How to make the most delicious Spaghetti alla Carbonara. This authentic recipe is made with just 5 simple ingredients; pasta, guanciale, eggs, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper. Our recipe will guide you through the do's and don'ts to make a Carbonara just as they do in Rome. Buon Appetito!
Carbonara is one of four famous Roman dishes the other three being; Cacio e Pepe, Pasta alla Gricia and Amatriciana.
It's a recipe that's famous worldwide yet a true carbonara can be hard to find outside of Italy and here's why...
- The addition of cream - Cream is the main offender. There is absolutely no cream in an authentic carbonara recipe and once you've tasted the real thing you'll know why. It's so rich and creamy as it is, adding cream dilutes the flavour and makes it unnecessarily claggy and heavy.
- Using bacon - using bacon instead of guanciale is another reason for a poor tasting carbonara because it doesn't have nearly as much fat and beautiful flavour as guanciale does giving you a sauce that's lacking in flavour.
- Other unnecessary additions - an authentic carbonara is made with just pasta, guanciale, eggs, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper, that's it! Some recipes add onions, garlic and herbs which completley changes the flavour.
Now that you know the main things to avoid, let's talk about the ingredients that you actually need, the ingredients are few but should be high quality for an excellent tasting carbonara...
See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below
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Ingredients - what you need!
- Spaghetti - if you don't have spaghetti you can use whatever pasta you have on hand, Rigatoni or Mezze Maniche are good options.
- Guanciale - Guanciale is cured Italian pork jowl (cheek) whereas more commonly found pancetta, is cured pork belly. It's unbelievably delicious and has a stronger flavour than pancetta. It's also very fatty but that's where all the beautiful flavour is (the fat is crucial). It's sold in whole pieces or slices and you should be able to find it in most Italian speciality food stores just make sure you get a thick enough piece to cut it into ¼ inch (½ cm) thick cubes or strips. You need guanciale to truly experience authentic spaghetti alla carbonara but good quality pancetta can also be used just make sure it has plenty of fat and cut it in the same way as mentioned above.
- Eggs - some recipes use whole eggs and some use just the yolk which makes it richer. If you want to use yolks only follow the sauce in our Gnocchi Carbonara recipe.
- Pecorino Romano DOP - made from sheep milk it's tangy, salty and delicious and it's another key ingredient to make the traditional dish. If it's not easy to find though, Parmigiano Reggiano can be used instead (or a mixture of both).
- Black Pepper - freshly ground tastes best.
Step by step recipe photos and instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti, cook until al dente (around 7 minutes) (photo 1).
Meanwhile, add the guanciale to a hot skillet and fry until brown and crispy then turn off the heat (do not drain the fat) (photo 2-4).
While the guanciale is frying add the eggs, pecorino and pepper to a bowl, whisk until well combined (photo 5).
Once the pasta is ready, remove it with kitchen tongs to the skillet with the guanciale and toss so it's well combined in the fat (photo 6).
Next, add the egg mixture whilst tossing the pasta to ensure the eggs don't scramble. Once the sauce turns glossy and creamy it's ready, add extra pecorino and pepper to serve (photo 7 & 8).
How to stop the eggs from scrambling
Don't be afraid of making carbonara it's not nearly as hard or tricky as you think.
The key is to take the skillet off of the heat about 1-2 minutes before adding the pasta.
You need to make sure the skillet isn't burning hot!
You also need to make sure that when you add the egg mixture to the spaghetti that you are constantly mixing everything together so the eggs don't scramble from the heat of the pasta.
The end result should be creamy and glossy as the eggs cook through the residual heat without scrambling.
Top tips for making the best Carbonara
- Trim the guanciale - make sure to trim the thick skin layer off of the guanciale before chopping it up as it's tough and inedible, you'll also see this on blocks of pancetta if using.
- Make sure your pan isn't too hot - Make sure the skillet or frying pan isn't super hot by turning it off a few minutes before adding the egg mixture. If the skillet is too hot the eggs will scramble!
- Don't add salt to the sauce - guanciale is cured and tends to be very salty (taste a piece once it's browned) as is Pecorino Romano so you don't often need to add salt to the sauce. Adding salt to pasta water, however, is a must!
- No Spaghetti? You can use any pasta you have on hand such as rigatoni. We've even made it with gnocchi and it's so delicious.
- Reserve pasta water! - If you are draining the pasta rather than removing it with tongs (try not to do this) make sure to reserve ¼ cup of pasta water, you may need it to loosen the sauce.
- Variations - Did you know that Pasta alla Gricia is the base recipe for La Carbonara and it's just as easy and delicious? If you'd rather avoid eggs then our Gricia recipe is for you. For a meat-free version check out our Smoked Salmon Carbonara.
To make an authentic carbonara, Pecorino Romano must be used because it's from Lazio, it also has a distinctive tangy and salty flavour that. Parmigiano Reggiano is from Emilia-Romagna so is not traditionally used but if that's all you have, it will still give you a delicious dish.
Carbonara is best served immediately. It's not the type of pasta that's enjoyable cold and it won't reheat well either. If you do somehow have a lot of leftover pasta then try adding it to a frittata.
No, carbonara will not freeze well and because it only takes 10 minutes to make there's no need to. You can, however, freeze the guanciale so you always have the ingredients on hand to make it.
Carbonara comes from the word Carbone which means charcoal. One theory is that this is a dish was made by Italian coal miners and that the black pepper represents the flecks of coal in the pasta. Another theory is that it was made for American soldiers during World War II that were missing bacon and eggs back home.
More delicious pasta recipes you might like
- Smoked Salmon Pasta Carbonara (a delicious variation that uses smoked salmon istead of guanciale).
- Artichoke Pasta – Simple 10 Minute Recipe
- Penne Pomodoro (Tomato Basil Pasta)
- Cavatelli and Broccoli Pasta
- Herby Garlic Butter Pasta Sauce
If you’ve tried this Spaghetti alla Carbonara Recipe or any other recipe on the blog please let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
📖 Full Recipe
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Ingredients
- 15 oz spaghetti (425g)
- 3 large eggs free range
- â…” cup Pecorino Romano (30g)
- 1 cup guanciale cut into cubes (150g)
- 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti, cook until al dente (around 7-8 minutes, check packet instructions).
- Meanwhile, add the guanciale to a hot skillet and fry until brown and crispy then turn off the heat (do not drain the fat).
- While the guanciale is frying add the eggs, pecorino and pepper to a bowl, whisk until well combined.
- Once the pasta is ready, remove it with kitchen tongs to the skillet with the guanciale and toss so it's well combined in the fat.
- Next, add the egg mixture whilst tossing the pasta to ensure the eggs don't scramble. Once the sauce turns glossy and creamy it's ready, add extra pecorino and pepper to serve.
Notes
- Trim the guanciale - make sure to trim the thick skin layer off of the guanciale before chopping it up as it's tough and inedible, you'll also see this on blocks of pancetta if using.
- Make sure your pan isn't too hot - Make sure the skillet or frying pan isn't super hot by turning it off a few minutes before adding the egg mixture. If the skillet is too hot the eggs will scramble!
- Don't add salt to the sauce - guanciale is cured and tends to be very salty (taste a piece once it's browned) as is Pecorino Romano so you don't often need to add salt to the sauce. Adding salt to pasta water, however, is a must!
- No Spaghetti? You can use any pasta you have on hand such as rigatoni.
- Reserve pasta water! - If you are draining the pasta rather than removing it with tongs (try not to do this) make sure to reserve ¼ cup of pasta water, you may need it to loosen the sauce.
- Serve immediately and do not freeze!
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Eddy
Do you ever use fresh pasta, and if so, eggless pasta?
Emily
Hi Eddy, I prefer dried pasta for carbonara but a great fresh pasta to use would be Spaghetti alla Chitarra.
Tristan
Tried this and it worked perfectly. Thank you.
Emily
So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Linda
I’m so happy I found this receipt. It was so simple but the best carbonara ever. Thank you!!
Lesa Smith
This recipe takes me back to my childhood; it's an easy and inexpensive meal to fix and SO easy, yet incredibly delicious!
Angela
Just looking at this photo makes me want to make and eat it RIGHT NOW!! I'm going to crave it until I do! Yum! Thank you!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Thank you! It's the perfect store cupboard meal!