Sometimes you just need a recipe for the best easy pasta carbonara to go to when you want – no, need! – this classic bacon egg and cheese pasta supper. Here’s that recipe!
Why this recipe works
Let’s talk comfort food! For me, comfort food invariably means some conglomeration of pasta and eggs, and when things are truly head-spinning I bring on the bacon.
And one of the best comfort food recipes I know is the egg and cheese and pasta dish that is pasta carbonara, so today I am talking about mine, which is not totally authentic but IS totally scrumptious.
Before I started writing about this I took a quick look around my recipe archives on my site and found carbonara variation that included this lemon version, this chicken variation, and my family’s all-time favorite, loaded pasta carbonara.
However, this particular recipe is as close as I come to the classic original, which is traditionally just pasta, eggs, Parmesan cheese and pancetta.
Me being me, I did fiddle just a teeny bit with it, and by that I mean I swapped out the pancetta for bacon (you knew that was coming) and I added a little white wine and parsley and butter to the mix.
But aside from that, it’s pretty close to classic, and one of the speediest, most scrumptious recipes I know.
Ingredients needed to make this pasta recipe
Here’s how to make this pasta comfort food
(Scroll down for the handy complete printable recipe with nutrition info!)
I start by making the egg mixture first. Whisk up some eggs with that Parmesan cheese and some fresh chopped parsley and set it aside for later.
Next, cook up a whole mess of chopped bacon. I noted in the recipe that I deliberately went overboard with the amount of bacon, so you can cut it back it you want, but we wanted things baconalicious so there you go.
Leave the drippings in the pan, because you are going to put some freshly cooked hot linguine in there, followed by the egg mixture and some butter and the bacon and a little water that you have saved from the pasta pot, and the heat of the pasta is going to cook the egg mixture to creamy deliciousness and oh my my.
All that’s left to do now is to put it in some warmed up bowls, sprinkle on some more cheese and parsley and let people start twirling.
Pasta Carbonara FAQ
You can! Simply swap in an equal amount of chicken broth.
When pasta cooks, it releases starch into the water (that is what makes it a little cloudy. And since hopefully you have thoroughly salted your water, at the end of the pasta cooking time you have a starchy, salty water that is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for making or loosening up a light pasta sauce. It’s truly magical).
I wish I could say yes…but nope. You need to cook this up right before you serve it so that the egg sauce stays light and tender. You CAN do the prep ahead of time (chopping the bacon, grating the cheese, etc) which will save you some time.
Pop your question in the comments section below and I promise to get right back to you!
Other pasta dishes we love
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If you try this recipe, I would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating and your thoughts in the Comments section below. Your experience will help both us and your fellow readers.
The Best Easy Pasta Carbonara
Sometimes you just need a recipe for the best easy pasta carbonara to go to when you want – no, need! – this classic bacon egg and cheese pasta supper. Here’s that recipe!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, beaten to blend
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
- 8 ounces linguine
- 1 pound bacon, chopped (see note)
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Put the eggs in a bowl with all but 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, and most of the parsley. Whisk it all up together and set aside.
- Cook linguine in heavily salted water according to package directions until done, scooping out a cup of pasta water at the end.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large deep skillet until crispy. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, leaving the drippings in the skillet.
- Pour in the white wine and cook over medium high heat for for a couple of minutes, scraping all the delightful stuck-on bits of bacon off the bottom of the pan.
- Add the hot cooked pasta to the skillet with the bacon drippings, followed by the butter, the egg mixture and the bacon and toss to coat – the heat of the pasta is going to cook that egg mixture just the right amount. Sprinkle in some pepper, and if you think the sauce needs a little loosening up, drizzle in some of that pasta water that you saved. Sometimes I do this and sometimes I don’t.
- Divide among warmed plates, sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley and serve!
Equipment We Used to Make This Recipe
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Buy Now → Notes
- Bacon: So, I deliberately overdid it on the bacon, because we like a lotta bacon in our carbonara. If you want a lighter version, you can cut the amount of bacon in half. (I can’t believe I just said that!)
- Parmesan Cheese: Wondering how to get fresh grated Parmesan? Ask at your supermarket’s fancy cheese counter – you can either get a block and grate it yourself with your handy cheese grater, or have them grate it for you.
- Parsley: If you live with folks who object to having the parsley stirred into the sauce ????????♀️ you can opt to use this just as a garnish.
Ryan says
Such a creamy pasta carbonara – drool worthy!
Martha in KS says
I’ve started watching RESTORED on HGTV. He usually chooses 3-4 exterior colors & paints squares of them on the house & lives with it for a day or so. He said sometimes neighbor’s house colors change the way it looks. But since you’ve got such a HUGE lot, I doubt that will be an issue. But you might want to get samples & paint scrap boards to try them. Have fun! Can’t wait to try the carbonara – I’ve never made it.
Hi Martha and that is great advice – we are going down next week for the meeting on the exterior and I will ask about that! Meantime, hope you love the carbonara! :)
Theresa Murphy says
This right here is one of the most comforting of comfort foods for me. So glad you shared this today! And have fun with paint colors. That sort of thing is way too overwhelming for me.
I’m definitely a little overwhelmed! But I know I will have lots of help. Gulp. :)