Best 15-Minute Creamy Carbonara (Printable)

A luxurious Italian pasta featuring creamy sauce, crispy pancetta, and Parmesan ready in fifteen minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 7 oz spaghetti or linguine

→ Sauce

02 - 2 large eggs
03 - ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
04 - 3½ tbsp heavy cream (optional)
05 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
06 - Pinch of salt

→ Meats

07 - 2.5 oz pancetta or guanciale, diced

→ Garnish

08 - Extra Parmesan for serving
09 - Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

# How-To Steps:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water before draining.
02 - While pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add diced pancetta and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove skillet from heat.
03 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, grated Parmesan, heavy cream (if using), a pinch of salt, and freshly ground black pepper until smooth and creamy.
04 - Add the hot, drained pasta to the skillet containing pancetta. Toss thoroughly to combine ingredients evenly.
05 - Remove skillet from heat. Immediately pour the egg and cheese mixture over the pasta, tossing vigorously to coat evenly. Gradually add reserved pasta water as needed to achieve a creamy, glossy sauce.
06 - Transfer to serving plates immediately. Garnish with extra Parmesan and chopped fresh parsley if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It feels like restaurant magic but uses ingredients you probably already have tucked in your fridge.
  • The sauce comes together off the heat, so theres no scrambled egg panic, just pure silky comfort.
  • Cleanup is shockingly easy for something that tastes this indulgent.
  • You can make it while chatting on the phone or helping with homework, its that forgiving.
02 -
  • The skillet must be off the heat when you add the eggs or you'll end up with expensive scrambled eggs instead of sauce.
  • Save more pasta water than you think you'll need, I've learned the hard way that running back to the sink mid-toss breaks the rhythm.
  • Work fast once the pasta is done, carbonara is a dish of momentum and heat, hesitation makes it clumpy.
03 -
  • Use the hottest pasta you can handle when mixing with the eggs, the residual heat does all the cooking.
  • If you're nervous, temper the eggs by whisking in a spoonful of hot pasta water before adding them to the skillet.
  • Toast extra black pepper in the pancetta fat for thirty seconds before adding the pasta, it blooms the flavor in a way that surprises everyone.
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