Original Spaghetti Carbonara (No Cream!) – Just 5 Ingredients
How to make the most delicious Spaghetti alla Carbonara. This authentic recipe is ready in less than 20 minutes and is made with 5 simple ingredients. This luxurious and creamy dish is made pasta, guanciale, eggs, Pecorino Romano, and freshly ground black pepper.
Servings: 6
Calories: 348kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 ounces thickly sliced guanciale or pancetta cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons coarse salt or kosher salt, for the pasta water
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 5 large egg yolks well beaten
- 4 Tablespoons milk optional
- ¾ cup grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano-Reggiano)
- ½ cup of boiling pasta water (1/2 cup or more reserved from the cooked pasta)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil water in a a large pot and add the salt. When the water comes to a boil, add the spaghetti. Stir frequently and cook until it is al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, cook the guanciale (or pancetta). Drain, reserving the 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it ripples. Add the guanciale (or pancetta )and cook, stirring often, until crisp. Set the pan aside.
- While the guanciale (or pancetta) is cooking, prep the egg yolks. Beat the eggs with the cheese and set aside.
- Add some freshly ground pepper to taste and stir until thoroughly mixed.
- When the pasta is al dente, drain it (be sure to not drain all of the pasta water out...keep the pasta a little wet). Add the pasta to the pan with the pancetta, then toss in it together using a thong or a wooden spoon.
- Pour in the egg mixture and use tongs or a wooden spoon to combine together. Start pouring in the reserved starchy pasta water. Start with a 1/2 cup and stir to loosen up the pasta and make a creamy sauce. Add a bit more if it isn't loose and creamy enough. When it glistens and is silky smooth, it's ready.
- Sprinkle generously with pepper and serve at once. If you can’t get enough of cheese, sprinkle some more on! Buon Appetito!
Video
Notes
- Trim the guanciale or pancetta: be sure to peel off any plastic on the guanciale or pancetta outside. Trim off the toughest layer before you chop it off. You may find a pre-packaged chopped pancetta (I've never found guanciale already chopped up), so you won't need to do any thing to that.
- Take the skillet of the heat: Before you combine the pasta with the egg sauce, let the skillet cool down a bit. Turn off the heat as soon as you cook the guanciale (or pancetta). Otherwise, the egg yolks will scramble when you add it in.
- No salt in the sauce: the cured meats are soooo salty as they are (as is the cheese!). So no need to salt that sauce. BUT, you must salt the pasta water. .
- Other pasta types: It's fine to use whatever pasta you have on hand. Long pasta is ideal, but you could even make it with a short pasta (if that's all you have in your pantry)...it will still be delicious!
- Save some pasta water: You could ladle out some of the the pasta water into a measuring cup. It will be used to make the sauce.
- Make sure to use quality ingredients to achieve the best tasting pasta
Nutrition
Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 2334mg | Potassium: 184mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 16IU | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg