Creamy Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe (Traditional) with Cooked Egg Sauce (No Raw Eggs, No Heavy Cream)

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The LEGENDARY authentic Spaghetti Carbonara recipe just got better! Keep reading to learn how to make creamy Spaghetti Carbonara the Roman way— no onions, no peas, no heavy cream. Learn how to make Spaghetti Carbonara as they do in the best Italian restaurants in Rome, Italy. However in this extra creamy Spaghetti Carbonara recipe, we show how to pasteurize the eggs at home. It’s a cooked carbonara sauce (no raw eggs) that does not deviate from the traditional Roman recipe.

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Prefer a Spaghetti Carbonara with Cream and Bacon? You are looking for the WWII Spaghetti Carbonara recipe! This ‘American-style’ Carbonara is in fact one of the origin stories for Carbonara, and we have re-created the recipe for you using the memoirs of the Italian Chef who said he invented it!

1
Spaghetti Carbonara with Cream and Bacon – the Original Recipe?
A re-creation of the WWII Carbonara recipe —one of several origin stories for Pasta Carbonara in Italy today! This Spaghetti Carbonara with Cream and Bacon and processed cheese is creamy and delicious! It's also similar to the Carbonara recipes popular outside of Italy. Just beware: It is NOT the Carbonara considered traditional in Italy today! But don't worry— we have that recipe too 🙂
Check out this recipe

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In Italian? Spaghetti Carbonara Ricetta

Ingredients for this (and all) traditional Spaghetti Carbonara recipe!

How to Make Creamy Spaghetti Carbonara

This Pasta Carbonara recipe (called “Pasta alla Carbonara” or Spaghetti alla Carbonara in Italy) is made using traditional ingredients in the most Italian way. It’s a fast and easy dish with just a few simple ingredients—ready in the time it takes to cook the pasta!

What are these ingredients?

  • black pepper (ideally, toasted and ground fresh)
  • pecorino romano cheese (very finely grated)
  • guanciale (cured pork cheek)
  • egg yolks
  • spaghetti
  • salt (a bit for the pasta water)

Let’s take a look at these ingredients one by one!

Black Pepper (Toasted)

In a traditional Roman Carbonara, the black pepper needs to come through. Traditionally, it is toasted to bring out its best flavor and then ground. Or, you can ground it (medium coarsely) and then toast it in a dry pan.

Toasting Ground Pepper

It’s fine to add already ground pepper to a dry pan and toast it over low heat until you smell it. However, be sure to use a medium-coarse grind on your pepper mill. Toasting finely ground pepper runs the risk of quickly creating pepper gas—which is not good for your lungs.

Here, we are toasting coarsely ground pepper.

Toasting Whole Pepper, Then Grinding It

If you are new to toasting pepper, you can also toast the peppercorns whole in a dry pan. This buys you a little leeway in toasting, letting you avoid the risk of creating pepper gas. Once you smell the toasting pepper, remove it from the heat and grind it with a mill or marble mortar and pestle.

Toasting whole peppercorns, then grinding it is a bit less risky if you want to avoid accidentally creating pepper gas 🙂
Grinding toasted black pepper with an Italian marble mortar and pestle!

Pecorino Romano Cheese

The traditional Spaghetti Carbonara recipe is made with pecorino cheese — not Parmigiano, ‘parmesan’ or a mix of pecorino and other cheeses. There is really no leeway here if you want to avoid offending Roman (or Italian) sensibilities.

Lovely piece of pecorino romano cheese.

Ideally, choose ‘semi-aged’ Pecorino Romano if you can find it. Semi-aged cheeses always melt just a bit better. However, here we have super creamy carbonara egg sauce, and so whatever Pecorino Romano you can find should be just fine.

However, be sure the Pecorino Romano cheese is very finely grated. The powdery pecorino you can often find in the supermarket (already ground) is perfect. If you are grinding it fresh at home (which always delivers the best flavor), it’s fine to use a fine grater setting on a food processor. However, we always pass even this pecorino through a strainer to make it even finer. Finely ground cheese = extra creamy spaghetti carbonara sauce!

Super finely ground pecorino cheese!

Guanciale (Cured Pork Cheek)

Many outside Italy erroneously think that Carbonara is made with pancetta (cured pork belly) or bacon (smoked pork belly). There was a time when either pancetta or guanciale was considered acceptable in Italy, but these days really guanciale is considered traditional for this dish.

Aren’t pancetta and guanciale the same thing? Nope. Again guanciale is pork cheek and pancetta is pork belly. The amount of fat and flavor the two products have are quite different. Guanciale in fact delivers more fat which we want in our creamy Spaghetti Carbonara.

This is guanciale.

The guanciale can either be cut into strips, then cooked. Or, cut into thick slices and cooked in the pan till soft and tender, then cut into strips and tossed back into the pan till crispy.

Cooking guanciale as thick slices.
Then, after cutting the cooked guanciale into strips, we put it back into the pan to crisp up.

Cooked Carbonara Sauce (Egg Yolks)

Many people would love to enjoy a traditional creamy Spaghetti Carbonara, but are worried about the possibility of it containing raw eggs. We also think food safety should always be a priority. In Italy, it is possible to find ‘pasteurized egg yolk’ in cartons as one can find egg whites in the United States and elsewhere. However, sometimes you don’t have that or can’t find it.

Luckily, it is pretty easy to cook egg yolks to the point of food safety at home—and you can do it right over the boiling pasta! The FDA recommends heating eggs to a temperature of 160° F in order to kill most pathogens (like salmonella) that can cause foodborne illness.

Double Boiler + Thermometer

To cook the carbonara sauce, all you need is a metal bowl that can fit on top of whatever pot you are using to boil your spaghetti. By placing this bowl with the egg yolks over the simmering water in which the pasta is cooking, you have created a DIY double boiler!

We start by drizzling a half ladle of pasta water into our egg yolks and giving them a mix.

Placing the egg yolks over the boiling pasta to make a double boiler!

Then, we put the bowl with the egg yolks over the simmering water allowing this indirect heat to heat the egg yolks, whisking continuously. We use a basic digital thermometer to help us keep track of the temperature. We want to heat the egg sauce to 160° – 165° F and hold it at that temperature for about 3 minutes. It’s best to avoid going above 165° for very long or you risk the eggs coagulating.

Checking the temperature of our cooking eggs.

That’s it! Once the eggs have been cooked, you can add the pecorino cheese. We typically strain the egg sauce in order to remove any clumps that may have formed as we cooked it. After all, we are looking for a super creamy Spaghetti Carbonara!

Straining the cooked carbonara sauce.

Why a Metal Bowl?

Metal bowls react quickly to heat (either raises or drops in temperature). That means if we need to cool the egg sauce quickly, we can just raise it off the hot water for a minute to get the temperature back to the range we are aiming for.

Spaghetti (Bronze Die Cut)

We often get asked what we think is the best pasta brand in Italy. You can read our post on this topic for a breakdown of our criteria. The bottom line? There are two brands of spaghetti we prefer in Italy which can also (luckily) be found outside of Italy as well (Amazon affiliate links):

► La Molisana Spaghetti: https://amzn.to/3PQfp6o

► Rummo Spaghetti: https://amzn.to/459R3cc

Le Creuset Pasta Pot: https://amzn.to/4cdIRfP

Products and Brands We Use for Making Spaghetti Carbonara

Amazon Affiliate Links:

Our Preferred Pasta

► La Molisana Spaghetti: https://amzn.to/3PQfp6o

► Rummo Spaghetti: https://amzn.to/459R3cc

Cookware and Kitchen Tools

►  Le Creuset Pasta Pot: https://amzn.to/4cdIRfP

► Kitchen Thermometer: https://amzn.to/2LIHy0H

A better look at our Le Creuset Pasta Pot, featured in all of our pasta videos 🙂 We love it!

WWII Spaghetti Carbonara with Cream and Bacon?

If the Carbonara recipes that you love have American bacon and cream, you are probably looking for something like the WWII Spaghetti Carbonara recipe! Believe it or not, this recipe is consistent with one of the original stories of Spaghetti Carbonara, though it is not—NOT NOT— the Carbonara recipe considered traditional by Italians in Italy today. Italians do recognize this origin story however.

2
Spaghetti Carbonara with Cream and Bacon – the Original Recipe?
A re-creation of the WWII Carbonara recipe —one of several origin stories for Pasta Carbonara in Italy today! This Spaghetti Carbonara with Cream and Bacon and processed cheese is creamy and delicious! It's also similar to the Carbonara recipes popular outside of Italy. Just beware: It is NOT the Carbonara considered traditional in Italy today! But don't worry— we have that recipe too 🙂
Check out this recipe

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This means at no extra cost to you, PIATTO may earn a small commission if you click the links and make a qualifying purchase.

 

Creamy Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe (Traditional) with Cooked Egg Sauce (No Raw Eggs, No Heavy Cream)

PIATTO RECIPES
The LEGENDARY authentic Spaghetti Carbonara recipe just got better! Learn how to make Spaghetti Carbonara as they do in the best Italian restaurants in Rome, Italy. However in this extra creamy Spaghetti Carbonara recipe, we show how to pasteurize the eggs at home.
5 from 51 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 12 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • 1 Kitchen Thermometer digital works best
  • 1 metal bowl that sits inside the top of another pot for creating a double broiler
  • 1 pot for cooking the pasta and creating the bottom of the double broiler

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp black pepper preferably toasted and freshly ground
  • 7 oz guanciale
  • 3.5 oz pecorino romano cheese very finely ground
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 14 oz spaghetti

Instructions
 

Prepare the Ingredients

  • Finely grate the Pecorino Romano cheese if needed. Separate the eggs and put just the egg yolks in a metal bowl for later.

Toast and Grind the Pepper

  • Toast whole black peppercorns in a dry pan over medium-low heat until fragrant. Then grind the pepper using a mill or mortar and pestle.
    1 tbsp black pepper
  • … Or, crush the black pepper to a medium-coarse grind first, then toast in a dry pan over low heat until fragrant.

Cook the Pasta ¾ to Al Dente

  • Add the spaghetti to lightly salted, boiling water and begin cooking it to ¾ of the cook time recommended for al dente on the package instructions. We will finish cooking the pasta in the pan with the guanciale fat and pepper.
    In the meantime…
    14 oz spaghetti

Fry the Guanciale

  • Cut the guanciale into strips, or thick slices. Thick slices cook more quickly and evenly, but you'll then need to cut them into smaller strips and pass them back in the pan to finish browning.
    7 oz guanciale
  • Guanciale takes about 3 minutes to cook over medium heat in a large skillet or pan.
  • When the guanciale is browned (crispy on the outside, juicy inside), set the pieces aside in a bowl and leave the grease in the pan.

Cook the Egg Sauce

  • Drizzle half a ladle of hot pasta water into the egg yolks and whisk well.
    Create a double broiler by using the hot, simmering pasta water as an indirect heating element for your metal bowl with the egg yolks. Place the metal bowl over the simmering water.
    4 large egg yolks
  • Whisking continuously and using a kitchen thermometer to control the temperature, bring the eggs to 160° – 165° F and hold it at that temperature for about 3 minutes.
    If needed, lift the bowl to drop the heat quickly and keep the egg temperature below 170° F—the eggs will begin to coagulate at that temperature and we don't want that.

Add the Pecorino to the Egg Sauce

  • Add the finely grated pecorino cheese to the cooked egg sauce, whisking thoroughly to create a smooth sauce.
    3.5 oz pecorino romano cheese
  • At this point, you can pass the carbonara sauce through a colander to remove any egg that might have coagulated. This creates the smoothest carbonara sauce, but it is optional.
  • Add half of the black pepper to the carbonara sauce and…

Finish Cooking the Spaghetti in the Pan

  • …Add a ladle or two of hot pasta water to the skillet with the guanciale grease, along with the rest of the black pepper.
  • Transfer the strained pasta ( ¾ cooked) to the skillet. Finish cooking the pasta in the pepper water until it is al dente.

Finish the Spaghetti Carbonara with Sauce

  • Once cooked, remove the pasta skillet from the heat. Add the guanciale and carbonara sauce (cheese and egg) and mix thoroughly (and quickly) off the heat.
  • Remember the egg sauce is already cooked. You just need to mix it with the hot pasta… top with more pecorino cheese and serve!

Video

Notes

Prepare the Sauce the Day Before!
Because we are pre-cooking the carbonara sauce over a double broiler (bagnomaria in Italian), you could also do this step the day before. 
What does ‘al dente’ mean?
It means ‘to the teeth’ in Italian—essentially that the pasta has a little bit of a bite still and is not totally soft and mushy. This is the way that pasta is always served in Italy.
Keyword cheesy, meat lover, pasta
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
About the author

Classic recipes from Italy and beyond. Traditional Italian Cooking and Mediterranean Diet recipes!

PIATTO™ Recipes bring traditional Italian food recipes to your table with our tested, step-by-step recipes and videos. You'll find the best Italian recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Always tested, always delicious.

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50 thoughts on “Creamy Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe (Traditional) with Cooked Egg Sauce (No Raw Eggs, No Heavy Cream)”

  3. 5 stars
    I love this follow up video to the other historical carbonara video! It’s all been so informative and interesting! That carbonara is so tasty looking too.So for that layer with the spices on the guanciale, we’re supposed to cut that off? Last time I bought guanciale I didn’t do that and it ended up being suuuper salty haha.

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  6. 5 stars
    J’ai essayer avec du saumon c’était un délice 😋😋😋😋On peut alterné. Une fois avec du filet de saumon et une autre fois avec du guancale

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  7. 5 stars
    1) se, come dite, il piatto deriva dalla cacio e ova abbruzzese, secondo voi pastori o carbonari buttavano il bianco 🙄🤔😉😎❓️…non credo proprio 😉😎2) voi dite che deriva dalla cacio e ova, ma le prime carbonara di cui si ha menzione come ricetta scritta risalgono al primo dopo guerra e sono riportate in USA….carta canta…prima nessuno ha detto o scritto niente…ognuno può avere le proprie idee…ci sono quelli che dicono che la terra è piatta 😉😎3) anche dopo gli anni 80 in ambienti italianissimi e romani ci sono ricette con la pancetta…basta cercarle4) il pepe tostato e macinato andrebbe messo subito nell’uovo che così prenderebbe tutto il profumo5)il fatto che non ci siano menzioni di carbonara se non in USA e nell’immediato dopo guerra, avvalora la teorie del bacon eggs utilizzato con la pasta che i cuochi romani, per analogia con l’Amatriciana, hanno sostituito con il guanciale6) il fatto che le uova del bacon eggs fosero liofilizzate e batteriologicamente sicure rendeva inutile la pastorizzazione e conferma che all’inizio , con la fame che c’era e la scarsità di risorse , l’ovo si usava intero.Ognuno ha il proprio pensiero ma se parli al pubblico devi studiare ciò che si sa, non ciò che si pensa…e poi ognuno se la fa come gli pare la carbonara, ma non bisogna dire che è quella autentica…che magari non esiste 😉😎

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  12. 5 stars
    Replicata oggi al 100% (compresa la pastorizzazione) risultato straordinario, mai buona come oggi, un grande ringraziamento 🙏🙏🙏

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  13. 5 stars
    Grazie mille – molto bella! Pero’ io i pastori Abruzzesi che tostano il pepe nero e pastorizano i tuorli non riesco a vedermeli 🙂

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  14. 5 stars
    il video è molto bello ma c’è un errore che potrebbe essere pericoloso per chi mangia la carbonara…. la pastorizzazione indicata nel video non include la SALMONELLA che muore fra i 70/75 gradi all’incirca la temperatura che rende il rosso d’uovo SODO….. fate una semplice ricerca su GOOGLE.

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  17. 5 stars
    Sono d’accordo sulle origini dei carbonai abruzzesi… la teoria di Gualandi non giustifica il nome. E poi ho ricevuto testimonianze che si facesse anteguerra.

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  19. 5 stars
    Ciao, Pensa sono talmente stato attento alla preparazione di questa ricetta che mi sono accorto nel momento dell’ assaggio di Flavia che gira la forchetta contro “mano” come me. Ottima preparazione e tecnica 😊

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  29. 5 stars
    Vi ho scoperto 10 minuti fa’ con questo video e da romano ve dico GRAZIE!Sto fatto della cottura delle fette di guanciale prima di tagliarle mi mancava onestamente, la provo oggi stesso.DAJE! 😉💪

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  30. 5 stars
    Ti devo ringraziare perché anche se sono di Parma la ricetta precedente del guanciale ha riscosso un successo notevole anche con i genitori della mia compagna che sono tradizionalisti. Ogni volta che vengono da noi chiedono la “mia” carbonara. Ora con questa versione immagino sarà ancora meglio ❤

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  31. 5 stars
    Molti non sopportano il pecorino per il suo gusto forte e particolare. Io quando mi manca il pecorino lo sostituisco con caciocavallo stagionato e secondo i miei gusti và benissimo.

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  33. 5 stars
    PURTROPPO I CUOCHI ITALIANI ALL’ESTERO LA MASSACRANO LA VERA CARBONARA. CI METTONO LA PANNA E LO SPECK. ALCUNI CI METTONO ANCHE LE CIPOLLE IN UN LETTO DI BURRO. COSE DA PAZZI.

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  42. 5 stars
    Le uova le faccio sempre pastorizzare .Tuorlo si tuorlo no, i pastori non buttavano via nulla , dubito che si mettessero a separarli quindi per me vanno bene in tutti e due i modi.

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  50. 5 stars
    La faccio praticamente uguale, tre tuorli ogni due etti di pasta, stesso procedimento, uniche differenze non filtro i tuorli e metto un pò meno pepe.

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