Real carbonara recipe: step by step instructions to replicate this delicious and iconic Roman dish on your table, wherever you are + carbonara wine pairing rules to pick the perfect wine for spaghetti carbonara. Updated December 2021 with additional tips!
Few dishes embody the taste of Rome like carbonara pasta.
A deliciously creamy pasta sauce made with eggs, pork and cheese, carbonara is not your everyday healthy choice but it is a super simple dish that delivers amazing strong flavor and manages to be loved by adults and kids alike.
Carbonara is known around the world but it is often misunderstood and altered by the addition of cream or other ingredients that tend to make the sauce heavier and add little taste.
If you have tasted amazing carbonara in Rome (read our favorite food addresses here if you haven’t tried the real thing yet!) and want to try to replicate this dish at home, this is the recipe for you.
The real carbonara recipe, super simple, super tasty and the easiest way to bring a touch of Rome to your table!
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Real carbonara recipe: pin this step by step guide for authentic carbonara taste every time!
Ingredients for real carbonara pasta (4 people): ricotta spaghetti carbonara
Carbonara is a simple preparation and because of this, it is paramount that you get the right ingredients and of the best possible quality.
With such a simple dish, there is really not much you can do to salvage the dish if its building blocks let you down!
Traditional carbonara ingredients for 4 people:
- 4 egg yolks
- 350 gr spaghetti
- 50 gr pecorino romano (cheese)
- 180 gr guanciale (pork)
- Black pepper to taste
- Salt (for the boiling water)
- Parmesan (optional)
Please note: this is a traditional home recipe (find it in Italian here) and the quantities are important but not a fine science. Use them as guidance but do not hesitate to out a little more or a little less guanciale or cheese, should you want to!
Acceptable alternatives to the original carbonara ingredients
If you are making carbonara but you are not in Italy, you may find some of the ingredients challenging to find in your usual shopping outlets.
If you cannot find them, some alternatives are acceptable.
It is ok to swap guanciale with pancetta. Go for the ‘sweet’ one (pancetta dolce) rather than the smoked one, which I find is not half as good in this preparation.
If you have a choice between diced or in strips, opt for the dices: strips are too think and do not cook as well nor give the final dish the right consistency.
If you find the taste of pecorino romano too strong, you can also swap it with parmigiano.
It is not the same as parmesan is from the North of Italy while Pecorino is from Rome and surrounding area, so this is definitely a departure from the traditional dish, however, it is a good compromise should you be otherwise stuck.
Alternative you should not use if you want to call your dish a carbonara
There is nothing wrong with experimenting in the kitchen but, if you want to legitimately call your creations a carbonara, stay away from onion, garlic, cream or peas.
These are the most common offenders and simply do not belong in a carbonara dish, like pretty much any other ingredient not listed in this recipe (yes, we Italians are fussy about food, this is why it is so good, hehe!).
The best pasta shapes for carbonara sauce
Carbonara sauce wants long pasta and spaghetti are your shapes of choice.
However, even in Rome, it is becoming more and more common to use different types of pasta and I have tasted rigatoni alla carbonara more than once. They work!
Just make sure that the pasta brand you choose holds its cooking and stays ‘al dente’, as overcooked carbonara is just awful!
Making real carbonara: must-have equipment
Carbonara is a simple enough preparation but you do need some pots and pans handy.
- Pan (for boiling the pasta)
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife for the guanciale
- Wooden spoon
- Manual whip for the eggs
- Large pasta bowl for serving
- Bowl for the egg whites (not needed for this recipe)
- Cheese grater
How to make carbonara pasta, step by step instructions for proper carbonara taste
Take a large pot and will it for ¾ with clean water for cooking. Put in on the hob, turn on the heat and let it come to a gentle boil.
While the water is on, take the guanciale and use a sharp knife and wooden board to chop into small chunks, about 0.5 cm x 1 cm big (don’t get too worried about the size, it is just to give a scale, this is a homemade dish and perfection is not necessary!)
Set the guanciale aside.
Get a large bowl, the same one you will use to serve the pasta.
Put in the egg yolks and whisk them together so they amalgamate into each other. Add the pecorino, a pinch of salt, a pinch of black pepper and mix well
Once this is done, have a look at the water: if boiling put in salt and the pasta.
Make sure the spaghetti are well covered in water and mix them well so they don’t stick to each other and create a bulky mess!
Set the timer to about 7 minutes so you can taste them at that pint and see how they are getting on.
Overall cooking time depends on the brand and consistency you like most: use the pasta box for the recommended cooking time but be careful as usually, they are actually ready a couple of minutes earlier.
If in doubt, take them off sooner rather that
Take a non-stick pan, put it on the hob and add the guanciale. Do not add oil or butter!
The guanciale will cook in its own fat and doesn’t need anything else to become crispy and delicious.
Stir often with a wooden spoon and let it cook for as long as it takes for it to be thoroughly cooked inside but not burnt (about 7 minutes).
Once the guanciale is ready, let it cool for a minute and then add it to the egg mixture and stir it in well.
The final and trickiest step!
Now your pasta should be ready and you get to the only tricky point of this recipe: making sure the sauce you made stays creamy and the eggs don’t become a cooked lumpy mess once the hot pasta goes on top of them!
The best way to avoid disaster is this:
Drain the pasta well (but keep a little bit of the cooking water) and very quickly put it in the bowl with sauce and stir well.
You want the pasta to be coated by the sauce but the sauce not to cook so make sure you have all your spoons and pots ready and no distractions!
It only takes 30 seconds but these are the important 30 seconds.
It may be tempting to put the pasta back in the pot and add the sauce there but do not do this! The hot pot will turn the eggs into scrambled eggs very fast and once that happens, the recipe is ruined!
Taste for seasoning and serve hot.
Most common mistakes when making carbonara recipe
- Falling into the temptation to making it creamy with cream. There is no reason for it and the results is not half as tasty and twice as fattening!
- Cook the guanciale too long. You want the guanciale to be fully cooked but not so scrips to be hard to the bite. Keep the heat low and take it off as soon as you see the inside is done (open one of the dices with a fork to check)
- Adding the sauce to the hot pasta pan and /or not stirring quickly enough. Beare of the scambled egg effect!
Carbonara wine pairing rules: the best wine to pair with carbonara.
After making a perfect carbonara, it is time to look for the ideal carbonara wine.
When it comes to pairing wine and carbonara, the main thing to consider is that carbonara is a complex, flavorsome dish with sweet, savory and greasy elements.
This calls for a wine that is tasty enough not to be overpowered yet sufficiently fresh to complement it.
Carbonara wine pairing basic rules
More specifically, the best wine for carbonara is:
Fresh and slightly acidic – the perfect carbonara wine has a refreshing taste that can help you cut through the carbonara greasy finish.
With good body and sapidity – the best wine for carbonara sauce has a distinct taste that holds its own with the bold flavor of the pasta.
Bubbly – a sparkling wine is perfect for spaghetti carbonara as it helps clean the palate after each morsel.
White or red for carbonara?
White wine is better than red wine for carbonara.
While both white and red wines can work well with carbonara, white wines are better as they are usually fresher and more acidic.
Opt for a white with good body, so it doesn’t get overpowered by the punchy of the dish.
The best white wines to pair with carbonara are fresh and acidic, with a strong structure.
Good bottles are Frascati Superiore, Orvieto, Shyraz from Lazio or Greco di Tufo.
Soave Classico or Gewurtztraminer from Alto Adige (my personal favorite!) also work well, and you cannot go wrong with a Tuscan Chardonnay.
When in doubt, opt for a wine from Lazio, the region of Rome, to preserve terroir consistency.
The best red wines for carbonara are fresh and with low tannins.
If you do not want to renounce your red wine, you can make good red wine and carbonara pairings using red wines from the Lazio region or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo: Merlot from Bolgheri also works well with spaghetti carbonara.
These are all medium bodied choices that do not overwhelm you and will complement the dish well.
An excellent and maybe unexpected wine choice for carbonara is pairing it with a sparkling wine.
The best sparkling wines with carbonara are dry: they pair exceptionally well with carbonara thanks to their ability to cut through the greasiness of the sauce.
Classic Franciacorta DOCG or Trento DC are great carbonara pairing and can be a fantastic order in a Rome restaurant too. You can find our favourite in our guide to Rome for foodies.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe and your carbonara comes out delicious! Then I hope you go soon to Rome, taste the real thing and see how they compare.
Safe travels to Rome and buon appetito!
Step by step carbonara recipe from Rome – pin this
