30-Minute Pasta Carbonara Recipe
Delicious pasta carbonara made with bacon, your fav pasta shape, plenty of pecorino or parmesan for a creamy sauce, and peas. You'll love this easy, 30-minute pasta carbonara for date night and weeknight dinners!
Servings 4 servings
Calories 435cal
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano or grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 8 ounces bacon (or sub turkey bacon)
- 10 to 12 ounces bucatini, spaghetti or fusilli col buco, feel free to use gluten free or whole grain pasta if desired
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- Lots of freshly ground black pepper
- 1-1 ½ cups frozen peas, thawed (add more peas if you like them!)
- Freshly ground salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Add eggs, parmesan cheese, salt and garlic powder to a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
- Place bacon in a single layer in large skillet and place over medium heat, cook bacon on both sides until golden brown. If the pan starts to smoke at any point, simply lower the heat.
- Once bacon is done, transfer to a cutting board and blot with a paper towel to absorb excess grease, then chop into bite sized pieces and set aside. If you used regular bacon, drain bacon grease from pan, leaving only about a tablespoon of grease in the pan. You’ll be using this pan for the pasta so remove it from the heat and the hot burner and set on aside on the stovetop.
- While the bacon is cooking, place a large pot of water over high heat and add in a generous amount of salt. Once the water boils, stir in the pasta and cook until al dente.
- Once pasta is done cooking, reserve 1 cup of pasta water and set aside, then drain remaining pasta in a colander. IMMEDIATELY transfer pasta to the pan you cooked the bacon in; the pan might still be warm but it should not be over any direct heat.
- Slowly stir in the egg and parmesan mixture and use tongs to coat the pasta with the mixture. The warmth of the pasta will help cook the eggs and make them nice and creamy to coat the pasta. The eggs should not be curdled or chunky. Add in about 1/3 cup reserved pasta water, plus more as necessary to make the sauce creamier.
- Add in LOTS of freshly ground black pepper, the chopped bacon and thawed peas. Stir again to coat. Taste and add more salt and pepper, as necessary. Enjoy! Serves 4. Garnish with parm and dig in!
Notes
If you want to use spinach instead of peas, I recommend cooking 4-6 cups of spinach in a skillet with a little olive oil until it's completely wilted. You can do this after you cook the bacon, or you can do this before you start the recipe.
See the full post for tips, tricks & ways to customize your carbonara!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (based on 4) | Calories: 435cal | Carbohydrates: 58.2g | Protein: 30.9g | Fat: 10.1g | Saturated Fat: 2.9g | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3.1g