Our authentic carbonara recipe is rich, indulgent, and surprisingly simple, making it one of our favorite pasta recipes. If you’ve never tried making your own carbonara at home, this is the perfect recipe for you. Our carbonara is made with just four ingredients–pasta, guanciale, eggs, and Pecorino Romano cheese. The result is so rich and creamy that you’d never guess there’s no cream in the entire recipe!
Egg yolks add extra richness that is cooked by the heat of the pasta, creating an authentic Italian sauce with no cream needed. And while it’s traditionally made with guanciale and Pecorino Romano, you can always substitute them with more readily available options if needed.
This recipe takes just 20 minutes from start to finish, leaving you plenty of time to try homemade pasta (or keep it simple with dried spaghetti noodles!). With a simple side salad and a loaf of crusty garlic bread, you’ll have an authentic Italian dish that rivals any restaurant, any night of the week!
What is Carbonara?
Carbonara is a classic Italian recipe that holds a spot as one of the four classic Roman pasta dishes, along with amatriciana, cacio e pepe, and alla Gricia.
Carbonara combines hot al dente spaghetti pasta with raw eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, and a splash of hot pasta water to create a luscious sauce, coating every noodle. It’s then tossed with diced guanciale for a burst of salty, savory flavor.
How to Make Carbonara
Ingredients
Process
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add pasta, season well with salt and stir. Cook pasta until al dente, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
- Place diced guanciale in a cold pan and place over medium heat. As the fat begins to render, stir bits around until evenly browned and cooked.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the guanciale, reserving the grease.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, egg yolks, grated cheese, and a generous pinch of black pepper until it is fully combined.
- Whisk together.
- Place pan with grease over medium-high heat and add pasta. Toss to evenly coat.
- Remove pasta from heat and pour cheesy mixture over pasta and toss together until fully incorporated and sauce begins to form and thicken with the residual heat, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons of pasta water at a time, only as needed, to make the sauce more fluid.
- Toss guanciale into pasta until evenly incorporated.
- Divide pasta between bowls and top each serving with more freshly ground black pepper and freshly grated Pecorino Romano.
What is Guanciale?
Guanciale is a cured meat made from pork cheek. It’s typically heavily seasoned with herbs and salt, then cured for a savory, salty, incredibly flavorful addition to pasta. You’ll find guanciale used in many traditional Italian recipes.
What if I can’t find Guanciale for Carbonara?
While Guanciale is popular in European countries, it may not be as readily available in local stores, depending on where you live. The rich, savory, and nutty undertones of guanciale are similar to pancetta or bacon, so you can substitute with either of those if you need to.
If you’re able to get your hands on guanciale, though, we recommend giving it a try. It’s typically cured with herbs like sage, garlic, and rosemary, giving it a really robust and unique flavor that you don’t necessarily get with pancetta or bacon, as those cuts of pork are typically only cured with salt.
Tips and Tricks for Success
- Don’t overcook the pasta! You want your pasta to be al dente with a little bit of bite that will absorb the sauce. Overcooked pasta may become mushy when it absorbs the sauce.
- Make sure you reserve some of the pasta water to help thin out the sauce. It’s easy to get moving and forget this step, so keep a cup handy to grab some water before you strain the pasta.
- Serve immediately in a warm bowl to help the pasta sauce stay creamy as you enjoy your meal. As the carbonara sits, the sauce may begin to thicken and lose some of its silky texture.
- If the sauce seems too thick, just keep adding pasta water a spoonful at a time and continue to toss the noodles in the sauce.
What to Serve with Carbonara Pasta?
For a complete meal indulgent enough for a weekend but easy enough for any night of the week, serve this carbonara recipe with a simple side:
More Delicious Pasta Recipes You Will Love
Carbonara Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 6 ounces guanciale diced (lardons)
- 2.5 ounces grated pecorino romano
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add pasta, season well with salt and stir. Cook pasta until al dente, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
- Place diced guanciale in a cold pan and place over medium heat. As the fat begins to render, stir bits around until evenly browned and cooked.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove guanciale, reserving the grease.
- In a small mixing bowl combine eggs, egg yolks, grated cheese, and a generous pinch of black pepper until fully combined.
- Whisk together.
- Place pan with grease over medium-high heat and add pasta. Toss to evenly coat.
- Remove pasta from heat and pour cheesy mixture over pasta and toss together until fully incorporated and sauce begins to form and thicken with the residual heat, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1-2tablespoons pasta water at a time, only as needed, to make the sauce more fluid.
- Toss guanciale into pasta until evenly incorporated.
- Divide pasta between bowls and top each serving with more freshly ground black pepper and freshly grated Pecorino Romano.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
tag @SpoonForkBacon and #SpoonForkBacon on Instagram
This recipe is so incredibly foolproof, it comes out amazing every👏🏼time.
I love this!!!
I saw the recipe yesterday morning and, since I had the day off, I made it for lunch. I used thick cut bacon, as my grocery store was out of pancetta. Also, I added peas. I don’t know why, but I think carbonara should have peas in it. It was so fantastic!!
What can I use instead of Pancetta? I eat halal food. But I love all your recipes and everything I did try out was just perfect. Can you tell me what would substitute best ?
You can use either turkey bacon for the smokey flavor, but I really like using something called ‘beef fry’ as a sub. (It’s the Midwest in me!) It’s kind of like beef bacon …flavorful and fatty. Good luck!
Made this last night after a long day of work. It was super easy to assemble, with almost no prep work. It took me about 30 minutes from start to finish, so it’s perfect for busy nights. And it was very tasty. Definitely a keeper.
Made this tonight. The only 2 things I subbed were bacon and I used just an egg yolk.
Delicious! Thank you!
I hope that juice cleanse isn’t killing you! I can only imagine how painful it was to put up this post…a good pasta carbonara is pure euphoria.
Good luck with the cleanse!!
All your pictures always look so yummy! Want. to. eat.
This looks amazing!
I’ve been eyeing the Blueprint Cleanse, but am afraid I will pass out while I’m with my kids. Which one are you doing and for how long? Good luck!
Hi Amy! We’re doing the 3 day cleanse through “Pressed Juicery”. I like it a lot and am not as hungry as I thought I’d be (juices are tasty too). Energy level is definitely a bit low, but I was expecting that. I do miss the feeling of chewing though :)
I saw the recipe yesterday morning and, since I had the day off, I made it for lunch. I used thick cut bacon, as my grocery store was out of pancetta. Also, I added peas. I don’t know why, but I think carbonara should have peas in it. It was so fantastic!!
Looks great! And as for posting something you can’t eat because of your cleanse….I get it. It really is ironic. When I’m trying to drop a few pounds I always find myself baking or cooking something I can’t have…it’s cathartic in a weird sort of way.
This is one of my favorite pasta dish to eat. Mmm!
What cleanse are you doing? Maybe you can post some of those recipes?
I am SOOOOOO making this recipe next week. Everyone’s allowed a “fat pants” recipe once a week or so right? Talk about total comfort food.
So yummmy. Totally indulgent, but utterly worth it.
I never tire of carbonara! I try not to make it all that often due to the high fat content but when I do cook it I enjoy it thoroughly. Your recipe sounds amazing!
Oh GEEZ. You guys are braveroo. Good luck!
I’ll be shoving this into my head hole in the meantime, thank ya very much.
My boyfriend’s done the 12-day Master Cleanse 4 times. I tried to do it once and quit the first day!
I’ve done two cleanses – a 3 day and a 2 day cleanse. My first cleanse was so freakin’ easy and comfortable. I’m a fat girl at heart and I had all the same worries as you.
The 2nd cleanse wasn’t as easy, which is why I cut it 1 day short. The major reason being that the weather was COLD and the last thing I wanted to do was drink a cold juice. Nevertheless, when the it’s consistently warm in these parts, I’ll be cleansing again!
Yummmmmmmmm!
My husband and I did a juice fast for 37 days, just look into which veg has enough protien and juice those :) you’ll do great!
OMG this looks decadent and delicious. I’m a sucker for a good carbonara!
Good luck with the cleanse! Pick up an extra almond milk – it really helps you get through it.
xoxo,
mon amy
That’s what everyone is saying…that the almond milk is what really gets you through it! Thanks!
A juice cleanse is way easier to get through if you also consume some of the vegetable pulp (that’s where most of the protein is!!). It’ll help your mind from feeling too spacey and it’ll also keep your digestive system producing the enzymes you need to digest food: the body starts to shut down production of these during a normal juice cleanse, which means getting back on normal food can be an uncomfortable transition. Also helps with the cleansing of the, ahem, “rear” as well, ifyouknowwhatImean. ;-)
I made this tonight – before I saw your post. A family staple. Disagree with you about the cream and basil but it does look very lovely as always :)
Best of luck with the cleanse!
And I LOVE the bowl that the pasta is in. It almost looks like the blue is sort of “over-layed” on top…where did you find it?
You always make me so hungry. This looks amazing!