Creamy Chicken Carbonara Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is chicken carbonara sauce made of? ›

The creamy sauce is made by tossing eggs and Parmesan with cooked pasta and its still piping hot cooking water. It's so simple but can be intimidating.

The difference between alfredo and carbonara is that carbonara contains an egg while alfredo sauce does not. Carbonara is usually thinner in consistency than alfredo sauce, using the egg to coat the noodles instead of relying on the cream.

The golden rule to silky carbonara is to whisk your egg whites so that they're completely incorporated with the egg yolks. This will create a smooth, velvety sauce. As like any pasta dish, including carbonara, cook the pasta perfectly al dente so that it's soft but still firm, with some bite.

Should carbonara have cream? Typically carbonara sauce is only made of eggs, bacon, parmesan, olive oil, seasoning, and sometimes, vegetables. As for cream, Italians will tell you that is a big no no.

Prep the egg mixture.

In a measuring cup, combine the full egg, the separated egg yolks, the cracked pepper, and the pecorino cheese and whisk into a gritty slurry. Because the eggs and cheese are now mixed together, they will both emulsify on contact with the starchy water, creating a smooth sauce.

Classic Italian carbonara sauce is typically made with just 4 ingredients: eggs, black pepper, pecorino Romano (or parmesan), and guanciale (or pancetta). Of course, you can play around with the ingredients to your liking (we added cream and garlic to this one and often use bacon or ham instead of pancetta!)

Carbonara is almost always served with spaghetti or linguine, but you can use whatever pasta you prefer. For a more unusual take on carbonara, try spinach fettuccine tossed with warm pasta and fresh baby spinach; you'll get a vibrant, beautiful dish with some additional health benefits.

Like we suggest in most of our pasta recipes, pre-shredded cheese just won't give you the same flavor or texture. If you can't find Pecorino Romano, you can substitute Parmesan Reggiano or Piave.

Cacio e uova is essentially Naples' meatless version of carbonara. Its silky sauce is made of eggs—two whole eggs plus an extra yolk keeps everything creamy—and a mixture of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano.

So for two people you should use 2 eggs, for 3 people you should use 4 and so on. For 500 gr of pasta how many eggs, egg yokes and ground cheese do you use for a carbonara? It's 6 portions, so 6–7 egg yolks, a couple large handfuls of pecorino and one of Parmigiano Reggiano, and around 150 grams of guanciale.

Why no garlic in carbonara? ›

Why is there no garlic in carbonara? Because it's an Italian dish, not an Italian-American dish, and Italian cooking does not use garlic as heavily as Italian-American cuisine. This is the flowchart of Roman pastas.

The quantity is crucial: the right amount is two egg yolks for each person. As with all pasta, you have to keep the pasta water – the starchy water is how you get a perfectly creamy sauce.

Based on the results, it should be advisable the use of thermo-processed eggs to ensure the safety of this preparation.

Use 1 egg yolk for every egg you use. It will make the sauce creamier. Take the pan off the heat when you stir in the egg and pecorino cheese mixture.

Carbonara is made with guanciale (cured pork), eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, spaghetti pasta, and lots of black pepper. Italians don't add extra ingredients like cream, milk, garlic, or onions. Try this recipe if you want to make an authentic, creamy carbonara that comes straight from Italy, where I live.

Carbonara: History

Because the name comes from the word carbonaro, “coal burner,” some believe the dish was created as a hearty easy-to-make meal by men working outdoors for long periods.

Another kind of heavy white sauce is carbonara. The carbonara sauce incorporates eggs beaten with parmesan and tossed with freshly boiled, hot pasta.

Serve with steamed vegetables (broccoli and/or cauliflower work best), over zucchini noodles, your favourite pasta, or rice.