Description
Spaghetti carbonara is a Roman pasta classic with a glossy egg-and-cheese sauce, crisp bites of cured pork, and plenty of black pepper. The silky texture comes from residual heat and starchy pasta water rather than cream, which keeps the sauce rich but still elegant.
Ingredients
🥓🍝 Pork & Pasta
- 4 oz / 115 g – guanciale (or pancetta/bacon), cut into short strips or small batons
- 12 oz / 340 g – dried spaghetti
🧀 Egg & Cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cup / 85 g – finely grated Pecorino Romano
- 1½ tsp / 3 g – freshly cracked black pepper, plus more for serving
Instructions
Build the base
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it lightly rather than aggressively, since the cheese and pork already bring plenty of salt.
- Put the guanciale in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the fat is rendered and the edges are crisp but not dark.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks, Pecorino Romano, and 1 tsp / 2 g of the black pepper until you have a thick paste.
Cook the pasta
- Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until 1 minute shy of al dente, usually 8 to 10 minutes depending on the brand. Scoop out 1 cup / 240 ml pasta water before draining.
- Transfer the drained spaghetti straight to the skillet with the rendered guanciale and its fat. Toss for 20 to 30 seconds so every strand gets coated.
Finish the carbonara
- Take the skillet completely off the heat. Let it sit for about 15 seconds so the pan is still very hot but no longer fiercely sizzling.
- Add ¼ cup / 60 ml of the reserved pasta water and toss well.
- Add the egg-and-cheese mixture and toss quickly and constantly with tongs for 1 to 2 minutes. Add more pasta water, 1 tbsp / 15 ml at a time, until the sauce loosens into a glossy coating that clings to the pasta in a silky ribbon. The sauce should look shiny and fluid, not wet at the bottom of the pan and not curdled in little bits.
- Taste and add the remaining ½ tsp / 1 g black pepper if you want a stronger pepper bite.
- Serve immediately with extra Pecorino Romano and more black pepper on top. Success looks like glossy strands, crisp-edged pork, and a sauce that hugs the pasta without scrambling or pooling.
Notes
- Reserve a little more pasta water than you think you’ll need, because carbonara texture can change fast in the last minute.
- Take the eggs and cheese out a bit ahead of time so the mixture isn’t fridge-cold when it meets the pasta.
- Warm your serving bowls if you can, because the sauce stays glossy longer instead of tightening on contact.
- Use tongs, not a spoon, so you can lift and toss fast enough to build that smooth emulsion.
- Bloom some of the black pepper in the rendered pork fat for a few seconds to make the peppery aroma deeper and rounder.
- Taste only after the final toss, because the salt from the cheese and pork shows up more clearly once the sauce settles.
- Serve right away, since carbonara is at its silkiest the moment the sauce finishes.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Cuisine: Italian