🍝 Spaghetti carbonara

Name: Spaghetti carbonara
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italy · Lazio
Ingredients: 320 g spaghetti; 150 g guanciale, cut into strips; 4 egg yolks; 60 g pecorino romano, finely grated; Freshly ground black pepper; Salt

Origin: Italy · Lazio

840kcal

per serving · 300 g

280kcal

per 100 g

36 gProtein12 g / 100 g

42 gFat14 g / 100 g

81 gCarbs27 g / 100 g

Carbonara is a Roman pasta of spaghetti tossed with crisp guanciale, egg yolks, grated pecorino romano and lots of black pepper. The heat of the pasta gently thickens the yolks and cheese into a silky, creamy sauce — no cream is used. It is rich, salty and peppery, with crunchy bits of cured pork.

Diets

Not vegetarianbecause of: guanciale

Not veganbecause of: guanciale, egg yolk, pecorino

Contains porkbecause of: guanciale

Contains glutenbecause of: spaghetti

Contains dairybecause of: pecorino

Not keto27 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Eggs ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

spaghettiguancialeegg yolkpecorinoblack pepper

Recipe

4 servings25 min

Ingredients

320 g spaghetti
150 g guanciale, cut into strips
4 egg yolks
60 g pecorino romano, finely grated
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt

Method

Fry the guanciale in a dry pan until crisp and the fat renders; turn off the heat.
Whisk the yolks with the pecorino and plenty of pepper.
Cook the spaghetti until al dente; keep a cup of the cooking water.
Add the pasta to the guanciale pan off the heat, then pour in the egg mixture with a splash of cooking water and toss quickly until creamy, not scrambled.
Serve at once with more pepper.

How to make it lighter

Carbonara is one of the richest pastas; a 200 g plate with a green salad instead of 300 g saves about 280 kcal.
Pour off part of the rendered guanciale fat before adding the pasta.
Use less guanciale and more pepper — the flavour stays bold.

History

Carbonara is one of the four classic Roman pastas, but its origins are debated. It first appears in print around the mid-twentieth century, and a popular theory links it to the eggs and bacon rations of Allied troops in Rome after 1944. The name is often tied to carbonari, charcoal makers, though this is not proven.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →