food intolerance?? Thanks! 🙂
cats
How do I make this ahead of time ?
Laura Fuentes
the only thing that can be made ahead of time is pre-boiling the pasta. doing that, will cut the time of your dish to about 7 minutes total!
Matt Robinson
Love how easy this is to make, it looks absolutely incredible. Your site looks awesome too:)
Laura Fuentes
Thanks Matt!
cheri
I love how fast this recipe is to prepare, looks amazing!