Pasta with Egg and Bacon
Pasta with egg and bacon is a quick and easy weeknight meal everyone will love. It’s protein packed, and kids love it as much as adults!
I have been making this pasta with egg and bacon for over 25 years and everyone who tries it, loves it.
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My kids make it for friends now, and they flip for it, too. Years ago, I was given a cookbook called The Top 100 Pasta Sauce Recipes as a wedding gift.
The author, a British born cook living in Italy (lucky duck), compiled 100 pasta sauce recipes in this very simple, paperback book. Here is Diane Seed’s “carbonara” sauce recipe for (only) one pound of pasta:
- 5 eggs
- 4 oz heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 oz butter
- 7 oz bacon
- 4 oz grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
- salt and pepper
Can you say “heart attack on a plate!?” It’s a bit over the top, and seriously calorie-laden. Not to mention she lived in Rome, yet called this “spaghetti alla carbonara” with all that cream and butter in the recipe–yikes!
In case you haven’t heard, cream in a carbonara is a big “no-no” in Italy, or specifically,
the province of Lazio, where this very famous pasta recipe was born.
While I love a good carbonara, there’s something to be said for a creamy egg and bacon spaghetti, too. Let’s just clarify that this is NOT a recipe for spaghetti alla carbonara. If you want to make an authentic spaghetti alla carbonara, that’s another recipe. I’ll add the recipe card for that dish below this one at the bottom of this post.
Bacon and egg lover? Try this bacon and potato frittata recipe!
Note: In the authentic carbonara recipe, I will tell you what should be used instead of bacon, but you may need to use bacon in place of the cured pork product since it’s expensive, and quite difficult to source in the US. Don’t let it put you off making it–it’s still a fabulous dish!
But first, lets get to this unctuous pasta with egg and bacon. It makes a perfect weeknight meal with ingredients you’d normally use for breakfast! I’m assuming you always keep pasta in your pantry and a good Pecorino Romano (or even Parmigiano Reggiano) in your fridge.
What to Serve with Pasta with Egg and Bacon
Good question, and the correct answer is: nothing. Pasta is its own course in Italy, so if you’d like to serve it as the Italians do, serve nothing with this dish. I have written more on the subject of what to serve with pasta if you’d care to read it.
These are Italian staples, and so handy for meals to make when there’s “nothing to eat”, like cacio e pepe pasta, aglio, olio e peperoncino, and this egg and bacon pasta recipe. Let’s get to it!
Spaghetti with Egg and Bacon
adapted by Christina Conte serves 5
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- good quality spaghetti
- bacon or pancetta
- eggs
- half and half (half milk, half cream)
- Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Start by boiling salted water for pasta in a very large pot (pasta needs a lot of water to cook properly).
Next, fry the bacon pieces until cooked, but not crispy. It should look like this.
The pasta should be in the water and starting to cook by this point. It should be boiling, but I had to take it off the stove to take a picture. 😬
Beat the eggs in a large jug. Add the cream, and milk. Stir well, and add some salt and quite a bit of black pepper.
Add in the grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
When the pasta is al dente, drain it and reserve some water, and put back in the same pot (if you used a colander) and back on the burner, over the lowest heat possible (just warm.) Alternatively, put the pasta into a large saucepan or wok using a pasta fork to remove it from the pot. Add in the bacon pieces and stir gently.
Now add the egg mixture from the jug.
Stir well to combine evenly. The eggs will cook from the heat of the pasta, so quickly turn off the burner as soon as the sauce starts to thicken.
If you put the heat on too high, or leave it on too long, you can curdle the sauce. Add some reserved pasta water if it’s too thick.
You can see how beautiful and smooth the sauce turns out when made correctly.
Serve hot with extra grated cheese and pepper, if desired, then dive in!
This recipe is foolproof if you follow the directions—the photo below was made by my 18 year old (at the time) son, who couldn’t wait for me to start cooking dinner. He didn’t even measure anything. Once you get the proportions right, you can just eyeball these ingredients, easy peasy!
Pasta with Egg and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti (good quality)
- 6 strips lean bacon or pancetta, chopped into pieces (I use kitchen scissors)
- 3 eggs
- 5 oz half and half
- ½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano DOP cheese, grated
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅙ tsp black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Start by boiling well salted water for pasta in a very large pot (pasta needs a lot of water to cook properly). Add the salt just before it starts to boil to protect your pot.
- Next, fry the bacon pieces until cooked, but not crispy.
- The pasta should be in the water and starting to cook by this point.
- Beat the eggs in a large jug. Add the cream and milk. Stir well, and add about ¼ tsp salt and quite a bit of black pepper.
- Add in the grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano cheese.
- When the pasta is al dente, drain it and reserve some water, and put back in the same pot (if you used a colander) and back on the burner, over the lowest heat possible (just warm.) Alternatively, put the pasta into a large saucepan or wok using a pasta fork to remove it from the pot.
- Add in the bacon pieces and stir gently.
- Now add the egg mixture from the pyrex jug.
- Stir well to combine evenly. The eggs will cook from the heat of the pasta, so quickly turn off the burner as soon as the sauce starts to thicken. If you put the heat on too high, or leave it on too long, you can curdle the sauce, so don't forget to turn off the burner. Add some reserved pasta water if it's too thick.
- Serve hot with extra grated cheese and pepper, if desired.
Notes
- As always, using the best quality ingredients from the pasta, to the eggs and bacon and even the cheese will make all the difference in the world.
- Do not use a lesser quality substitute for the cheese
Nutrition
Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Authentic Roman Recipe)
Special Equipment
- 1 kitchen tweezer
Ingredients
- 7 oz guanciale (see notes regarding substitutions)
- 1 tsp lard (organic)
- 5 egg yolks (organic)
- 5 oz Pecorino Romano, DOP cheese grated
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 lb spaghetti (high quality)
Instructions
Cook the Pasta:
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil to cook the pasta.
- Just before it starts to boil, add enough salt so that the pasta will be salted.
Prepare the Guanciale/Meat:
- Slice the guanciale (remove the rind), pancetta or bacon into bite sized pieces or strips.
- In a large pan (I used a wok) over medium-low heat, add the lard, then add the sliced guanciale (pancetta or bacon pieces). Cook until just starting to brown, but do not let it get dark or crisp. While the pasta and guanciale cook…
Make the Sauce:
- Beat the egg yolks in a bowl, then stir in the grated Pecorino cheese. Add some grated black pepper, next. Do not add salt: the Pecorino is salty, and we’re adding salted pasta water next.
- Now, pour in some of the pasta water a little at a time and beat into the egg mixture. It should form a nice sauce.
Combine the Ingredients:
- When the guanciale is ready, turn off the heat. When the pasta is ready, remove it from the water and add directly into the guanciale in the pan. Stir to combine well.
- Now it’s time to add the egg mixture. Do not turn the burner on, this is done off the heat.
- Continue to mix well until the egg mixture forms a creamy, smooth sauce on the pasta. It’s so glossy and beautiful when made correctly: no clumps or curdled eggs
- Using a large fork, or kitchen tweezers, twirl some of the pasta into a ladle. Bring the ladle to the plate. Keep twirling as you start to remove the ladle
- Remove the ladle and place the pasta onto the plate. Gently remove the tweezers Grate some more cheese on top of the pasta And grate some black pepper, too.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- As long as you know the authentic Italian recipe, feel free to make it your own version.
- I would advise trying to make it as written the first time to see how it is, and then making changes (as will all other recipes).
- To make the genuine recipe, you need to use guanciale and Pecorino Romano, however, if you are outside of Italy, guanciale is quite difficult (and expensive) to source, so please don't fret if you have to use pancetta or bacon, or Parmigiano Reggiano instead of Pecorino (a cow's milk cheese instead of a sheep's milk cheese).
- It's better to use quality ingredients over the "right" ingredients. For example, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese would be my choice over a copycat Pecorino cheese. Also, if you can buy guanciale, but it's full of spices and nitrates, use a plain pancetta, or nitrate-free bacon, instead.
Nutrition
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Would love to make Coddled Eggs in the beautiful Egg Coddler.
One night having a wretched cold was hungry but not hungry. I had remembered seeing and book marketing this recipe. I had all the ingredients and started to make it. I cut the recipe in half. it was the most delicious pasta ever and amazing comfort food. Thank you Christina for making my cold better.
Good Morning,
I would love to make CODDLED EGGS IN A CODDLER! I love eggs and this would be such a treat after my work out.
I love your recipes, your style, and your blog.
Wishing you sunny days and happy times.
THanks, Tracey!
Coddled eggs
I have made this many times & it’s a crowd pleaser. Sometimes I swap the bacon for crispy prosciutto. So good.
I couldn’t find what to serve with pasta the way they do I Italy. Sorry I don’t know how I missed it.
So sorry, Joan! Not your fault at all; we forgot to add it, but here it is https://www.christinascucina.com/what-to-serve-with-pasta/
Really nice.recipe both m y son and I love both of these recipes
Awesome! Thank you!