10 Minute Spaghetti Carbonara

This silky, smooth spaghetti carbonara is a surefire winner for a quick and easy family meal. Ready to eat in just 10 minutes, hurrah!

I absolutely adore a warm, creamy plate of spaghetti carbonara! Speckled with smoky lardons (bacon pieces) and flavoured with earthy, tangy Parmesan cheese, it’s just such a winner of a dish.

I also think that spaghetti carbonara is a very misunderstood pasta dish. For a start, there’s a lot of confusion about what actually goes into it to make it so deliciously creamy.

Many people assume that milk, cream or some other type of dairy is needed. This is not true! In authentic, Italian carbonara sauce, the beautifully creamy texture and flavour is achieved with just two key ingredients; beaten eggs and Parmesan cheese. That’s pretty much it! So put that cream back in the fridge as you will not need it for this 10 minute spaghetti carbonara recipe.

Carbonara sauce is thought to have originated in the Lazio region of Italy, as long ago as the 19th century. It was originally created by mixing together lard with cheese and eggs, then later refined over time to produce the current carbonara recipe that we all know and love.

Bacon Flavours

Pork pieces are a key ingredient in any decent spaghetti carbonara and guanciale is the traditional cured pork that is incorporated in this dish. Unfortunately, this can be tricky to find outside of Italy! Fortunately, any type of bacon will do, as long as the pieces are small enough. Some people just take whole rashers of bacon and chop them up. This is fine to do, although adds extra time to your recipe and I’m all about the quick cooking!

Therefore, I recommend using bacon lardons – basically fatty pieces of pre-chopped bacon – which work perfectly well. All you need to do is throw them into a hot pan, fry off for a few minutes and then voila! They’re all ready to add to the sauce.

A final essential ingredient in this super quick 10 minute spaghetti carbonara is the black pepper. Some people aren’t too keen so you can leave it out if you want, but the warming spicy flavour of a generous sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper is just gorgeous! And very authentic to the dish. So do add it if possible.

Pasta for the Win!

Now, I am no stranger to quick pasta recipes as I think they make such fantastically easy family meals. Just check out some of my other super quick pasta recipes for some easy meal inspiration… such as this 10 Minute Cherry Tomato and Basil Spaghetti and this 10 Minute Dairy Free Creamy Salmon & Spinach Pasta to name just a couple. YUM.

Pasta is a reliable quick cook ingredient that’s both filling and versatile. It’s no surprise therefore that it’s incredibly popular the world over. Spaghetti is no exception to this. The standard type of spaghetti has a cooking time of 10-12 minutes which isn’t too bad, however in order to make this spaghetti carbonara recipe truly ready in less than 10 minutes I firmly recommend using quick cook spaghetti.

Quick cook spaghetti is my secret weapon in many of my recipes as it’s cooked in as little as 4 minutes! Thankfully, many types of quick cook pasta are widely available in most stores these days and I always keep a couple of bags in my cupboard ready to create that super fast recipe whenever needed.

Of course you can use regular spaghetti if the quick cook type is not available to you but bear in mind this will add a few extra minutes to the total preparation time.

Another super important time saving element to this 10 minute spaghetti carbonara is the use of pre-minced garlic. Regular readers will know that this is certainly one of my hot tips for helping to make sooo many different types of quick recipe. Garlic enhances the flavour of so many recipes, this one included.

You can buy the pre minced type everywhere these days – in jars or squeezy tubes. I always say that nobody hands out any prizes for spending ages chopping up your own raw garlic so why not make life a little bit easier and use the pre-chopped variety??

Potential Pitfalls

Now, although this spaghetti carbonara recipe is designed to be super quick and easy to make, creating that perfect carbonara sauce does have one well known pitfall. Namely, the eggs in the sauce can scramble if it’s overheated. The last thing anyone wants is a mouthful of gritty scrambled eggs mixed with their spaghetti! Thankfully, this disaster is easy to avoid if you know what you’re doing….

The key to creating the perfect, scramble-free sauce is to ensure it does not get too hot. Once your pasta is cooked, you need to mix it with the beaten egg mixture. To do this, the freshly drained pasta must be left off the heat for a full 20 seconds before adding the egg mixture to it. You then stir the sauce through rapidly tossing it with tongs to get the spaghetti fully coated in that silky smoothness. Do this, and the eggs will not scramble. I promise!

A final word now on the garnish…. I love crowning off my spaghetti carbonara with some delicious flat leaf parsley. Not only does it add a vibrant green colour but it enhances the flavour beautifully and makes it healthier! (In a recipe that is otherwise devoid of vegetables). Parsley such a great herb so it’s no surprise I use it a lot in the kitchen.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO MAKING THE PERFECT 10 MINUTE SPAGHETTI CARBONARA

Now lets have a quick look at how to make this delicious, creamy pasta recipe, with useful photos along the way…

STEP 1;

First of all, boil a large pan full of slightly salted water, all ready for your spaghetti.

STEP 2;

While the water heats up, grab yourself a medium sized frying pan and to this, add 100g (3.5oz) of lardons (basically, raw bacon pieces). If you don’t have lardons where you live then chopped bacon pieces will work fine. Cook the lardons/bacon on medium-high heat for around 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently until they’re cooked and just starting to crisp up nicely.

STEP 3;

By now, your pan of water will hopefully be boiling, so to this pan add 200g (7 oz) of quick cook spaghetti. Cook this according to pack instructions, preferably until al dente… this typically takes about 4-5 minutes. Check it regularly so it doesn’t overcook as this can happen with such a short cooking time!

STEP 4;

Whilst the pasta and the lardons continue to cook, get a medium bowl and to this, add 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic (I use pre-minced types rather than spend precious time chopping up my own) and 50g (1.8 oz) of finely grated parmesan cheese. Whisk all of these together with a fork until combined and creamy.

STEP 5;

The pasta should be just about cooked by now. Remove it from the heat, drain it and keep a cup full of the drained pasta water handy for later.

Put the drained pasta immediately back into the hot pan that you boiled it in. Remove it from the heat then count to 20 seconds (I do this out loud!) and then, pour in the egg and cheese mixture on top of the pasta. Mix this quickly together to ensure the spaghetti gets totally coated in the sauce. – I like to do this by tossing it around with tongs. Loosen it up by pouring a little of the pasta water in if it starts to become a little thick and sticky. You should end up with a creamy and smooth sauce with no scrambled lumps!

STEP 5;

Nearly done! Now, add the cooked lardons to the pasta pan and give it all another quick toss to combine everything nicely.

Divide the finished spaghetti equally between two serving plates. Again, I find this easiest to do with tongs. Sprinkle over freshly cracked black pepper to taste, and roughly tear or chop approx 15g (0.5 oz) fresh flat leaf parsley evenly over the two plates. Note- I often chop my herb garnishes with scissors directly over the food as this is quicker and easier than chopping it with a knife on a board. SERVE!