An authentic carbonara is made with egg yolks, pecorino romano, guanciale, black pepper and pasta. This recipe is the traditional one you’ll find in any Roman restaurant.
Bacon and eggs are a classic North American flavor combination, but the Italians take it one step further by making it into a pasta. Instead of bacon, they use guanciale which is pork cheek or jowl. Guanciale is a vey common ingredient in the other roman pasta dishes as well.
The carbonara is one of the main four pasta dishes from Rome (see another roman pasta recipe, an authentic cacio e pepe recipe here). The recipe you'll find in this post is a traditional recipe for the dish, so it doesn't contain any cream, which many recipes do. Between the starch from the pasta water, and the egg yolks, the cream isn't necessary at all!
This post is your step-by-step guide on how to make carbonara just like you would find in any restaurant in the eternal city.
Jump to:
🐖 Origins
The true origin of carbonara is disputed, and there's a few theories on how it originated.
Theory #1
The first theory and probably the most popular one is that during World War 2, American soldiers in Rome wanted something that reminded them of home, like bacon and eggs, so Italian chefs made them this pasta with guanciale (the bacon) and eggs, and of course added pecorino romano and black pepper.
Some also say that when Rome was liberated during World War 2, there wasn't a lot of food around, so American soldiers had packs of food with them from home, that included powdered eggs and bacon. So it is said that Italians made pasta out of these ingredients, that the soldiers had with them.
Theory #2
Another theory is that Umbrian coal workers called carbonari used to eat an early version of carabonara called "cacio e ova" which is a pasta with cheese and eggs (no guanciale). When they came to Rome for work, they introduced it to the Romans, and the dish evolved with the addition of the guanciale, and was adopted as a Roman one.
Which theory is correct? We'll probably never know!
🥦 What an authentic carbonara does not contain
There are many versions of carbonara out there where additional ingredients are added, but the original version that you would find in Rome only contains pasta, eggs, pecorino romano, black pepper and guanciale. The real recipe only contains 5 ingredients!
It does not contain:
- Garlic
- Onion
- Cream
- Peas
- Olive oil
- Parsley
- Vegetables of any kind
🔪 How to make it - step by step
Bring a pot of water to boil. When it's boiling, add salt. Throw the pasta in and cook until it's just before al dente – this is important because the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce.
When the water is about to boil, add the guanciale to a cold pan (photo 1) Turn the heat up to medium and let the guanciale cook until it's crispy and the fat has rendered, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove the guanciale from the pan, and leave the fat in (photo 2) If pasta isn't ready by this time, remove the pan from the heat until pasta is done cooking.
While guanciale is cooking, make the carbonara cream – in a small bowl, beat together egg yolks, pecorino romano, 2 spoons of guanciale fat, a little bit of pasta water and ground black pepper (photo 3)
Add the pasta to the pan, and add about half of a ladle of pasta water to the pan as well (still over medium heat). Be careful when adding the pasta to the pan because the guanciale fat will splatter (photo 4)
Let the pasta cook in the pan for a few minutes, until it's al dente. Add more pasta water if needed. You want there to be a bit of starchy liquid left at the bottom of the pan, and not have it be completely dry (photo 5)
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the carbonara egg cream (photo 6) and mix.
Add the guanciale and mix again (photos 7 & 8)
Plate and top with additional ground black pepper and pecorino romano. Enjoy!
💭 FAQs
No. An authentic carbonara does not have creamy of any kind in it. The creamy consistency is achieved by the starchy pasta water, guanciale fat, and the egg yolks and parmesan cheese.
Is Carbonara the same as Alfredo?
No. An Alfredo sauce doesn't have any eggs in it, while a carbonara does. A North American Alfredo recipe also has cream in it, while a carbonara does not. Alfredo also doesn't have guanciale in it.
It should be noted that an authentic Italian Alfredo sauce is made from butter and parmesan cheese - that's it, no cream at all.
What kind of sauce is carbonara?
The sauce in a carbonara is made from egg yolks, pecorino romano, guanciale fat, ground pepper and pasta water - no cream needed!
What kind of pasta is used in carbonara?
The very traditional pasta to use is spaghetti. Although even in Italy, mezze maniche is used very often, and it's what is used in this recipe. Mezze maniche are short rigatoni. Rigatoni is also used as well. Those are the three most common pasta shapes used for carbonara.
What is guanciale?
Guanciale is an Italian cured meat made from the pork jowl, or cheeks of a pig. Its name comes from ‘guancia’, which is the Italian word for ‘cheek’. It is generally cured with a mix of salt, dried herbs, and black pepper.
What is the difference between guanciale and pancetta?
Both cuts of meat come from the pig - pancetta comes from the belly of the pig, while guanciale comes from the cheek or jowls; guanciale also has a stronger flavor than pancetta.
Once cured, pancetta is more commonly eaten as is, but guanciale is usually fried and used in pasta sauces.
Can carbonara be made ahead of time?
Unfortunately, no. This is very much a dish that tastes best and will yield the best results when made on the spot. The egg cream requires guanciale fat and pasta water, all things that need to be made on the spot.
It doesn't reheat that well either, so if made ahead and reheated, it wouldn't taste very good.
How to reheat carbonara?
Carbonara doesn't reheat very well - the egg sauce dries out, and it's not very creamy when reheated. I would advise against reheating it.
But if you have leftovers, you can add some olive oil to a pan, add the leftover pasta in and heat it through. It won't be the same as when made fresh, however.
👩🏻🍳 Top tips
- When cutting the guanciale into strips, one side will have a thin layer of skin on it. Cut off this layer of skin - it's not meant to be eaten.
- When initially cut, 1.5 cups of guanciale may seem like a lot, but it reduces in size a fair bit when cooked in the pan.
- Pecorino romano is the traditional cheese to use in a classic carbonara - it's from Rome and of course so is carbonara. You can use parmesan (from Parma, not Rome), but it would change the flavor of the dish. Pecorino has a sharper flavor than parmesan, and it's made with sheep's milk, as opposed to parmesan, which is made with cow's milk.
- Ensure to let the pasta cook in the pan for a few minutes. The pasta will release starch into the pan and make an even creamier sauce this way.
- When pasta is done cooking in the pan, make sure that there is a bit of liquid left in the pan - this will help for a nice creamy consistency.
- When you're making the carbonara cream, it should be the consistency of pudding once you've mixed together the egg yolks, pecorino, guanciale fat, pasta water, and pepper.
- I used mezze maniche in this recipe, which is a short version of rigatoni, but you can also use rigatoni in this recipe, or spaghetti. Spaghetti is the most traditional shape to use in a carbonara, although the shorter shapes are very commonly used as well.
- I prefer to remove the guanciale from the pan when the pasta is cooking, and add it back in later because I like to keep the guanciale crispy. But if you prefer, you can keep the guanciale in the pan while the pasta is cooking.
- In Italy, to get the carbonara to be a beautiful golden yellow color, eggs with very yellow yolks are used called "pasta gialla." I used eggs that were labeled "golden yolk" to get the most golden yellow color possible.
- Guanciale is traditional to use in this dish, and gives the dish a very specific flavor, but if you can't find any, you can use pancetta. Pancetta is not as fatty as guanciale, so you will have to add some olive oil to help the pancetta cook.
- I used a microplane to grate the pecorino. I suggest weighing the pecorino instead of using the cups measurement if you can, because everyone grates cheese differently which can affect how it is measure in cups - weighing it is always more precise.
🍝 More traditional pasta recipes
- Authentic cacio e pepe recipe
- Clam pasta (spaghetti alle vongole)
- Penne Arrabbiata – Spicy Tomato Pasta
If you’ve tried making this Authentic Carbonara Recipe, or any other recipe on the blog, please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’ve been up to.
Recipe
Authentic Carbonara Recipe
An authentic carbonara is made with egg yolks, pecorino romano, guanciale, black pepper and pasta. This recipe is the traditional one you’ll find in any Roman restaurant.
Ingredients
- 250 grams mezze maniche pasta
- 1 ½ cups guanciale - cut into 1 cm wide strips
- ¾ cups (30g) pecorino romano grated
- 4 egg yolks
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
-
Bring a pot of water to boil. When it's boiling, add salt. Throw the pasta in and cook until it's just before al dente – this is important because the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce.
-
When the water is about to boil, add the guanciale to a cold pan. Turn the heat up to medium and let the guanciale cook until it's crispy and the fat has rendered, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the guanciale from the pan, and leave the fat in. If pasta isn't ready by this time, remove the pan from the heat until pasta is done cooking.
-
While guanciale is cooking, make the carbonara cream - in a small bowl, beat together egg yolks, pecorino romano, 2 spoons of guanciale fat, a little bit of pasta water and fresh ground black pepper. The consistency should be similar to pudding.
-
Add the pasta to the pan, and add about half of a ladle of pasta water to the pan as well (still over medium heat). Be careful when adding the pasta to the pan because the guanciale fat will splatter.
-
Let the pasta cook in the pan for a few minutes, until it's al dente. Add more pasta water if needed. You want there to be a bit of starchy liquid left at the bottom of the pan, and not have it be completely dry.
-
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the carbonara egg cream and mix. Add the guanciale and mix again.
-
Plate and top with additional ground black pepper and pecorino romano. Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- When cutting the guanciale into strips, one side will have a thin layer of skin on it. Cut off this layer of skin - it's not meant to be eaten.
- When initially cut, 1.5 cups of guanciale may seem like a lot, but it reduces in size a fair bit when cooked in the pan.
- Pecorino romano is the traditional cheese to use in a classic carbonara - it's from Rome and of course so is carbonara. You can use parmesan (from Parma, not Rome), but it would change the flavor of the dish. Pecorino has a sharper flavor than parmesan, and it's made with sheep's milk, as opposed to parmesan, which is made with cow's milk.
- Ensure to let the pasta cook in the pan for a few minutes. The pasta will release starch into the pan and make an even creamier sauce this way.
- When pasta is done cooking in the pan, make sure that there is a bit of liquid left in the pan - this will help for a nice creamy consistency.
- When you're making the carbonara cream, it should be the consistency of pudding once you've mixed together the egg yolks, pecorino, guanciale fat, pasta water, and pepper.
- I used mezze maniche in this recipe, which is a short version of rigatoni, but you can also use rigatoni in this recipe, or spaghetti. Spaghetti is the most traditional shape to use in a carbonara, although the shorter shapes are very commonly used as well.
- I prefer to remove the guanciale from the pan when the pasta is cooking, and add it back in later because I like to keep the guanciale crispy. But if you prefer, you can keep the guanciale in the pan while the pasta is cooking.
- In Italy, to get the carbonara to be a beautiful golden yellow color, eggs with very yellow yolks are used called "pasta gialla." I used eggs that were labeled "golden yolk" to get the most golden yellow color possible.
- Guanciale is traditional to use in this dish, and gives the dish a very specific flavor, but if you can't find any, you can use pancetta. Pancetta is not as fatty as guanciale, so you will have to add some olive oil to help the pancetta cook.
- I used a microplane to grate the pecorino. I suggest weighing the pecorino instead of using the cups measurement if you can, because everyone grates cheese differently which can affect how it is measure in cups - weighing it is always more precise.
