Quick baby broccoli pasta carbonara

Pasta carbonara recipe

Carbonara is one of the most popular pasta dishes in the world. The classic Italian carbonara of generations past typically used just 5 ingredients: pecorino Romano, eggs, pasta, pepper, and guanciale—a cured Italian pork. The star of the dish is its creamy sauce, which is richly flavoured with sharp cheese and yolky egg and seasoned with cracked black pepper. This pasta carbonara sauce recipe uses whisked eggs and parmesan cheese instead of pecorino. Topped with pancetta crumbs for a hint of saltiness and baby broccoli for some green fibre, this is a quick and easy pasta carbonara recipe that’s perfect for lunch and dinner.

How to make pasta carbonara

Since the pasta will take the longest to cook, this is the easiest place to start. Fill a large saucepan with water. Season generously with salt and bring to a boil. Begin cooking the pasta according to packet instructions. 

Meanwhile, spray a large frying pan with olive oil. Set the pan on a medium heat and add the pancetta crumb. Stir often until crisp and fragrant (about 3 minutes). Add the baby broccoli and cook while stirring for another 3 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.

Use a large, heatproof bowl for the carbonara sauce. Whisk the eggs until the whites and yolks have combined, then add the grated parmesan and mix thoroughly. Season with fresh black pepper.

Once the orecchiette pasta is al dente, drain in a colander and add to the sauce mixture. Fold the pasta and sauce together until everything is creamy. Add the pancetta and broccoli and stir through to coat in the delicious, cheesy sauce.

To serve, spoon into a bowl and season with more parmesan, cracked black pepper, and fresh parsley if desired. 

The secret to a creamy pasta carbonara

A top tip is not to use fridge-cold eggs for carbonara sauce. Cold eggs are more likely to curdle when added to the hot pasta. Leave them on the bench for a while to bring them closer to room temperature before use.

It’s also important to combine your cooked pasta and cold cheese and egg mixture off the heat. A helpful trick is to add a little pasta water (about a tablespoon) to your cheese and egg slurry first to emulsify the sauce. This helps prevent your egg from cooking, which is what makes the sauce clumpy rather than silky. 

Now get cooking

There are many different interpretations of pasta carbonara. For another deliciously simple recipe, try our creamy chicken carbonara, which is ready in just 25 minutes. If you’re craving something a bit different, give our chorizo carbonara or Japanese-style carbonara recipe a go. For a lighter take on carbonara, try the poached egg carbonara florentine or veggie-loaded spring carbonara.