Description
Just 20 minutes to this creamy, easy, comforting pasta recipe. Eggs, spaghetti, cheese, and bacon with a little salt and pepper combine to make this simple yet rich, delicious dish!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 lb spaghetti pasta*
- 8 ounces bacon, diced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese + extra for garnish
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh parsley, roughly chopped to garnish
Instructions
- Whisk together eggs, parmesan, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add diced bacon and cook 8-10 minutes, until crisp around the edges. Remove from heat. Save 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat and drain the rest. Add reserved bacon fat back to the pan.
- While bacon is cooking, cook spaghetti pasta to al dente according to box instructions. Save 1 cup of the pasta water and drain.
- Add the drained pasta to the pot with the bacon immediately and toss to coat in bacon fat.
- Slowly add one tablespoon of the hot pasta water to the egg mixture, whisking vigorously. (This tempers the egg mixture, heating it up without scrambling the egg, making it easier to add to the pasta).
- Slowly pour the egg mixture into the bacon and pasta pot, stirring constantly until it is completely combined.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of pasta water at a time, as desired for consistency, stirring until smooth. I added about 1/2 cup of pasta water total but it depends on what you like!
- Add more salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and any extra parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Notes
Although pasta carbonara is traditionally made with spaghetti pasta, you can also use linguine, fettuccine, and other long, thinner pasta varieties.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes