The Creamiest No Cream Carbonara Pasta

A super easy Italian Carbonara Pasta Recipe with only 4 ingredients – ready on the table in less than 30 minutes! Learn how to create this mouth-watering Italian dinner that costs less than $10 with plenty left over for lunch.

Why We Love This

This is a creamy and satisfying yet super EASY carbonara pasta, made the Italian way with eggs instead of cream.

It’s such a quick and filling meal to make using staple pantry items, a great one to add to your easy dinners collection! 

Packed with flavour yet light and fresh, it’s perfect for weeknight meals or entertaining alike.

Still prefer cream based pasta sauces? Try our creamy Italian sausage pasta or chicken pasta bake.

What is Carbonara? 

Carbonara from the Parma/Bologna region of Italy is very different to how it’s made in other parts of the world. The sauce uses eggs instead of cream, and there’s usually no onions, garlic, or mushrooms either. Yet the result is a creamy and tasty pasta sauce that will have you licking your plate clean and looking for seconds.

Some regional variations of the recipe use egg yolks only, while others use a ratio of whole eggs + an egg yolk per person. Alberto’s nonno’s recipe uses whole eggs to keep it simple, while the egg whites also help give the sauce it’s smooth and creamy texture.

Where We Learned This

This recipe comes to you all the way from Parma in Italy. Alberto launched into recreating his nonno’s incredible no cream carbonara pasta when we stayed with him on our journey through this beautiful country.

Out came the spaghetti, guanciale, eggs and cheese. A sprinkling of black pepper, a flick around the frying pan, and dinner was on the table before you could say molto bene.

How to make Carbonara without Cream:

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1. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil and cook your pasta following the packet directions. Stop cooking just as it becomes al dente, because it will keep on cooking in the next few steps. Drain, reserving some pasta water for later.
2. Crack the eggs in a small bowl and add the grated cheese. Whisk until evenly blended, then set aside.
3. Fry up the bacon or pancetta pieces in a large frying pan over medium heat. No added oil required!

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4. Transfer the drained pasta into the frying pan with the bacon/pancetta and toss through the bacon using a spoon and fork. Drizzle with olive oil and toss around once more.
5. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting or even off (important!), then pour in your egg and cheese mixture and quickly toss it through the pasta until evenly coated, so it doesn’t scramble.
6. Transfer into individual serving bowls and serve immediately. Optional: Garnish with a sprinkling of cracked black pepper, sea salt, and/or some extra grated parmesan.

Wandercook’s Tips

• Pasta – Cook until just al dente, ie slightly ‘firm to the bite’ and not too soft; usually 1-2 minutes less than on the pasta packet. This will stop the pasta from falling apart in the pan as you mix it through the carbonara sauce. If you still need help, check out this handy guide to cooking the perfect al dente pasta.
• Sauce – We’re aiming for a creamy, glossy sauce – not scrambled eggs. Once you’ve fried up the bacon and thrown the pasta in the pan, you want to pour in your egg + cheese mixture and cook just long enough for the eggs and cheese to melt. If the sauce is too thick at this point, you can stir in a small amount of pasta water to help thin it out. 
• Test the Heat – If you’re unsure about when to add the egg mixture into the pan, you can test it by adding a splash of pasta water. When you hear no more sizzling sounds, you’re ready to add the egg mixture.
• Tiny Clumps in the Sauce? This may just be the cheese starting to melt when you first add the egg mixture to the pasta. Keep tossing the sauce through the pasta. As long as you’ve reduced the heat, you should end up with glossy carbonara sauce without scrambling the eggs. 

FAQs

Variations

• Eggs – Use egg yolks instead of whole eggs for a richer, glossier sauce. Try it with a ratio of one whole egg per 4 people + 1 egg yolk per person. 
• Season to Taste – Depending on the type of bacon or small goods you end up using, it may already be salty enough. Otherwise, season with cracked black pepper and high quality Italian sea salt flakes.
• Herbs – Try finely chopping or blitzing fresh parsley in with the egg mixture before cooking as normal. 
• Make It Your Own – Add your choice of extra ingredients like sundried tomatoes, onion, garlic, mushrooms or spinach and fry along with the bacon.  
• Protein – Try it with chicken instead of bacon. If you do, you may need to season with extra salt. 
• For Something Different – Cook as normal then serve with a few slices of avocado and toasted pine nuts.
• Add Heat – Sprinkle with chilli flakes, cayenne pepper or shichimi togarashi. 
• Add Umami – Add a sprinkling of dashi stock powder into the egg mixture.

More Italian comfort food classics to try next:

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