The spaghetti carbonara recipe is a traditional Italian pasta. Possibly one of the most popular recipes in Italian gastronomy and one of the most discussed as well.
It is a basic first course in terms of ingredients, common and easily available, but rich in flavour.
And the truth is, there’s a lot of confusion with this dish. The popular Italian recipe does not really have cream, despite the fact that it is usually bathed in liquid cream.
If the recipe you are interested in is Spaghetti carbonara with cream, clicking on the previous link will take you to the recipe for spaghetti with cream.
Here, now, we are going to see how to make Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe, the authentic original Italian cuisine.
How to make spaghetti carbonara recipe?
- Preparation time: 15-20 minutes.
- Difficulty: easy
- Servings: 4 persons
- Calories: 500/portion
From its controversial origin, the original Italian recipe for spaghetti carbonara uses fresh eggs, guanciale and grated pecorino cheese. However, it does not contain cream, bacon or mushrooms.

But as with all traditional Italian dishes, there are different variations of the carbonara sauce recipe, not always well received by purists. For example, carbonara pasta with cream, onion or bacon.
One thing is certain: the most common pasta format is spaghetti, although it is not uncommon to find excellent carbonara pasta dishes in which short pastas such as rigatoni or pennes are used.
If you are not sure about the different types of pasta there are, this link will help you to find out.
Ingredients of the spaghetti alla carbonara recipe for 4 people
The original Italian carbonara sauce has pecorino cheese, guanciale and egg yolk.
The Italian guanciale is the pork jowl, and if we can’t find it, we can use skinless bacon instead. Pecorino cheese is an Italian variety of cured sheep’s cheese.

The ingredients we need to make a nice carbonara pasta dish are:
- 400 grams of spaghetti
- 150 grams of guanciale (or bacon)
- 100 grams of pecorino cheese
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
Preparation of the Spaghetti carbonara recipe step by step
We started this recipe by preparing the ingredients on the counter. We prepare a cutting board, a very sharp knife, a casserole, a frying pan and utensils such as a spoon and a wooden spatula.
1 Prepare the spaghetti
We put a pan big enough to hold plenty of water on the fire. When the water is boiling, add the spaghetti and let it cook for the time indicated on the package, which is usually around 8-10 minutes.

No need to add laurel or olive oil to the cooking water… just salt. But we salt the water in moderation, remembering that the guanciale is quite tasty and will give enough flavour to the dish.
It should also be noted that the traditional recipe for carbonara pasta is made with spaghetti. It’s not just any pasta. In fact, it is compulsory to use quality pasta. We already know how Italians are about pasta…
The ideal is to calculate the approximate time for the spaghetti to be cooked when the egg and pecorino cheese cream is ready and the guanciale is golden.
It is advisable to stir the spaghetti several times at the beginning to prevent it from sticking. And it is always important to remove the pasta when it is al dente.
When is the spaghetti “al dente”?
The best way to know if the spaghetti is al dente is to bite into it. When there is a small white spot left inside, that’s when the spaghetti is al dente.
When the spaghetti is done, we drain it but don’t throw away the cooking water. We reserve some of the cooking broth for later.
2 Preparation of the carbonara sauce
While the water is heating up and then cooking the pasta, we are preparing the carbonara sauce:

Put the yolks and the egg in a bowl and add the grated pecorino cheese. If no pecorino cheese is found, we can use a well-cured sheep’s cheese instead.
Now mix well, preferably using a fork or a whisk. Beat the eggs with the pecorino cheese until you get a good homogeneous cream. The rest of the cheese will be used to season the spaghetti dish when it has to be served.
Then add a little ground black pepper.
Ideally, freshly ground black pepper should be sprinkled generously. In fact, it is said that the name of this spaghetti carbonara recipe comes from the colour of the charcoal that provides this spice to the dish.
If necessary, a few spoonfuls of cooking water can be added to the pasta to make the egg-pecorino mixture creamy and fluid to the point where it does not dry out too much.

On the other hand, we cut the guanciale or pancetta into small cubes, and put a non-stick frying pan on the fire.
Pour the cubes of meat and let them brown over a moderate heat, stirring often. The heat should not be too high: the guanciale, in fact, should be crunchy but juicy, not burnt or dry.
It should release most of the fat in the pan so that the meat is well done.
When the guanciale is done, remove it and put the fat that has been released during frying back into the pan.
3 The final step of the spaghetti carbonara
Now it’s time to magic.

Now that the cooking water for the spaghetti is rich in starch, let’s add a couple of ladles of this water to the pan where the fat has been released from the meat. And we’ll start the fire again.
When the spaghetti is ready, we take it out of the casserole, drained, and put it in the frying pan with the water and the fat from the meat.
Stir the pasta well with the broth to mix the flavours. We are preparing the base of the carbonara sauce. If necessary, add more water, until you get the right proportion of broth and pasta.
Now remove the pan from the heat and leave it to rest for about 30 seconds, so that the spaghetti cools down slightly.

Now it’s time to add the egg sauce and cheese. The heat from the spaghetti will cook the carbonara sauce. Therefore, the spaghetti should ideally not be too hot or too cold.
If the pasta is too hot, the egg will cook too quickly and may end up looking like a spaghetti omelette.
On the other hand, if the pasta is too cold, you can end up eating a soup of cheese and egg.
Put the pan back on the heat, while stirring the pasta until you get a very creamy sauce. To make sure that the spaghetti absorbs the carbonara sauce, stir everything well.

This way the eggs will be cooked mixed with the other ingredients and become a smooth, lump-free cream. If it is not too creamy, you can add a few spoonfuls of water from the cooking of the pasta.
That’s when we added the taquitos de guanciale.
Now we serve immediately, sprinkling on each plate a little of the remaining pecorino cheese and some freshly ground black pepper.
This dish should be served hot and enjoyed immediately to better appreciate the creaminess of the eggs as well as the unique flavor of this recipe.
Enjoy!!

Spaghetti carbonara recipe to print
Ingredients
- 400 gr spaghetti
- 150 gr guanciale or bacon
- 100 gr pecorino cheese (sheep's cheese)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- salt
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
Preparation of spaghetti
- Put a pan of water on the boil and add a little salt. When it is boiling, add the spaghetti and let it cook for the time indicated on the package. Stir the pasta to prevent it from sticking.
Preparation of the carbonara sauce
- In a bowl put the yolks and the egg, and add the grated cheese. Mix everything well to get a homogeneous sauce.
- Cut the guanciale into small cubes and put them in a frying pan on the fire. Let them fry until all the fat is removed. When it is done, remove it from the heat, take out the meat and put the fat in the pan.
The union of all the ingredients
- Pour a couple of ladles of the cooking water from the spaghetti into the pan with the fat and put it back on the heat.
- When the spaghetti is al dente, drain it and put it in the pan with the broth. Stir the pasta well with the broth until it gains consistency, and remove it from the heat. Let it rest for 30 seconds and cool slightly.
- It is time to add the egg-cheese mixture to the pan with the spaghetti. Stir until you get a very creamy carbonara sauce. Finally, add the guanciale cubes and season with black pepper and grated cheese.
Video
This is the authentic Italian dish of spaghetti carbonara. If you want more carbonara recipes.
We hope you liked this spaghetti carbonara recipe… we are still licking our fingers… Don’t forget to share it on your favorite social networks.
I love the spaghetti carbonara original recipe. I tasted it in Italy two summers ago, and since it’s my favourite. Thanks a lot!!
What a delicious line!! I loved the original Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe, I will prepare it for my girlfriend at the weekend. She’s going to love it!