Simple Spaghetti Carbonara
Carbonara consists of only a few key ingredients.
Eggs.
Bacon.
And CHEESE.
Oh and don’t forget the pasta! Carbonara {heavy on the carb if-ya-know-what-I-mean} is most definitely the easiest pasta sauce you could ever make and NOT screw up. Just simply whisk up a few eggs, lots of cheese and even more black pepper toss it with crispy bacon and the steaming hot spaghetti noodles and bingo-bango you’ve got dinner.
I’m blessed to have the hook up on eggs {Hi Keith!}. I get farm fresh eggs for two dollars a dozen, a total steal {forget that part okay Keith?}! So if you can get your mitts on fresh eggs then I HIGHLY recommend using them here. The eggs are what gives this pasta its golden sheen… and the more organic and fresher the egg, the deeper the color of the yolk.
I’ll let you in on a little secret… farm eggs are even more tastier than store bought! True story.
First things first… bring a LARGE pot of water to boil.
Then move on to the prep work. I always start by placing my eggs in a bowl of semi warm water while I cook the bacon. It helps bring the eggs up to room temp so they aren’t in total shock when the hot pasta hits them.
Next cube up some slab bacon. Pancetta would also work nice here too if you can get your hands on some.
Cook it up until it’s crispy. You may need to taste test a few just to be sure *wink-wink*.
Then just transfer them over to a paper towel lined plate to drain off any extra bacon fat.
Now season the boiling water with about a tablespoon of sea salt and drop the pasta right on in, be sure to stir every so often so the pasta doesn’t stick to itself. You only have about 9-10 minutes… so get moving!
For the saucy-sauce; crack four eggs into a large serving bowl.
Then beat them senseless.
Grate up about a half cup of both Parmesan and Romano cheese. Yooooou might want to taste test this as well… for culinary purposes, naturally.
Add the cheese to the bowl of whisked eggs.
Mix and season generously with fresh black pepper.
When the time is up, drain the pasta {reserve a cup of pasta water if you need to revive the sauce} and add the spaghetti directly into the bowl with the eggs.
Quickly toss… then add in the bacon… and toss some more. The heat from the noodles gradually cooks the eggs {and melt the cheese} without scrambling them, leaving you with insta-sauce.
Serve it up with a little bit more black pepper, a sprinkle of Parmesan and fresh torn parsley, if that’s your thang.
Not only is this pasta dish super-duper easy that your five-year-old can make it… but it’s also super elegant and scrumptious and beautiful and, well you get the picture.
Simple Spaghetti Carbonara
Easy, elegant and scrumptious!
Yield: 6 servings {give or take}
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 9-10
Total Time: 35-45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound Spaghetti Noodles
1 tablespoon Sea Salt, for pasta water
8 ounces Slab Bacon
4 whole large Eggs {farm fresh preferred!}
1/2 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Freshly Grated Romano Cheese
Black Pepper
Fresh Parsley, torn for garnish
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil.
Place eggs in a bowl with warm water to bring the eggs up to room temperature.
Cube up the bacon. Add the bacon into a large skillet and cook over medium heat until crispy. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.
Add a tablespoon of sea salt to the boiling water and add in the dried pasta. Cook accordingly to package directions {about 9-10 minutes}
Meanwhile; crack the eggs into a large {deep} serving bowl and whisk. Add grated cheese and plenty of fresh ground black pepper, stir.
Once pasta is cooked, drain {reserve 1 cup of pasta water in case you need to revive the sauce} and add drained pasta to the bowl. Toss thoroughly to cook the egg and melt the cheese.
Add in the bacon and toss some more. Serve and top with more black pepper, a sprinkle of grated Parmesan and with fresh torn parsley leaves.
Enjoy!
Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
Yep. I love carbonara. Did you know how the dish got it’s name? It’s nickname is coal miners’ pasta because all the ingredients in their dried form could be taken for a quick meal without having to come out of the coal mine, with the black pepper representing specs of coal on their pasta.
simplyscratch replied: — August 24th, 2012 @ 6:52 pm
I did!
When I want a simple go-to recipe, I literally can always turn to you Laurie. I love carbonara… and I’m not even a big fan of pasta altogether! (weird, I know!) Love this dish and your photos.
A classic dish I’ve never tried because I am not really a huge pasta person! (Gasp! I knowwww!) However, I’ve been craving it lately- this looks wonderful.
simplyscratch replied: — August 24th, 2012 @ 7:07 pm
Thanks Liz
and I swear make it once and you’ll be sucked in for life!
this is gorgeous! Great recipe!
I am a carb addict…this looks perfect
I love classic comfort food like this!
simplyscratch replied: — August 24th, 2012 @ 7:07 pm
Thanks… me too Anna!
How crazy is it that I *only* made carbonara for the first time last year?!?!?!! Needless to say, I feel madly in love with it!! One of my favorite past go-to’s….so delicious!
Totally jealous of your awesome fresh egg hook up
When you say things like “eggs bacon and cheese” it makes me wish it were dinner time so that I could slurp up a bowl of this pasta. Looks fantastic!
What type of ingredients did you say? Oh, only the best kind!
simplyscratch replied: — August 24th, 2012 @ 7:12 pm
Amen sista!
I’m not a big fan of carbonara for some odd reason even though I love bacon. Your recipe looks so simply and the pictures make the dish look so delicious. Maybe I’ll follow your recipe and give carbonara another shot.
drooling. like, the most amount i can drool and not make a total fool of myself.
that may be TMI…oh well
seriously though i want some carbonara!
Thanks, Laurie!! My hubby & I visited Rome this spring and this is ALL he ate that whole week! Your recipe is the easiest, most simple version I have seen and I can’t wait to make it! xo Gwen
your contact form doens’t work so i’m just going to post here…how come you use so much dairy in everything you cook? I really not a big fan of dairy (cheese, milk, yogurt, buttermilk). Can you cook with less dairy?
those 3 ingredients scream my name!! and this has got “julie” all over it. i promise i’ll share
One of my favorite pasta dishes!
My favorite pasta dishes are the ones with the simplest ingredients. This is comfort in a bowl!
You can never go wrong with bacon and cheese in my book! My Hubby would really appreciate this dish made from scratch. Thanks, Laurie!
I haven’t made carbonara in too long – looks perfect!
This very-well might be dinner tonight. Few groceries in the house due to travel but I think I could whip this up with ease. Looks amazing!
Oh, this is a perfect go-to meal for busy weeknights!
I’m not sure why the “website URL” box is so large, it leads me to believe this is where my comment should go.
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I have a Guinna Pig to try this on
Okay your comment section is listed as such
Leave a Comment: This is in blue
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simplyscratch replied: — August 29th, 2012 @ 4:18 pm
Thanks for the heads up… I believe it’s fixed now
Testing…I hope you can delete these posts later. It still looks like there is an error. :-/ If there is anything I can do to help without posting further, I’ll oblige.
it looks perfect !
The ingredients are right, but the preparation is wrong. I am an Italian chef working and living in Italy and the pasta should actually first be tossed in the pan with the bacon, which shouldn’t be removed, and then the egg mix should be added into the pan and cooked for a minute while being continuously mixed with the pasta. Another ingredient used here in Italy is chopped onion which is fried with the onion. You shouldn’t be only mixing the egg with the heat of the pasta. Also, you must not add any water to this.
This looks great, and seems so easy! Will be giving it a try this week.