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Creamy Bacon Carbonara is a classic Italian creamy pasta. Bacon, mushrooms, and onions are cooked together and tossed in a cheesy, rich egg yolk sauce for an easy 30-minute meal! A quick and easy dinner that is made in minutes!
Pasta is a weekly special in our home! If you love pasta as much as we do, try this Creamy Garlic Shrimp Alfredo Pasta, this easy and delicious Creamy Chicken Bacon and Broccoli Ranch Pasta or one of our favorites, Creamy Pork Carnitas Pasta.
Creamy Bacon Carbonara
Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish from Rome made with egg, hard cheese, guanciale, and black pepper. I finally found a carbonara recipe that I love. The sauce is so creamy, cheesy, and so good. The best part is that the pickiest eater gobbled this down, and my other boy had seconds! It was pretty easy to throw the whole thing together. I felt like it was the perfect Sunday meal served with a side salad and garlic bread! This is the dish if you want a quick and easy delicious meal in just minutes. This creamy bacon carbonara only takes 30 minutes from start to finish!
It is simply delicious and so easy to make at home. Everyone will be raving over this incredible creamy pasta! I know many people are worried about the sauce breaking because of the egg. It was easier than I thought! Just go low and slow. It will totally work out! Once you try this recipe, you’ll want to try this easy pasta carbonara too. It’s delish!
Ingredients
Simplicity is key with this creamy bacon carbonara meal! The use of good quality ingredients is a must! For a fully traditional carbonara recipe, use pancetta instead of bacon. You can find the exact measurements below in the recipe card.
- Eggs: All you need is the yolks!
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Half and half will work, but for a rich, creamy blend, heavy whipping cream is my preference.
- Parmesan: Use a sharp, hard cheese of parmesan that is shaved instead of grated for a less gritty texture on your pasta.
- Parsley: Fresh and chopped up very fine, this adds color and some fragrant garnish.
- Salt: Season to your liking.
- Red Pepper Flakes: The red pepper adds a little kick of heat to the recipe.
- Bacon: A good thick-cut bacon or even a high-quality standard cut of bacon will make a difference. You can also use pancetta which is the traditional meat in the dish.
- Mushrooms: This is optional, but I love mushrooms and can’t leave them out.
- Onion: This is optional but adds a great flavor.
- Pasta: Linguine is my favorite, but spaghetti will work great too.
Creamy Bacon Carbonara Recipe
This creamy bacon carbonara recipe is simple to make but is a little delicate. Don’t try to rush through this recipe! The eggs will scramble if your pan is too hot, so make sure to take your time so you don’t end up with a scrambled mess. It is not a hard recipe. You just have to be a little patient.
- Beat: Beat the eggs, cream, parmesan, parsley, salt, and red pepper together in a bowl.
- Fry: Fry the bacon until crisp, then crumble and set aside.
- Saúte: With 1 -2 Tablespoons of bacon grease, sauté the onion and the mushrooms until the onions are translucent and golden.
- Drain: Drain the pasta, and while it’s still warm, add the onions and mushrooms.
- Combine: Pour the cream mixture into the pasta, and stir over low heat for one to two minutes. Do this on low heat, or you will make scrambled eggs.
- Garnish: Serve with additional parmesan.
Tips and Tricks
This creamy bacon carbonara is really a simple sauce with noodles. You are gong to fall in love with how much flavor it has! Here are a few tips to get the most out of this recipe.
- Authentic Carbonara: If you want to make this a more authentic carbonara recipe mix the cream and use pancetta or guanciale which is a pork jowl. You can find at most specialty Italian supermarkets or in some unique grocery stores. Just keep in mind that when substituting the heavy cream it will result in a dish that may be a bit drier, hence not quite a creamy carbonara.
- Don’t Scramble Eggs: Have you sauce completely prepared before starting on the pasta. You will want your pasta hot when making the egg mixture. You will not want to cook the sauce or you will make scrambled eggs. When stirring the egg mixture into the pasta it needs to be quickly but not hot enough to scramble the egg.
- Add Protein: A great way to make this a filling and well rounded meal is to add a protein like chicken, shrimp or ham.
- Double the Sauce: I doubled the sauce recipe and I saved a bit of the pasta water, just in case my sauce got thicker than I liked – simply add a bit if you need.
Storing Leftovers
You can definitely store your leftover creamy bacon carbonara. The key is reheating it really slow so that you don’t risk breaking the sauce. I would not recommend freezing this dish because of the cream in the sauce. Here is how to store and reheat your dish.
- In the Refrigerator: You can store your leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To Reheat: When reheating, warm over low heat until the sauce is warm. You may need to add a tablespoon of milk or cream to keep a creamy consistency.
More Italian Recipes
You are going to fall in love with this carbonara recipe, and I can guarantee you will want to try some more Italian recipes. Here are a few of my favorites that are simple, quick, and always a crowd pleaser!
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Creamy Bacon Carbonara
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup cream or heavy cream
- 1/3 cup parmesan
- 1 tsp parsley freshly chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 pound bacon
- 3 mushrooms chopped (optional)
- 1 small onion chopped (optional)
- 1/2 pound pasta
Instructions
- Beat the eggs, cream, Parmesan, parsley, salt, and red pepper together in a bowl.
- Fry the bacon until crisp, then crumble and set aside.
- With 1 -2 Tablespoons of bacon grease, sauté the onion and the mushrooms until the onions are translucent and golden.
- Drain the pasta, and while it's still warm, add the onions and mushrooms.
- Pour the cream mixture into the pasta, and stir over low heat for one to two minutes. Do this on low heat, or you will make scrambled eggs.
- Stir in the crumbled bacon and serve with additional parmesan.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you are going to cook a traditional meal, you need to stick to the basics. There is no cream added. The cream taste comes from egg yolk.
Will be cooking it tonight, substitute Mexican creme and cilantro! Will let you know how it comes out🙏🏻
I will try this it looks great
I would also double this recipe
If using pancetta would I use a lb
Getting confused because there is no measurement for the parsley and it doesn’t say when to add the bacon back in. Could have done with more clear instructions.
Did you double the ingredients that are listed? Eg 4 eggs, 1 cup of cream? Or is that the double recipe listed?
I used this recipe for 1 lb of Linguine and it was plenty.. I added about 1/2 of pasta water when all done to make it creamier.. stupendous!
That’s 1/2 CUP of pasta water
Looks amazing, Can’t wait to make this for my family, Thank you for sharing
I’ve made this once. It was definitely a hit. Not even a spoonful left. I wanted to make it creamier and this recipe seems to be the one I was looking for. Will be making it tonight.
When do you add the bacon?
I mad the recipe as listed above… I like heat, but my family thought the sauce was a bit spicey.. Watch the red pepper flakes!!
So delicious!!! Helped us to feed a hungry group of 8 after a busy moving day. Tossed with whole wheat past, served with a Romaine salad and fresh loaf of french bread – Will be repeated again soon…
Thank you!
Does anyone know how many servings this makes? I have 6 people coming over tonight for a little New Year’s Eve get together and thought pasta carbonara would make a nice meal! There will be 6 of us, not sure how much of each of these ingredients I will need…help please!
Eggs stay raw?
No, I use only the yolk for this and if you put the sauce mix onto the pata right after you drain it the heat will cook the yolk.
Do you put the whole egg in and when do you add bacon . Do you just sprinkle bacon n top or put it in the sauce
I love it… thanks big hit with the friend, I added crubled up blue cheese with the egg and cream mix
BIG POINTS with the ladies THANKS
I made this one evening last week and then stepped out for an hour to run an errand. I came back to find it completely GONE. My husband and daughter ate it ALL. I am making it again tonight and will not share until I have had my fill. I understand it is to-die-for.
Looks so good! Thanks so much for linking up!
This looks great! I love carbonara so I’ll definitely be trying this recipe! (Also, I love the background of your site.)
-Sarah
I love bacon carbonara! I made it a few times but it was never saucy enough… Now I know why!!! Definitely going to have to try this one!