OnlineCook - 30-Minute Spaghetti Carbonara by Yummly

June 4, 2025

This creamy, crowd-pleasing Italian classic is made with staples you may well have on hand, so it’s a perfect weeknight meal when you’re too hangry to run to the store. For perfect results, quickly toss the hot spaghetti (plus a splash of the cooking water) with the other ingredients; the heat of the pasta cooks the eggs just enough to create a silky, luxurious sauce. You can go with thick-cut pepper bacon, Italian pancetta (uncured rolled bacon) if you’re a traditionalist, or regular thick-cut bacon plus a good grind of pepper. The recipe, which makes 7 cups, is a Yummly original created by Ivy Manning.

$1.88 / Serving Star

Estimated Price

9 Ingredients

EASY

1/1

30-Minute Spaghetti Carbonara

Yummly

Ingredients

Warning0 allergens identified

30-Minute Spaghetti Carbonara

1 ½ Tablespoon salt(for pasta water, plus 1/2 tsp. for seasoning, divided)

2 Tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

4 Slice bacon(pepper bacon, pancetta, or regular thick-cut bacon, chopped)

5 cloves garlic(thinly sliced)

4 eggs

1 ¼ Cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup Italian parsley(roughly chopped)

1 Pound spaghetti(broken in half)

¼ Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper(if not using pepper bacon, or more to taste)

Instructions

Bring 4 qt. hot tap water and 1 1/2 Tbsp. salt to a boil in a covered 6- to 8-qt. pot. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until crispy, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and remove pan from heat; the hot bacon fat will cook the garlic.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs to blend. Add Parmesan and parsley and whisk together. Set aside.

When the water comes to a boil, add spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until barely tender to bite (al dente), 8-9 minutes. Scoop out and reserve 1/2 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to pot.

Add bacon, garlic, and bacon drippings to spaghetti along with half of the reserved pasta cooking water, and toss with tongs to coat. Whisk the remaining reserved pasta cooking water into the egg-cheese mixture. Pour over pasta and toss to coat. Season with the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, if you like. If you didn’t use pepper bacon, also add freshly ground pepper to the pasta and toss again. Serve immediately.