When I first tried this creamy Pasta Carbonara with Guanciale recipe, I was blown away with how delicious this recipe was! For me, it was a new experience, because I never tried guanciale before. If you are unaware what guanciale is, it is pork jowl or pig cheek. It’s quite hard to find and can be expensive, you may even need to put in a special order to get it.
I did find a seller on Amazon selling guanciale which you can find by clicking here, with full transparency this link is an affiliate link, which means if you purchase through that link, I get a little kick back. Please read the Amazon reviews before purchasing! If you don’t want to go through the trouble of getting guanciale, you can use pancetta or bacon as a substitute.
I wanted to share some errors I made the very first few times I made creamy Pasta Carbonara with Guanciale. You may run into a problem when it is time to add the eggs to the pasta. Please ensure that the pan and pasta are not too hot when you add in the eggs. The reason is because the final result needs to be a creamy sauce, and not scrambled eggs per say. If the heat is too hot, the eggs will cook too quick and turn into Pasta Scrambled Eggs Carbonara! It’s a skill, and may take a few times to get it right. Be aware there may be health issues with eating raw eggs, click here to learn more.
Okay finally! Below I have the print recipe where you can get all of the ingredients and steps to create this recipe. Additionally, there is a video of me preparing the recipe.
Pasta Carbonara with Guanciale
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. Spaghetti Rigatoni, Linguine, Bucatini pasta is also fine
- 3/4 cup Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese Parmigiano Reggiano also fine
- 2 Eggs One whole egg, one egg yolk, extra egg yolk can be added for more creaminess!
- 1/2 cup Guanciale, Pancetta or Bacon can be a substitute Chopped into your preferred size, cubed is fine, or 1/4 inch thick strips
- 1 tsp. Olive oil
- Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by bringing a big pot of water to a boil. Make sure to salt the water to help season the pasta! I like to use Celtic Sea salt for the extra minerals, and health benefits.
- In the meantime, heat a pan with 1 tsp. of olive oil. You don't need to much, because the guanciale will be releasing its own fat. Once the olive oil is hot, add in the guanciale, and fry on medium heat. You'll want to stir occasionally, making sure it doesn't burn, but finishes off with a slight crisp.
- By this point, the water should be boiling, add in your pasta of choice, and cook based on the instructions on packaging.
- Once the guanciale is done cooking, remove from heat, and remove the guanciale from the pan, leaving the extra oil in the pan.
- Next, crack one whole egg into a bowl, and one egg yolk. You can add another egg yolk if you'd like for a more thicker sauce. Crack in some fresh black pepper, and the grated Pecorino/Parmigiano cheese. Mix the contents together with a fork, breaking up the egg yolks and finally achieving a semi-smooth consistency.
- Now with a few minutes left for the pasta to cook, start warming up the pan with the excess guanciale fat and olive oil. Don't let it get too hot, just warm. Strain the pasta from the water, and add it into the pan. Turn off the heat, and mix the pasta with the fat/oil to get an even coating. Now, add in the eggs with cheese and black pepper, and mix thoroughly to get a nice creamy consistency. The heat from the pasta will essentially slowly cook the eggs. Once you achieve a nice texture, add in the guanciale, and mix again.
- Serve your pasta, top it off with a few bits of guanciale on top, crack some fresh black pepper, and top off with your cheese! Enjoy!
Video
I recently did another creamy pasta recipe, Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken Breast, click on over to get the recipe!