Spaghetti Carbonara

Name: Spaghetti Carbonara
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Spaghetti 11.3 oz; Jowls 5.3 oz; Egg yolks (of medium eggs) 6; Pecorino Romano PDO cheese 1.75 oz; Black pepper to taste

680

Calories per serving

Energy Kcal 680
Carbohydrates g 66.9
of which sugars g 2.9
Protein g 19.3
Fats g 37.2
of which saturated fat g 13.57
Fiber g 2.2
Cholesterol mg 383
Sodium mg 586

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Low

Listen to the recipe

PRESENTATION

Carbonara has no cream — and this spaghetti carbonara recipe makes no concessions on that point. This is not a preference or a regional variation — it's the definition. The sauce is eggs, Pecorino Romano, black pepper, and guanciale, emulsified with pasta cooking water into something that coats each strand without scrambling. The technique is the whole recipe: if the heat is too high when the egg mixture goes in, you get scrambled eggs with pasta. If the pasta water is properly starchy and the temperature is right, you get carbonara.

The dish comes from Rome, where it's one of four canonical pasta preparations alongside amatriciana, cacio e pepe, and gricia — all built on the same short list of ingredients, all differentiated by technique rather than complexity. Four ingredients make up the carbonara recipe: eggs, Pecorino Romano, guanciale, and black pepper. Guanciale is the correct cured pork: cured cheek, fattier and more yielding than pancetta, which renders into something soft rather than crisp and leaves behind a cooking fat that carries into the sauce. Spaghetti is traditional; rigatoni holds the sauce differently and is equally defensible. The black pepper is not garnish — it's a structural ingredient, toasted and freshly cracked, present in enough quantity to be felt in every bite.

Half Pecorino, half Parmigiano is a common variation for a milder result. The purist version uses Pecorino Romano alone, which is sharper and saltier and the reason the dish needs no added salt beyond the pasta water.

How to prepare Spaghetti Carbonara

To prepare spaghetti carbonara, start by putting a pot of salted water on the stove to cook the pasta. In the meantime, remove the rind from the guanciale and cut it first into slices 1 and then into strips about 3/8-inch thick 2 3. The leftover rind can be reused to flavor other dishes.

Place the pieces of guanciale in a non-stick pan 4 and brown them for about 10 minutes over medium-high heat, being careful not to burn it, or it will release a strong aroma. Meanwhile, plunge the spaghetti into the boiling water 5 and cook them al dente. In the meantime, pour the yolks into a bowl 6.

Add the Pecorino 7 and season with black pepper 8. Blend everything with a hand whisk 9 until you obtain a smooth cream.

Meanwhile, the guanciale will be cooked 10; turn off the heat and using a slotted spoon, remove it from the pan, leaving the cooking base in the pan itself 11. Transfer the guanciale to a small bowl and set it aside. Pour a ladleful of pasta water into the pan 12, along with the guanciale fat.

Drain the pasta al dente directly into the pan with the cooking base 13. Toss it briefly to flavor it 14. Remove from the heat and pour the egg and Pecorino mixture into the pan. Mix quickly to combine 15.

To make it creamy, if needed, you can add a little pasta cooking water. Add the guanciale 16, mix one last time 17, and serve the spaghetti carbonara immediately, adding more Pecorino on top and a pinch of black pepper 18.

Storage

Carbonara doesn't keep. The emulsion breaks as it cools and doesn't recover on reheating — the eggs tighten, the sauce separates, and what was silky becomes grainy. Make it fresh, serve it immediately, and don't plan for leftovers.

Advice

Take the pan off the heat before the egg mixture goes in — this is the step that determines whether you get carbonara or scrambled eggs. The residual heat of the pasta and the pan is enough to thicken the sauce; active heat is too much. Add the pasta cooking water gradually, a tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly until the sauce reaches the consistency you want — loose enough to coat, thick enough to cling.

Don't overcook the guanciale. It should render and color but stay tender — cooked past that point, it turns bitter and loses the softness that makes it different from pancetta. Add it at the end rather than letting it sit in the pan, so it stays warm without continuing to cook.

Freshly cracked black pepper, added in quantity, is not optional — it's what makes carbonara carbonara rather than a rich egg pasta.
For a milder result, use half Pecorino, half Parmigiano.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.