5-Ingredient Creamy Carbonara

Carbonara is an easy weeknight dinner – cozy, comforting and shockingly easy to make. First of all, you only need five ingredients. That’s why it’s called 5-Ingredient Creamy Carbonara.

Creamy carbonara is the perfect weeknight comfort meal to make when you haven’t planned anything for dinner. If you keep some bacon or pancetta in your fridge/freezer (and if you don’t, we need to talk) you can whip this up with pantry staples in less than 30 minutes.

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Also, don’t let the “creamy” in the title scare you. This recipe doesn’t use any cream or butter. Creamy carbonara gets its creamy-ness from the eggs.

You can use ANY kind of pasta in this dish although I prefer it with a longer noodle that I can twirl on my fork. Jovial gluten-free pasta is my favorite. You could also substitute zoodles (zucchini noodles) to make it even healthier.

Try 5-Ingredient Creamy Carbonara recipe and let me know what you think. Be sure to tag #grownupdish or @grownup_dish on Instagram so I can share your posts.

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5-Ingredient Creamy Carbonara

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• Author: jzmcbride
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Description

5-Ingredient Creamy Carbonara is an easy weeknight dinner – cozy, comforting and shockingly easy to make. It uses pantry staples and gets its creaminess from eggs (no cream or butter)!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 ounces pancetta or bacon, diced small
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1 pound traditional or gluten-free pasta (or substitute zoodles)
• (optional) fresh parsley or basil to garnish

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Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions. Cooking time will vary depending on the type of pasta you’re using. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook pancetta or bacon until crispy, 5-7 minutes.
3. combine egg yolks, egg, parmesan and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
4. Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl with the cheese and the eggs, tossing to fully combine.
5. Add pancetta/bacon as well as any rendered fat.
6. Add pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce reaches a creamy consistency.
7. Add salt, pepper and extra cheese as desired.
8. (optional) top with fresh chopped parsley or basil

Notes

If you are substituting zoodles for pasta, omit step 1 of the recipe and use lightly sauteéd zucchini noodles instead.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Category: recipe
• Method: stovetop
• Cuisine: Italian