Loved this pasta! The lemon taste is stronger than I expected comparing to a traditional carbonara but it gave it such a fresh twist we were obsessed. Recently had to cut dairy and I didn’t miss Parmesan at all with this dish. Thank you!
Why I love this pasta carbonara recipe
A few months ago, Marc decided to give up dairy. He had been debating the idea for a while, but around October, he decided to really commit. Of course, my mind started working in overdrive.
How could we possibly give up cheese, especially when we’re living in the land of cheese? I mean between France and Wisconsin we are pretty much always living in a land of cheese.
But, there is a restaurant here in Amiens that serves traditional carbonara, which is surprising because most of the carbonara here in France is cream. They serve it with a heaping garnish of chives, and it’s absolutely amazing.
→ If you like this recipe, you should try these: sausage and peppers pasta / pesto pasta salad / dairy free alfredo sauce / BLT pasta salad / penne bolognese
Ingredient notes:
- Bacon – traditionally, carbonara uses pancetta, but I’ve found it’s equally good with bacon so that’s usually what I use.
- Eggs – this is where we get our creamy sauce. The eggs get tempered with hot pasta water, which heats them to a safe temperature while preventing them from “cooking”.
- Pasta – you don’t need to use spaghetti, just make sure you cook your pasta to al dente in salted water for optimal flavor
- Lemon – normally, carbonara pasta has cheese added, but I’ve found that a little zing of lemon juice really kicks up the flavor a bit without using cheese.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make pasta carbonara
Cook your pasta. Boil a large pot of salted water and add the pasta. Let the pasta cook for the time indicated on the package for al dente.
Before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. I like to use a liquid measuring cup or mug to pull the water out. You could also use a ladle.
When the pasta is cooked, drain the extra water. If your other ingredients aren’t ready, drizzle with olive oil to prevent it from sticking.
Crisp up the bacon. While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet to medium-high. Add the chopped bacon and let it cook until crispy, stirring as needed. Next, add the garlic and allow it to cook in the bacon grease until fragrant.
If you need more time, turn off the heat to prevent burning while you’re preparing the other ingredients. Turn the heat back on just before tossing your pasta and egg mixture.
Temper the eggs. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the lemon juice and salt. Then slowly whisk in most of the hot pasta water. This will “cook” the eggs and prevent them from scrambling with being added to the pan.
Toss everything together. Add the pasta and egg mixture to the pan with the bacon. Stir everything together and allow the eggs to coat the pasta. As it starts to heat, the sauce should start to thicken.
Garnish and serve. If needed, adjust seasoning with salt & pepper. Then, garnish each serving with a generous portion of fresh chives.
Frequently asked questions
Pasta carbonara is most commonly made with spaghetti, but any pasta will work in this recipe. I prefer to use a long pasta shape because it’s more like spaghetti, and I love using bucatini as an alternative to spaghetti. But, you can use whatever pasta you have on hand, even if it’s not long. Just be sure to follow the package directions for al dente when cooking.
Absolutely not. Carbonara sauce is creamy because of the tempered eggs used to make the sauce. There should be no cream or butter in the recipe. Traditionally, carbonara has parmesan or pecorino cheese in the sauce, but this recipe does not include it.
Yes. Pasta carbonara is made with raw eggs which are tempered with hot pasta sauce. This cooks the egg and brings it to a safe temperature while preventing the egg from scrambling or clumping in the sauce.
This is a common problem with carbonara, and you can fix it by maintaining the right temperature during the cooking process. You want to keep the pasta and bacon warm while you’re tempering the eggs with hot pasta water. Once the eggs are tempered, they still need to be heated when they’re added to the pasta. Cook the tossed pasta over medium-heat, and stir frequently until the sauce thickens.
More dairy free dinner ideas: Salmon kabobs / Turkey sloppy joes / Butternut squash pasta / Homemade spaghettios / Shrimp scampi
Creamy Pasta Carbonara
Ingredients
- 1 16- ounce package pasta
- 8 slices thick cut bacon, sliced into thin strips
- 4 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions for al dente. Before straining, reserve 1/3 – 1/2 cup of the cooking water for the sauce.
- Heat a large skillet or frying pan to medium-high, and bacon and sauté, until slightly crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and turn off the heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, lemon juice and zest. Temper the eggs by whisking the reserved pasta water into them while still hot.
- Add the pasta and egg mixture to the pan with the bacon. Stir everything together and allow the eggs to coat the pasta. As it starts to heat, the sauce should start to thicken.
- Add additional pasta water, if needed. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper, to taste.
- Garnish with chives and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I was skeptical at first but this recipe is amazing. I recently found out I’m allergic to dairy and I’ve been missing creamy pasta dishes like this one. It’s absolutely delicious and I didn’t have to feel guilty about eating it.
Mine was a disaster. Eggs just scrambled. So was no sauce. Just scrambled egg stuck to spaghetti. Very disappointing
I’m sorry that your eggs scrambled. You really need to temper with super hot water and keep them moving once they get back into the pan with the pasta.
I have a pan of scrambled eggs and pasta! I tempered with water straight from the pan to the eggs. Do the eggs need to be room temperature instead of fridge?
I take my eggs out of the fridge and crack them into a bowl before I start boiling the pasta, so that they have time to come to room temp. Sometimes I’ll even hold the bowl of eggs over the steaming water to help it heat up a bit. After tempering the eggs, when you’re about to pour them into the pan with the bacon and pasta, make sure the pan is at a pretty low heat! You can always heat it up bit by bit to thicken the sauce. Hope that helps!
Super easy to follow but I have to get better at tempering my eggs! Tastes super yummy though.
I’m wondering, can this dish be reheated the following day and eaten?
Second time I’ve made traditional carbonara with egg, but I love the lemon in this one, it adds another layer of flavour and it’s so tasty! One piece of advice is try and heat the bowl you are tempering the egg in – I sat my mixing bowl in an oven dish that had freshly boiled water in it. Made it easier to temper the egg. Someone mentioned that they wondered whether to use fridge eggs or room-temperature eggs. I recommend room temperature eggs! 🙂
I was planning to make carbonara and discovered mold on my parmesan! I thought all was lost but then I found this recipe. Super delicious and flavorful. I didn’t miss the cheese at all.
This was horrible. We had to throw the food away.
I’m sorry to hear that. If you don’t mind me asking, what was wrong with it?
This was so freaking amazing! I recently had to cut out dairy, and I’ve never eaten pork. But it was the perfect pasta dish! It felt like I was eating authentic carbonara. The texture was phenomenal and I threw in some nutritional yeast and it was almost exactly like Mac and cheese. This is such a versatile recipe!
Loved this pasta! The lemon taste is stronger than I expected comparing to a traditional carbonara but it gave it such a fresh twist we were obsessed. Recently had to cut dairy and I didn’t miss Parmesan at all with this dish. Thank you!