Spaghetti carbonara is creamy, delicious, and incredibly easy! Spaghetti alla carbonara combines crispy pancetta, parmesan cheese, and a creamy sauce made from simple ingredients you likely have on hand.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Creamy and cheesy with crispy, savory pancetta in every bite.
- Budget Tip: To keep costs down, swap pancetta for bacon or try Pecorino Romano in place of Parmesan.
- Swaps: Fettuccine, linguine, or angel hair pasta can be used instead of spaghetti.
- Serving Suggestions: Top with fresh parsley and extra cheese, and serve with a Caesar salad and garlic bread for an easy weeknight meal.
Pantry Staple Ingredients
- Meat: In Italy, carbonara is made with guanciale (cured pork cheek), but since it’s hard to find, I use pancetta for that smoky, salty flavor. Swap it for bacon if that’s what you have.
- Cheese: Classic carbonara uses Pecorino Romano, but I use Parmesan since I always have it on hand.
- Eggs: Eggs make the sauce rich and creamy (without cream!). Make sure they are at room temperature to combine smoothly.
- Pasta: Any long pasta, like bucatina or linguine, works well in this recipe; I use spaghetti for a classic carbonara.
More Italian Inspired Favorites
Did you enjoy this Spaghetti Carbonara? Leave a rating or comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 6 slices pancetta or guanciale or bacon, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese or pecarino ramano
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, parmesan cheese, and black pepper. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, cook pancetta over medium heat until crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain well but do not rinse.
- Add the hot drained pasta to the skillet with the garlic, and toss to coat.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and pour in the egg mixture, mixing well with tongs. If needed, add reserved pasta water to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
- Add the pancetta and toss to combine. Season with additional salt to taste.
- Serve hot, garnished with parsley or additional parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- This dish comes together fast. Prepare all ingredients before beginning.
- Cook the pasta until it is ‘al dente’ or firm.
- Do not rinse the pasta, the starch helps the sauce cling.
- Add a bit of pasta water if needed to create a creamy consistency.
- Carbonara will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Because of the creamy sauce it is not recommended to freeze.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 441 | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 400mg | Potassium: 250mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 270IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 230mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Made this for the family and they loved it… I found it a bit bland? I used pancetta and I think I should have cut it a little smaller – more sliced, and I overcooked it so it was chewy…. But as I say to me it was bland even though I followed the instructions to a tee but they loved it so there you go! Must just be me over thinking my cooking!
Going to try this tonight, it looks amazing! Whenever I look up a recipe, I look to see if there is one from this page, because they usually fit my budget and have substitution suggestions. Thanks for many nights of yum!
I deleted all the other carbonara recipes out of my Pinterest so I would know which one is my “tried and true” recipe! I have made this at least 10 times now, and it always comes out great. Perfect for when you want something delicious, but don’t have all night to cook!
Thank you for sharing Deen! Makes my day!
I tried your recipe tonight. My family loved it. I didn’t have bacon or pancetta so I used some beef sausage. I know the flavor would have popped a little more with the pork, but it was still very good. Only thing I might tweak a little is the eggs. It was creamy, but not quite the consistency I was hoping for. I plan on adding an extra egg yolk next time. Again, it was delicious so that’s all about my preference. Great recipe!
That sounds like a great idea to try too Travis. So glad you love this carbonara!
Just made this for a quick dinner with the following substitutions, regular bacon, roasted garlic pepper, sautéed diced onions, extra clove of garlic and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Topped with fresh Italian parsley. My son loved it.
Lacked flavor after using double the garlic.
Oh, I’m surprised to hear that Kristen. Thank you for trying the recipe!
Quick and delicious! Subbed in bacon and Asiago cheese, big hit!
This was excellent!! I’m in Mexico and can’t always find certain ingredients so I substituted bacon for pancetta and added sliced mushrooms and used tagliatelle pasta because that’s what as in my pantry. It was very very good! I’ll definitely be making it again and again.
Sounds delicious Mickey!
Was wondering if I could use dried beef instead of the pancetta?
I’ve only tried this as written so I can’t say for sure how it would work. Let us know how it goes!
I really enjoyed this recipe. It was very quick and simple to put together. I’ve always loved carbonara but many restaurants use cream. I’m lactose intolerant and so this recipe was perfect for me. I did substitute 1 pound of riced cauliflower for the pasta as I’m trying to reduce carbs. The flavors were wonderful. I had sliced mushrooms that I threw in when I cooked the garlic. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your substitutions Stacey! We love this carbonara too!
Is using Parmesan Reggiano “overkill” for this recipe?
Your recipe calls for shredded parm; can grated be used just as well or does that muck up the dish?
Parmigiano Reggiano can certainly be used in this recipe.
I have only tried this with freshly shredded so I can’t say for sure how grated would work. If you grate the cheese yourself I think it would be ok but pre-grated often has additives to keep it from sticking which can affect how it melts.
I have never made nor have I tasted carbonara before. I used bacon. This was absolutely delicious. Hubby loved it too. I will definitely be making this again! Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.
So happy to hear that you both love this spaghetti carbonara Cathy!
Delicious and unbelievably simple! I served with asparagus for an easy weeknight meal.
This was delicious! I followed the recipe and AMAZING! It turned out great! My son says it’s his new favorite meal and he wants it every week! (That’s high praise coming from an 11 yr old!). It was super easy. I had been worried adding the eggs, but it turned out perfectly! I may add chicken or shrimp next time. We paired it with a spinach/ cranberry/goat cheese/ pecan salad and some artisan bread. I’d add a glass of wine next time too.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes!
Can someone please tell me how much grams of spaghetti instead of pounds plz an Thanku
1 pound is 454 grams. Enjoy Sharon!
In the future, search the Internet for a pounds-to-grams conversion web site, then enter the number of pounds to get the equivalent number of grams. Simple and fast.
Like to save money….more over I like recipes from back in the day; Thanks ya all!
I changed it slightly due to ingredients I had on hand and it was still amazing!!!
Thanks for this great recipe. I’ve made it twice now and it was delicious both times. I used bacon and grated parmesan from the store because both were handy. I’m sure it would taste even better with some better quality cheese.
As others have said, the pasta is a little dry with just the three eggs. I used leftover pasta water to moisten it the first time, but I used milk last night and I think I prefer that method. The milk makes it nice and creamy. Half and half would probably work well, too.
Again, thanks, I’m really enjoying your recipes!
Love carbonara!!! Thanks for sharing!!
One of our favorites! We just use bacon instead of pancetta because we usually have bacon on hand but it’s great! Quick, easy and everyone loves it plus it makes great leftovers!