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5.0 from 24 votes

Best Pasta Carbonara (Without Cream!)

No cream, no heavy sauce, just a really good classic pasta carbonara with a sauce made of just eggs and cheese. It's a real crowd pleaser - both light and decadent at the same time - and takes just 15 minutes to make with just 5 main ingredients!

Prep Time
3 mins
Cook Time
3 mins
Total Time
15 mins
Servings: 2
Calories: 541 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

  • 4½ ounces linguine or spaghetti, or any pasta of your choice
  • 3.5 ounces Bacon (or pancetta) chopped - thick cut smoked bacon is best (or lardons)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 garlic cloves peeled but left whole
  • 2 eggs lightly whisked
  • ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese (or pecorino or parmigiano-reggiano), finely grated
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • a little chopped fresh parsley optional
to serve (optional)
  • simple green salad; OR
  • Green vegetables

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Cook the pasta according to the cooking instructions until 'al dente'. Whisk half of the parmesan into the eggs, grind in some salt and pepper, and set aside.
  2. While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the bacon/pancetta and garlic cloves and let cook, stirring often, for 5 - 10 minutes until golden and starting to crisp. Then discard the garlic.
  3. Take about half of the bacon out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave the bacon juices behind. Take the pan off the heat (very important!).
  4. Use kitchen tongs or a spaghetti server spoon to lift the pasta straight out of the cooking water and into the bacon pan.
  5. As quickly as you can, pour the eggs and parmesan mixture over the hot pasta in the pan. Also add a little more pasta cooking water. Briefly toss everything together so that the eggs `just` cook (without scrambling!).
  6. Quickly serve out a little of the pasta onto each dish. Top with a little of the reserved bacon and parmesan and grind over a little more salt and pepper. Top this layer with more pasta and the rest of the bacon and parmesan.
  7. Scatter with a little fresh parsley if using. Serve immediately by itself or with a simple green salad or green vegetables.

Notes

  • We really like to use linguine. Other 'long pasta' such as spaghetti or fettuccine work well too, of course, but you can use any pasta you like. Carbonara sauce is both light enough and rich enough for any type of pasta shape. 
  • Absolutely! Just use the slider next to the 'servings' label above to change the ingredient amounts for the number of people you want to make the recipe for. 
  • A general rule is 1 egg per person you want to serve.
  • I sometimes like to make this recipe just for myself (carbonara for one!). In this case slide the 'servings' slider to just '1'.
  • Use any thick cut smoked bacon. Traditionally streaky bacon or pancetta is used to make carbonara, but I prefer less fat! You can also use lardons (bacon cubes).
  • In a pinch thinner bacon and even ham will work too. In this case, use good quality and just cook for a few minutes to release some flavor into the butter.
  • My best advice is to read carefully through the recipe instructions before starting and try to memorize the steps. 
  • It's really important to take the pan off the heat before you add the eggs. Lift the pasta straight out of the cooking water into the bacon pan so that some water goes into the pan. Add a little more of the cooking water as you add the eggs.
  • Work quickly and confidently!

Nutrition Information

Calories 541kcal (27%) Carbohydrates 22g (7%) Protein 22g (44%) Fat 40g (62%) Saturated Fat 18g (90%) Polyunsaturated Fat 5g Monounsaturated Fat 15g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 238mg (79%) Sodium 749mg (31%) Potassium 218mg (6%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 1g (2%) Vitamin A 736IU (15%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 238mg (24%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 2Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 541

% Daily Value*

Calories 541kcal 27%
Carbohydrates 22g 7%
Protein 22g 44%
Fat 40g 62%
Saturated Fat 18g 90%
Polyunsaturated Fat 5g 29%
Monounsaturated Fat 15g 75%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 238mg 79%
Sodium 749mg 31%
Potassium 218mg 5%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 1g 2%
Vitamin A 736IU 15%
Vitamin C 1mg 1%
Calcium 238mg 24%
Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.