Tagliatelle carbonara with crispy pancetta is a must for a date night meal. Creamy, elevated and addictive. Tagliatelle is one of my favorite pastas to splurge on, paired with the creamy, easy sauce and topped with salty bits of pan crisped pancetta.

Why Make Tagliatelle Carbonara

This recipe is so easy, you will be surprised how quickly this Italian classic with a twist is ready to be enjoyed. Do not be intimidated by this one! Tagliatelle carbonara is a great date night meal served with your favorite wine, who needs over priced Italian? I say this is a great date night recipe because this dish is best enjoyed right away after cooking. This wouldn’t be good for meal prep or make ahead so be sure your partner is ready to dig in when you are!

Additionally, I have included some tips on making this recipe on more of a budget. There are a few simple substitutes you can make to keep the grocery bill down. This would pair great with my Overnight Bread or My Garlic Rolls.

Ingredients Needed To Make This Recipe

• Tagliatelle Pasta. This pasta is a bit thicker than fettuccini noodles. It’s one of my favorite pastas to indulge on. This is typically found at specialty stores in the pasta aisle. Whole Foods sells it or you can order it here.

• Eggs. Egg yolks to be particular. This is the “sauce” to this dish. It is decadent and delicious. You should keep the egg whites to make an omelette the next day. They store great in a Tupperware.

• Pancetta. Pancetta is similar to bacon. It is cured pork belly. Typically found near the bacon. Because it can be pricy and hard to find to feel free to use thick cut bacon instead if you’d like. Both are great for this recipe and I often use bacon.

• Olive Oil. Just a little to help fry up the pancetta or bacon.

• Pecorino Romano. This is a sheep’s milk cheese that is dry, salty and nutty like parmesan but with a bit more flavor. You can find this in the specialty cheese aisle. I buy mine in bulk at Costco! You can adjust this recipe and use parmesan instead.

• Salt/Pepper/Basil. All to add more flavor and a littly color to the final dish. Basil is optional!

How To Make This Recipe

The most common mistake with carbonara recipes is messing up the heat and scrambling the eggs (yuck). You want to get a silky smooth, rich sauce, not bits of scrambled eggs within the pasta.

The trick to avoid messing up carbonara and egg is to never mix the pasta and the sauce over heat. All you need is the residual heat from the pan after you’ve turned the heat off. Don’t worry, it’s enough the cook the egg just right.

Step One. Heat the pasta water with a teaspoon or 2 of salt in a large pot. *please note you will be saving some pasta water to make the sauce so don’t dump it by mistake!

Step Two. In a large skillet, heat the oil on medium/high heat. Add pancetta or chopped bacon to the pan and crisp it up for 4-6 minutes or until desired doneness.

Step Three. Separate the egg yolks, keep the egg whites for breakfast. Beat the eggs and add half of the cheese to the egg yolks. Once the water has reached a rolling boil, add the dry pasta, and cook, uncovered, at a rolling boil.

Final Steps

Step Four. Once the pasta is al dente, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta and add it back to the hot pot it was boiled in. Make sure the heat is off on the stove. It’s the heat of the pasta that will heat the eggs sufficiently to create a creamy sauce.

Step Five. Quickly add in the egg/cheese mixture and about 1/2 cup of pasta water at a time. Toss the pasta together until a creamy sauce forms, you can add more pasta water as needed to spread the creamy sauce. Add in the rest of the cheese, toss in the bacon or pancetta. Serve Tagliatelle Carbonara immediately and sprinkle basil on top. Enjoy!

Tips & FAQ’s

Recipe Variations

Pancetta. If you can’t find pancetta or if you want to save some money, use a thick cut bacon and chop into small pieces and fry up the same way, it’s just as good!

Pecorino. Pecorino Romano is the perfect cheese for this meal. You can save some money and use fresh Parmesan instead. Because pecorino has a more salty/nutty flavor when compared to Parmesan this is why I chose it!

Tagliatelle. As mentioned above, feel free to use fettuccine or spaghetti noodles for this recipe!

Other Pasta Recipes To Enjoy

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