• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Norecipes - Elevating Everyday Meals

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Ingredients
  • Cuisine
  • Type
  • Start Here
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Ingredients
    • Cuisine
    • Type
    • Start Here
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Best

    Updated: Apr 23, 2023 by Marc Matsumoto · 43 Comments

    Spaghetti Carbonara

    With only 5 ingredients, this easy Pasta Carbonara comes together in about as much time as it takes to boil a pot of spaghetti. Egg yolks not only give this pasta a golden yellow hue they create a rich, creamy sauce that's seasoned with nutty Pecorino Romano and Guanciale.
    Recipe Video Pin
    With only 5 ingredients, the trick to a rich creamy Spaghetti Carbonara is in how the ingredients are combined. Learn how to do it with this 10 minute Pasta Carbonara Recipe.

    What is Pasta Carbonara

    Spaghetti alla Carbonara is a relatively modern Roman dish made by tossing hot pasta with Guanciale, and a mixture of eggs, cheese, and black pepper. Adding the hot pasta to the mixture melts the cheese and starts to set the egg, creating a thick creamy sauce that lacquers each strand of spaghetti. The fried guanciale batons add texture and an immense amount of flavor, making Spaghetti Carbonara a dish with an incredibly good effort to taste ratio.

    Although there are many origin stories, Pasta Carbonara is most likely a descendant of Pasta alla Gricia, which is made similarly, minus the eggs. Since the name is derived from the Italian word for "charcoal burner" one theory posits that the dish was first created for blue-collar workers working with charcoal. Whatever its origin, the name Carbonara didn't appear in print until about 70 years ago, which makes this a relatively modern dish by Italian standards.

    Ingredients for Carbonara

    While many American interpretations of this Roman classic include all sorts of ingredients like cream, garlic, and onions, the original dish only contains five ingredients.

    Pasta

    The most common pasta for this Carbonara is Spaghetti, but did you know that this lanky pasta comes in various thicknesses? The thickest variety is called Spaghettoni, and this is what I recommend for making Carbonara as the additional surface area gives the sauce something to cling to. Other suitable alternatives include Bucatini and Linguine.

    Breaking a slow cooked egg over a bowl of Spaghetti Carbonara.

    Eggs

    In a traditional Carbonara recipe, the creamy sauce is made from eggs, not cream. The place where opinions differ is on the ratio of whole eggs to egg yolks. Personally, I like using 1 whole egg to 3 egg yolks. This produces a sauce that's a stunning golden yellow hue that's rich, without being cloying. If you want a lighter sauce, you can use 2 whole eggs and no additional yolks. At the opposite end of the spectrum, using 6 egg yolks, and no egg whites creates an ultra decadent sauce, that's a bit too rich for my tastes.

    Although you add hot pasta to the eggs, the residual heat does not fully cook the eggs, so it's essential to use fresh eggs that you are comfortable eating raw. If you live in an area where the safety of eggs is questionable, I'd recommend looking for pasteurized eggs.

    Finally, I like to top my plates of Carbonara with a slow cooked egg. These delights are made by slowly cooking eggs in their shells at 145.5 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes. The result is a custardy egg with a molten yolk that's the consistency of cold honey.

    Guanciale

    I've gone on about the wonders of Guanciale in my Bucatini all'Amatriciana recipe, so I'll save you from that here, but it's a funky flavorful cured meat made from pork jowls. It can be a bit hard to find, but it's definitely worth the effort.

    Otherwise, you can use pancetta, unsmoked speck, or some other fatty cured pork product, but you should be aware that it's not going to taste quite the same without the Guanciale.

    Because guanciale doesn't render a ton of fat, I add a bit of olive oil to get the browning going. If you're using pancetta or non-Italian guanciale, you may need to drain off some of the excess fat that your pork product releases before tossing in the pasta.

    Cheese

    Pecorino Romano is the traditional choice of cheese for Carbonara, and it's a hard cheese made of sheep's milk that's saltier and more intense than Parmigiano Reggiano. I love the nutty flavor and concentrated umami that Pecorino delivers, but if you can't find it, Parmigiano will work too. If you do end up substituting a more subtle hard cheese, I recommend adding a bit more of it to make up for the milder flavor.

    Black Pepper

    Because all the other ingredients in this pasta are quite rich and earthy, the black pepper acts as a counterpoint, providing both a refreshing fragrance and peppery bite that helps keep the creaminess in check. How much you add is up to you, but I like to add quite a lot into the sauce and then some more on top of each serving. You want to use freshly cracked black pepper as this will give you the best fragrance.

    Simple five ingredient Spaghetti alla Carbonara recipe.

    How to make Pasta Carbonara

    With only a handful of simple ingredients, there's not much to making this Roman classic, but there are a few things you need to get right to make this work. The first thing is that the water you boil the spaghetti in needs to be well salted. I usually add about a tablespoon of salt for every five cups of water.

    Once it comes to a boil, add the pasta and stir it for the first thirty seconds or so to ensure the strands don't stick together. You can make the sauce while the spaghetti is boiling.

    For the Guanciale, I like to chop it into relatively large pieces as this allows me to fry them until they're browned and crisp on the outside, while leaving some of the fat on the inside intact.

    The sauce is simply eggs, cheese, and black pepper whisked together. The ratio of whole eggs to egg yolks will determine the richness of the sauce, so you can adjust this to suit your tastes.

    When the pasta is done boiling, it's important to drain it and toss it with the Guanciale first. This lowers the temperature of both the spaghetti and the meat so that you don't end up with a bowl of spaghetti coated in scrambled eggs. Now you just have to toss the pasta and Guanciale together with the eggs and cheese until each strand of noodle is coated in the heavenly sauce.

    📖 Recipe

    Breaking a slow cooked egg over a bowl of Spaghetti Carbonara.

    Pasta Carbonara (Spaghetti alla Carbonara)

    4.75 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Discuss
    Prep Time 2 minutes mins
    Cook Time 9 minutes mins
    Total Time 11 minutes mins
    Yield 3 servings

    Units

    Ingredients 

    • 220 grams spaghetti
    • 2 teaspoons olive oil
    • 120 grams guanciale (cut into 3/16-inch batons)
    • 1 large egg
    • 3 large egg yolks
    • 30 grams Pecorino Romano (grated)
    • black pepper (to taste)
    • 3 slow cooked eggs (optional)

    Instructions

    • Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil (you want about 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 cups of water).
      Salting pasta water adequately is important.
    • Boil the spaghetti according to the package directions (usually 8-9 minutes).
      Boiling spaghetti for Pasta Carbonara.
    • While the pasta is boiling, saute the guanciale in the olive oil until it's browned on the outside. Remove the pan from the heat.
      Sautéing Guanciale for Spaghetti Carbonara
    • To make the sauce, whisk together 1 whole egg, 3 egg yolks, the grated Pecorino Romano, and black pepper in a large bowl.
      Whisking eggs, cheese and black pepper for Carbonara Sauce.
    • When the pasta is done, drain it and toss it together with the guanciale.
      Tossing spaghetti with Guanciale.
    • Dump the pasta and guanciale into the egg sauce, and quickly toss the spaghetti together with the sauce.
      Tossing Spaghetti alla Carbonara together in a bowl.
    • Plate the pasta, and top with a slow cooked egg along with some extra Pecorino and black pepper.
      Topping Spaghetti Carbonara with a slow cooked egg.
    Recipes in your inboxDon't miss out SIGN UP!

    Nutrition

    Calories 764kcalCarbohydrates 56gProtein 27gFat 46gSaturated Fat 17gCholesterol 471mgSodium 564mgPotassium 268mgFiber 2gSugar 2gVitamin A 625IUCalcium 179mgIron 2.6mg

    More Best

    • Side-view of a bowl of Pasta Pomodoro, showing the depth and layers of spaghetti intertwined with chunks of ripe tomatoes and basil leaves.
      Pomodoro Sauce with Spaghetti
    • Crying Tiger Beef with Nam Jim Jaew Sauce
    • Thick chewy noodles glazed in oyster sauce stir-fried with beef and broccoli.
      Beef Yaki Udon
    • Spicy and savory 15 minute Pork & Kimchi Pasta piled high on a dark plate, the vibrant red of the kimchi and juicy pork belly pops against the creamy strands of spaghetti and vibrant green scallions.
      Kimchi Pasta

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Marc Matsumoto says

      February 11, 2014 at 5:15 am

      You can use tongs to twirl it and get a spiraling tower.

      Reply
    2. Tara says

      February 04, 2019 at 2:07 pm

      Love carbonara! Yours looks absolutely incredible with that slow cooked egg on top and the guanciale. Can't wait to try this.

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        February 04, 2019 at 2:27 pm

        Thanks Tara, I hope you enjoy it! This is probably one of my favorite meals ever.

        Reply
    3. Natalie says

      February 04, 2019 at 2:59 pm

      I love Carbonara! Looks so delicious and comforting ♥

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        February 04, 2019 at 3:11 pm

        Thanks Natalie! It is😊

        Reply
    4. Jori says

      February 04, 2019 at 3:09 pm

      I love carbonara in general, but the addition of the slow-cooked egg takes this to the next level!

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        February 04, 2019 at 3:11 pm

        Thanks Jori! My thoughts exactly😉

        Reply
    5. Ginny says

      February 04, 2019 at 4:07 pm

      Love all of the nice process shots. This has really helped and the spaghetti carbonara looks so good and easy to make. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        February 04, 2019 at 7:46 pm

        Thanks Ginny, I'm glad to hear the process shots where helpful! I think this has to be one of the best bang for buck dishes around.

        Reply
    6. Patty says

      February 04, 2019 at 6:42 pm

      Perfect carbonara recipe, normally I use whole eggs but I'll try with only yolks next time I make it! And by the way, I appreciate that you did not add heavy cream as so many do!

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        February 04, 2019 at 7:47 pm

        Hi Patty, thanks for stopping by! I used to use whole eggs too, but since trying it with more yolks I can't go back😉

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Marc Matsumoto, a retired chef living in Tokyo, and I founded No Recipes to empower home cooks of all levels by sharing essential techniques and my kitchen secrets.

    Start Here →

    Trending Recipes

    • Omurice is a mashup of savory sweet chicken fried rice with a creamy omelette.
      Omurice (オムライス)
    • Crisp juicy fried chicken glazed in a sweet and sour orange sauce that's redolent of fresh citrus thanks to a triple dose of orange.
      Orange Chicken
    • Dipping coconut fried shrimp in a orange chili sauce.
      Crispy Coconut Shrimp
    • Crispy panko chicken tenders served with lemon wedges and lettuce in a basket.
      Panko Chicken Tenders
    • Luxuriously smooth scoop of homemade matcha ice cream.
      Matcha Ice Cream (No-Churn)
    • Edamame

    Trending Categories

    • Fall
    • Japanese (Modern)
    • Japanese (Traditional)
    • Japanese (Chinese)
    • Stir Fry
    • Easy Weeknight

    Footer

    About

    • About
    • Help Me
    • Hire Me
    • Photography
    • FAQs

    Connect

    • Email Updates
    • Contact

    Legal

    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy

    Copyright © 2023 Marc Matsumoto. All rights reserved