Think of a carbonara as an elevated Cacio e Pepe, in which smoky pork is added to the mix. All you need to do is add bacon, eggs and cheese to some pasta to make what is essentially the breakfast of the pasta world. Although known for taking classics and putting my own spin on them (like the carbonara recipe in my orange Instant Pot book), I’m going to make this one more traditional in terms of the ingredients, but I do supply some options in Jeff’s Tips. It‘s most commonly made with spaghetti, but any long noodle works great. That said, I personally prefer bucatini or perciatelli for this as I like to slurp the sauce simultaneously with the noodles.
Watch The Video!
Boil The Pasta
Make The Carbonara
Draining The Pasta
Marrying The Pasta To The Carbonara
The Taste Test
Bucatini Carbonara
Think of a carbonara as an elevated Cacio e Pepe, in which smoky pork is added to the mix. All you need to do is add bacon, eggs and cheese to some pasta to make what is essentially the breakfast of the pasta world. Although known for taking classics and putting my own spin on them (like the carbonara recipe in my orange Instant Pot book), I’m going to make this one more traditional in terms of the ingredients, but I do supply some options in Jeff’s Tips. It‘s most commonly made with spaghetti, but any long noodle works great. That said, I personally prefer bucatini or perciatelli for this as I like to slurp the sauce simultaneously with the noodles.
Ingredients
The Pasta
- 1 pound bucatini or perciatelli (or any long pasta you prefer)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon semolina or Tipo “00” flour (optional, see Jeff’s Tips)
The Sauce
- 4 large eggs; 2 with just the yolks (an egg yolk separator is amazing for this)
- ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for topping
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more for topping
- 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder (optional)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 8-10 ounces pancetta, guanciale or thick-cut bacon, diced
Instructions
- Fill an 8-quart pot halfway with water and place on the stove over high heat. Once it achieves a rolling boil, add the salt and semolina flour (if using) and reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the pasta and gently stir until fully submerged in the water. Setting a timer, cook according to the package instructions for “al dente” (or the shortest amount of time the package suggests). Once the timer goes off, take a quick moment to pause what you’re doing. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the remaining water and cooked pasta through a colander in the sink. Do not rinse the pasta once drained. Just let it rest in the colander until called for.
- As soon as you begin to boil the water, add the eggs (remember, 2 whole and 2 yolks and an egg yolk separator makes it easy), both cheeses, the pepper, and garlic powder (if using) to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined into a thick paste. Set aside.
- Add the olive oil to a nonstick 4- to 5-quart sauté pan and bring to medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add the pancetta and sauté until just crispy, about 5-7 minutes. Turn the stove off and remove the pan from the heated burner, placing it on a cool part of the stove or rest it on a trivet on the counter.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pan and toss with the pancetta and the oil. Then pour the cheesy egg mixture over it followed by ½ cup of the reserved starchy pasta water. Using tongs, toss for another 1-2 minutes until the mixture is lightly cooked into the pasta and until a creamy consistency forms. And don’t worry, the heat of the pot and the pasta combined is enough to gently cook the egg. If, when done tossing, you want it creamier, add up to ½ cup more of the water.
- Serve immediately topped with additional grated cheese and pepper, if desired.
Jeffrey's Tips
The semolina or Tipo “00” flour is optional but adding 1 tablespoon of it to the pasta water will ensure the sauce becomes a bit thicker. It can be found in most markets (I use Bob’s Red Mill brand) or online.
Only have Parmesan or Pecorino Romano on hand? Just use 1 cup of either (so you have 1 cup of grated cheese, total). But since Pecorino Romano is saltier than Parmesan, which is nuttier, perhaps use Parmesan if going for 1 cup of the same cheese.
Some like their carbonara with onion and peas. If that’s you, sauté a small, diced yellow onion with the pancetta in Step 3 and/or add up to ½ cup peas (thawed from a frozen bag) in Step 4 when tossing the pasta with the sauce.
If you have leftovers, the best way to reheat and reconstitute the sauce is to add a few splashes of heavy cream to the pasta and zap in the microwave, mix and heat until cooked through. Allow it to rest for 1-2 minutes before serving and the sauce will be super incredible.
Betty
Your way of making a paste make a lot of sence. My landlady in Naples tough me to stir beaten egg into pasta. Then add milk and cheese with bacon and pepper. Had a scrambled egg pasta a few times because pasta was hotter than I thought. This has been my unexpected dinner guests meal for years. Now I can make it better. Thanks so much
Jeffrey
You are so welcome!!!!
Peggy Fry
I’m confused about step 2. Where does this water come from and how much do you boil and add the eggs? If you drain the pasta and save a cup you add that later.. So what water do you boil? Thanks
Jeffrey
Step 2 refers to Step 1’s boiling water for the pasta 😉
Lnda McPhee
Me too
Tina
I would like to double the recipe. Can you give me some tips on that? Or should I just double everything?
Also, my mothers recipe always included heavy cream. I’m interested to see how this comes out w/out the hc.
Heather S
the wording was a little awkward. while boiling the water, get a mixing bowl and mix the egg and cheese sauce. don’t mix it into the boiling wager.
Ines
Next to your pea soup, the best recipe. We love it! Thank you and Happy New Year!
Donna Block
I love carbonara! I also love that your recipe is simple and authentic with no milk or cream. Although I enjoy the Instant pot, I’m happy to see you branch out to additional cooking methods. Can’t wait to try this in my menus this week!
Jeffrey
This means a lot! Thank you!
Peggy McG
Jeffrey, I have all your cookbooks, and can’t wait for Pastabilities to arrive in September. I have just one problem. I like to print the recipes, so I have a place to add notes. Can’t do recipes from my phone ’cause there’s sooooo many ads, that when I “x-out” the ads, then I loose the recipe. Last night while making the Bucatini Carbonara, (which my hubby loved), I had to reload the recipe at least 6 times, cause of the ads obscuring the recipe. I know the ads are nessary, but there has to be an easier way to follow the recipe without this hassle. Is this “Grow” thing something new? Is “Grow” going to be a permanent thing in the future?????? Thanks for your advice and input.
Jeffrey
Grow is legit and a way for me to earn a living for the work I do by giving everyone free recipes 😉