Name: Easy Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: PT-466480H23M59S
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Pasta
Ingredients: 1/2 pound dried spaghetti; 4 slices bacon, chopped; 3/4 cup onion, diced; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded; 2 eggs; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; Parsley, chopped, for garnish

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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!

ingredients of spaghetti carbonara: cheese, chopped onion, eggs, bacon

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

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★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

This delicious easy spaghetti carbonara recipe brings the authentic flavors of Italy to your own dining room. Yum!

Author: Laura Fuentes
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 18-20 minutes
Yield: 6
Category: Dinner
Cuisine: Pasta

Ingredients

½ pound dried spaghetti
4 slices bacon, chopped
¾ cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, 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.