Classic Pasta Carbonara
⏱ 20 min prep · 🍽 4
Carbonara is eggs, cheese, fat, and heat — no cream, no fixed rulebook, just eggs and Parmesan setting into a sauce around hot, crisp-fried pancetta when you stir fast enough. With 14 oz pasta, 5 oz diced pancetta or bacon, three eggs, and a scant cup of grated Parmesan, you've got dinner for four.
Diced pancetta sits pre-packed in the deli case at most supermarkets, so this is a decide-on-the-drive-home dinner, not a weekend project. What separates sauce from scrambled eggs is timing: pull the pot off the heat before you pour in the egg mixture, and let the pasta's residual warmth — plus a splash of its cooking water — do the work.
Budget 20 minutes from the water boiling to plates on the table.
Ingredients
- 400.000 g pasta
- 150.000 g bacon, i terninger
- 3.000 egg
- 100.000 ml parmesan
- paprika
- krydder (diverse)
- 100.000 ml pasta
Instructions
Bland egg, grovkvernet pepper og revet parmesan i en bolle.
Stek bacon sprøtt i en tørr panne.
Kok pasta i lettsaltet vann etter anvisning på pakken; sett til side ca. 1 dl av kokevannet.
Bland eggeblandingen med pastaen, tilsett gradvis kokevannet til kremaktig konsistens. Hold varmen moderat for å unngå at eggene stivner.
Rør inn sprøstekt bacon, topp med ekstra parmesan og smak til med salt og pepper.
This dinner holds up well when kids eat at wildly different speeds, because pancetta and Parmesan can be portioned per plate after the pasta is already coated in sauce. Put extra grated cheese and a small bowl of crispy pancetta bits in the middle of the table and let each kid dose their own, rather than cooking a second, milder batch. The sauce doesn't forgive sitting around waiting for stragglers, so this is a best-for-nights-everyone's-actually-at-the-table meal — skip it on a night with a late practice pickup. Put it on the weekly plan for an evening when the whole crew walks in within a few minutes of each other, not one where somebody's still in the car.
FAQ
Is this real Italian carbonara, or a shortcut version?
The Roman original uses guanciale, cured pork jowl, which is hard to find outside Italian delis. This version uses diced pancetta or thick-cut bacon from the regular supermarket meat case, because that's what's actually in most kitchens on a weeknight. The method is identical: render the fat until crisp, build the sauce from eggs and cheese, and loosen it with pasta water.
How do I stop the eggs from scrambling instead of turning into sauce?
Take the pot fully off the burner before you add the egg mixture. Pour the hot pasta into a bowl with the eggs already in it, rather than the other way around, and stir in reserved pasta water a spoonful at a time until it turns glossy. If it starts to look grainy or clumpy, pull the bowl away from any heat immediately and whisk in a spoonful of cooler pasta water — that fixes it on the spot.
How do I make this work for kids who don't like crispy pancetta or a lot of pepper?
Dice the pancetta smaller before cooking so the crunch is less noticeable bite to bite. Keep the pot itself mild and put a pepper grinder on the table so everyone seasons their own plate. Serve extra grated Parmesan and pancetta in small bowls on the side so anyone who wants more can just add it.
Can I keep leftovers, and does this freeze?
Leftovers keep for two days in the fridge in a sealed container. Reheat gently in a pan over low heat with a splash of water or milk to loosen the sauce again; the microwave tends to make it grainy. Don't freeze this one — the egg sauce separates as it thaws, and no amount of careful reheating brings back the silky texture.
Can I double this for meal-prepping more than one weeknight?
Yes, everything scales straight up: double the pasta, double the pancetta, six eggs, and about 1 3/4 cups of grated Parmesan for eight servings. Cook the pancetta and pasta ahead and refrigerate them, but hold off on the egg sauce until just before you sit down, since it doesn't reheat well. That makes it best for a night with a short gap between pickup and dinner, not one with a late practice in between.
Can I use a different cheese instead of Parmesan?
Pecorino Romano gives a saltier, sharper version and works just as well here. Beyond that, stick with a hard, aged cheese from the deli counter rather than a soft or mild one. Pre-shredded cheese from a bag is often coated in anti-caking starch that keeps it from melting smoothly, so grate your own right before using it.