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Pasta Carbonara

  • Prep Time: 10 m
  • Cook Time: 18 m
  • Total Time: 28 m
  • Servings:
    4

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried spaghetti or pasta
  • olive oil
  • 8 ounces pancetta or bacon
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • ½ cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese about 1 ounce
  • ½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese about 1 ounce
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • lots of freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Bring a pasta pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the water and cook to al dente.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, pre-heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and cook the pancetta or bacon until the fat has been rendered out and the pancetta or bacon is almost crispy – about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain off all but about 3 tablespoons of bacon fat and remove the pan from the heat.
  3. Beat the eggs with the cheeses in a large bowl.
  4. Just before the pasta is al dente, remove a cup of the hot pasta water from the pot. Whisk ½ cup of this hot liquid into the egg and cheese mixture, reserving the remaining ½ cup of pasta water.
  5. Drain the pasta and immediately transfer the pasta to the skillet with the bacon. Toss to coat all the pasta with the bacon fat. Stirring constantly, pour the egg and cheese mixture into the hot pasta. Stir well and add the parsley and the freshly ground black pepper. Use the residual pasta water to thin the pasta sauce to the desired consistency and serve immediately.
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Comments (13)Post a Reply

  1. I can’t vacation without my pressure cooker (6 qt cooks essential). All these in one way or another would work great. Burger, elbow pasta, jar of spag sauce, salad, fresh bread. Who could ask for more. Oh, buffalo mac n cheese we make for family when we vacation with them.

  2. 5 stars
    Thank you for the Carbonara recipe. Made this 30 yrs ago and couldn’t quite remember how I did it. Perfect recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    Just made this afternoon for a quick lunch. Fantastic recipe will keep this in my rotation for sure! I used regular bacon. Very easy to make and fast :). Served with bread. The boys loved it!!!

  4. Never had made before. This was easy and delicious. Substituted cheeses I had because high risk for Covid19 prevents me from shopping and picking the cheeses I normally have on hand. Still yummy!

  5. 5 stars
    Taught my 20 year old son how to make this last night while we watched your video step by step on my laptop. He loved it!! Served it for dinner last night and everyone was moaning..”Mmm…this is so good…you have to make this more often.” Thank you Meredith!

  6. It was perfect! The pasta water is the secret! No gluggy Carbonara! I did the bacon in my air fryer. Took out the basket and tossed everything in the base of the air fryer. Just perfect!

  7. 5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight, was thinking I would have leftovers. Not ❣️Was really good, will be making again. Thank you for recipe♥️,

  8. 4 stars
    4.5 stars. I will make it again, but this really has too much bacon in it for me. I would cut in half next time. Otherwise, the flavor was wonderful. Meredith, you are amazing! Great food and teaching in the process.

  9. Made this for dinner tonight with leftovers for another dinner it was great. 5 stars
    Wish I knew hoe to get my picture here. But oh well. It was great. We enjoyed. Definitely make again

  10. 5 stars
    This is “The One”. I spent a few days looking for the right carbonara recipe. I tried making this years ago and ended up with scrambled eggs. I decided to try again and knew by reading your recipe that this was it. The method of adding some pasta water into the egg cheese mixture is the difference between success and scrambled eggs. Some recipes don’t call for this step and for me this made all the difference. I halved the ingredients to serve 2 people. I’ve enjoyed watching you on QVC and really like your blog. Thanks for sharing the perfect method for this dish. Try this one, you won’t be disappointed!

  11. 5 stars
    Thank you for this delicious recipe. The directions were easy and was prepared quickly. I am definitely saving this recipe.

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