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TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)
- What it is: A classic Roman pasta dish of spaghetti tossed with eggs, Pecorino Romano & Parmigiano‑Reggiano, and crispy guanciale or pancetta—no cream, no fuss.
- Why you’ll love it: Silky‑smooth sauce from just four ingredients, ready in 25 minutes.
- How to make it: Crisp the cubed guanciale in olive oil, cook spaghetti until al dente, then off the heat stir in beaten eggs + cheese and a splash of pasta water until luxuriously creamy.
This knock-it-out-of-the-park, authentic spaghetti alla carbonara recipe calls for extra egg yolk, which lends a silken richness and lusciousness to the dish. If you want a traditional version, use four whole eggs. I’ve also seen Italian cooks use an extra-large egg yolk per person, which is super luxurious. Whatever you do, please forgo cream, peas, garlic, etc. They’re wonderful; they’re just not part of the classic recipe.
Also, a lot of readers have asked whether they can use freshly made pasta. You can, but I find that using premium dried pasta made from durum or semolina wheat really helps the sauce to cling.
Featured Review
Finally! Spaghetti alla carbonara the right way!! I lived in Italy for three years and would eat spaghetti alla carbonara every time we visited a restaurant. When I moved back to the States, no one made it right—except you!.
Sharday
Why This Recipe Works
I didn’t stumble into this spaghetti carbonara by accident — I tested and tweaked until every swirl was silk. From a precise egg‑to‑cheese ratio that gives you a luxuriously creamy coating without scrambling, to just the right ladle of starchy pasta water that binds cheese and egg into a seamless sauce, every detail is dialed in. Low‑and‑slow‑rendered pancetta cubes deliver that salty‑pork pop, bronze‑die spaghetti grabs every last drop, and with sharp timing you’ll have dinner on the table in under 25 minutes.
Notes on Ingredients
- Pancetta—Guanciale is the classic meat in carbonara, but it can be hard to find. You can use pancetta (pork belly) or slab bacon in its place.
- Pasta—For this recipe, I recommend using excellent-quality dried pasta (pasta secca) preferably made with bronze dies. Pasta extruded through bronze dies has a rougher texture that helps sauces to hang on.
- Cheese—For the best flavor, this recipe calls for a combo of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano. Always use freshly grated cheese, as the packaged, pre-grated stuff doesn’t melt well and…tastes like sawdust.
How to Make Authentic Spaghetti Carbonara
- Crisp the pork. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced pancetta and render, stirring often, until the cubes are golden‑brown and their fat is sizzling.
- Boil the pasta. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add your bronze‑die spaghetti and cook until just al dente (about 1 minute less than the package directs)—it’ll finish in the sauce.
- Mix pasta and pork. Immediately transfer the hot spaghetti into the skillet with the pancetta and toss to coat every strand in flavorful fat.
- Build the sauce. Add the eggs and half of the cheese to the pasta in the skillet and toss well. Add some pasta water, as needed, until the pasta is creamy.
- Finish and serve. Season with pepper and serve with the remaining cheese.
Common Questions
Guanciale, which comes from the cheek of the pig, is a richly fatty piece of meat that is often cured. It’s usually found in Italian pasta dishes from Umbria and Lazio, in central Italy. Two of the most famous and beloved dishes that call for guanciale are spaghetti alla carbonara and Bucatini All’ Amatriciana.
Absolutely, 100 percent, utterly no. There is no cream in the dish. The creaminess comes from the proper cooking of the eggs with pasta cooking water, making it luscious, creamy, and addictive. Also, while I’m at it, there are no peas, garlic, cinnamon, or nutmeg in carbonara, either.
“Carbonara” comes from the Italian word carbonaro, meaning “coal burner.” There’s a legend, which most believe to be apocryphal, that says the dish was created as an easy-to-make, stick-to-your-ribs meal men who working outside all day long could make for themselves. The requisite ground pepper is supposedly a nod to coal dust that landed on the dish as the miners ate.
The more widely accepted origin of the dish is that American soldiers during the Second World War brought their taste for bacon and eggs to Europe, and hence the dish was created to sate ally tastes.
Pro Tips
- Remember, this spaghetti alla carbonara recipe contains raw eggs. So, use care if making the dish for the very young, the very old, the very pregnant, or the very immuno-compromised. For the rest of you, sit down to this outrageously easy and traditional Italian carbonara recipe with gusto.
- Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go, as this pasta dish comes together in just minutes once you begin cooking.
Storage & Reheating
Spaghetti alla carbonara is best enjoyed immediately after cooking, but leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days. If you know you’ll have leftovers, save some pasta water for reheating.
Gently reheat the carbonara in a skillet over very low heat, stirring frequently. Add just enough pasta cooking water to loosen the pasta and achieve a creamy consistency. Don’t be tempted to speed things up by cooking over medium or high heat; this will cause the eggy sauce to cook.
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Your Pasta Verdict
If you make this carbonara, do me a solid—drop a star rating, pen a few words, and slap your best food‑porn photo in the comments below. I read—and reply—to every one.–David
Spaghetti Carbonara
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 ounces thickly sliced guanciale, pancetta, or slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch (6-mm) cubes
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 3 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, well beaten
- 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, combined with 1/4 cup grated pecorino Romano
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Grab your largest skillet and place it over medium heat. Pour in the olive oil and wait for it to ripple.
- Toss in the guanciale (or pancetta or bacon) and cook, stirring often, until crisp. Slide the skillet off the heat.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Add the salt and spaghetti and cook, stirring to prevent the strands from clumping, until al dente.
- Working quickly, grab big bunches of cooked spaghetti with tongs and add them to the skillet with the guanciale.
☞ TESTER TIP: The cooking water that dribbles from the pasta will make the sauce silky while not cooking the eggs.
- Immediately add the eggs and half the cheese to the skillet and toss well. If the dish isn't as creamy as you'd like, add a small ladleful of the cooking water.
- Sprinkle generously with pepper and serve at once. Pass the remaining cheese at the table.
Notes
- Raw egg warning–Remember, this spaghetti alla carbonara recipe contains raw eggs. So, use care if making the dish for the very young, the very old, the very pregnant, or the very immuno-compromised. For the rest of you, sit down to this outrageously easy and traditional Italian carbonara recipe with gusto.
- Get prepped–Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go, as this pasta dish comes together in just minutes once you begin cooking.
- Storage and reheating–Store leftover spaghetti carbonara in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat in a skillet over low heat until heated through. Add a splash of water (or pasta cooking water) to loosen the sauce, if needed.
An LC Original
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
It was a rainy night, and I had no desire to brave the elements and hit the grocery store. This spaghetti alla carbonara recipe allowed me to use ingredients I had on hand—with one minor substitution of slab bacon for pancetta—and create an easy, soul-satisfying meal.
The eggs, cheese, and pasta water formed a rich creamy sauce that, when combined with the crisp bacon, made for a real wow factor.
Don’t be scared of traditional spaghetti carbonara! Just mix the pasta quickly once you add the eggs and add the hot pasta water slowly.
I’ll never be able to eat the versions served with cream in restaurants again. This was delicious, so easy, so fast (!), and is ideal as a pantry dinner. The longest part really is waiting for the water to boil!
This is one of those wonderful recipes that doesn’t require you to run out and buy a thing. Who doesn’t have pasta, cheese, and eggs lying around?
This spaghetti carbonara was so simple to make. It perfectly fits my cooking style—a handful of ingredients, simple preparation, and a great-tasting result. I’m most certainly adding this to my arsenal. It just doesn’t get much better than this creamy, porky bowl of pasta love. Great recipe!
This recipe almost mirrors the way I’ve been making spaghetti carbonara for years, since a mom in Cesa, Italy showed me how to make it. It is SO CLOSE that I’m giving it five stars. The only difference, and it is a tiny one, is that I whisk the eggs and cheese directly in the bowl the dish will be served in, and add the hot pasta tossed with guanciale and its fat to the egg mixture. I very recently made it for my friends using fresh eggs from their chickens that roam freely in their backyard. It was a transformative experience for my friends—they had only known carbonara made with heavy cream and garlic.
Thanks, Chiyo. Your experience sounds truly amazing and I’m so glad you were nearly able to recreate it and share it with others.
This recipe was the freaking BOMB! So easy to follow, only a few steps and ingredients (read: easy for a working mama to make during the week!) and our family literally devoured it. My husband and kiddos always order this dish when we visit high end restaurants, and they all said this was right up there in flavor. Will most definitely be making this again. And again. And again. 🙂
Tifany, you da bomb! Thank you for such an enthusiastic review. This is one of my favorite, go-to recipes. So glad you, the hubs, and the kids liked it!