This is a sponsored post written by us on behalf of Dairy MAX, your local dairy council. All opinions are 100% ours.
Our travels through Italy are still some of our best food memories, and our favorite from the trip was cheesy pasta carbonara.
Carbonara is the best pasta for cold winter months because the creamy, cheesy sauce is delicious and when you eat it you get the feeling of a warm comfy home (if your home included an Italian grandmother).
The keys to a great carbonara pasta recipe are pretty simple.
All you need to do is make sure you either buy or make quality pasta, and ask your local cheese expert at your grocery store for their best parmigiano reggiano cheese.
It’s really all about the cheese!
Once you have those ingredients on hand, you will not only make this easy carbonara recipe for special occasions, but your friends and family will request it on a weekly basis too because it is just that easy to make!
We use bacon, but you can also use traditional pancetta or make pork belly carbonara.
We included this recipe as a special three-course menu for a dairy-focused meal for Dairy Max. Read about the full three course dinner party menu and meal!
It features a baked brie appetizer topped with apples and pecans, this pasta recipe, and sous vide creme brulee for dessert – it’s the easiest way to make creme brulee!
Creamy, Cheesy Carbonara Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of spaghetti pasta
- 1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 2 eggs
- 4 slices of bacon cut into small pieces
- 4 fresh garlic cloves, finely minced
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Juice of ½ of a lemon
If you’re using a box of high-quality dried spaghetti, you can start frying up the bacon whenever place your dried pasta into boiling water as it will take some time for it to become al dente.
If you’ve made or purchased fresh pasta for your carbonara, you can start cooking the bacon and garlic prior to boiling, as the boil time for fresh pasta is typically around 3 minutes.
While the bacon is frying, mix your freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano with your eggs and freshly ground black pepper in a separate bowl.
Once your bacon is properly crisp, add in the minced garlic and sauté in the bacon and pan drippings for about 1 minute or until it becomes fragrant.
Next, remove the pan from the heat to allow it to cool for a few minutes, then add your cooked pasta directly to the skillet from the pasta pot.
Now add your egg and cheese mixture directly to the pan and fold it into the pasta.
The reason for allowing the pan to cool is so the sauce still cooks with the pasta, but it’s not so hot that it becomes a cheesy pasta omelette.
Once the sauce is folded into the carbonara pasta it’s time to plate!
Top your pasta with more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, add additional salt and pepper to taste, and finish your dish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Delicioso!
Easy Carbonara Pasta Recipe
Restaurant-quality pasta carbonara made easily at home!
Ingredients
- 1 pound of spaghetti pasta
- 1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 2 eggs
- 4 slices of bacon cut into small pieces
- 4 fresh garlic cloves, finely minced
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Juice of ½ of a lemon
Instructions
- If you’re using a box of high-quality dried spaghetti, you can start frying up the bacon whenever place your dried pasta into boiling water as it will take some time for it to become al dente.
- If you’ve made or purchased fresh pasta for your carbonara, you can start cooking the bacon and garlic prior to boiling, as the boil time for fresh pasta is typically around 3 minutes.
- While the bacon is frying, mix your freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano with your eggs and freshly ground black pepper in a separate bowl.
- Once your bacon is properly crisp, add in the minced garlic and sauté in the bacon and pan drippings for about 1 minute or until it becomes fragrant.
- Next, remove the pan from the heat to allow it to cool for a few minutes, then add your cooked pasta directly to the skillet from the pasta pot.
- Now add your egg and cheese mixture directly to the pan and fold it into the pasta.
- Top your pasta with more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, add additional salt and pepper to taste
- Finish your dish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Click this link to pin this recipe on pinterest. Also, don’t forget to follow us on instagram and facebook for more recipes and foodie recommendations. If you’d like to automatically receive our posts in your email, register here.
No Comments