The Perfect Recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara
Spaghetti Carbonara is one of my husband’s favorite things to eat. In fact, when we were in Italy he ate it almost every day! It’s creamy and salty and gooey and meaty and comes together fairly quickly. It’s also made of mostly pantry ingredients, so it’s easy to throw together when you’re not sure what to make for dinner. We’ve made a lot of versions over the years, but I think we’ve finally figured out the perfect recipe for spaghetti carbonara.
We like to use pancetta (our grocery store usually has pre-chopped pancetta near the hummus and Boar’s Head sliced meats) but you can also use bacon. I typically throw in some peas too so we can have a vegetable. Asparagus is another tasty option!
The trickiest part of the dish is not scrambling the eggs when you add them to the hot pasta. But if you temper them first and make sure to continuously stir the pasta when you add the eggs, you’ll end up with a creamy sauce instead of chunky scrambled eggs. But honestly, even if the eggs do scramble a little bit, the pasta is still delicious!
What’s your favorite pasta dish?
Pin it!
The Perfect Recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara
- Prep Time: 10m
- Cook Time: 20m
- Total Time: 30m
- Serves: 4 people
- Category: Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces chopped pancetta
- 4 chopped garlic cloves
- 4 large eggs and 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add about a heaping tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil, pancetta, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes or until the meat is crisp and the fat is rendered. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
- While the pancetta is cooking, beat the eggs and egg yolks in a small bowl. Add a good sprinkle of black pepper and the grated cheese.
- After the pancetta is done, turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the burner.
- When the pasta is just about finished, add the frozen peas to the boiling water. Scoop out about a cup of the pasta liquid with a heat-proof mug.
- Temper the eggs by adding just a few splashes (2-4 tablespoons) of the hot cooking liquid into the eggs as you whisk continuously.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the pancetta. While continuously stirring the pasta with tongs, add in the tempered egg mixture. Keep stirring in the warm pan until the egg is cooked but not scrambled, and the cheese is melted. If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit of the reserved pasta water.
- Serve pasta in a large bowl and top with more cheese and more black pepper.
