5 Ingredient Carbonara Pasta

This 5 ingredient carbonara pasta is the perfect easy ‘go-to’ dinner recipe that one can make over and over (and over and over) and never get tired of because it is just SO GOOD!

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Phi here – I’m currently ‘out of the office‘ but I’m sure you won’t mind with today’s deliciousness, brought to you by Lynn from Order in the Kitchen. Words sometimes fail me to describe how much I love Lynn. She has become such a close friend, and she is just one of the most fearlessly loyal and amazing women I have ever met. I know you’ve heard me talk about her a time or two (ok, maybe more like three, or four, ok five plus times…) and the cool thing is that as this post goes live, I will actually be seeing her! To keep up to date with my traveling, be sure to follow me on Instagram and also show love to Lynn-you can find her on her blog, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Without further adieu- here is Lynn:

So this is the Carbonara that almost wasn’t.  And when I say it almost wasn’t, what I mean is that I had already made it and photographed it (beautifully, I might add) and devoured it in one sitting (this happens on a regular basis in my home), and then I went to upload the photographs to my computer and POOF they were gone!  Ok well maybe not “poof!” and completely gone, but because my husband had my computer in New York for practically the whole week to take his exams, and I was left with his virus-filled horrible PC aka my old computer) I had no choice but to try to upload them onto that computer.  Once I had already selected “import and delete” I patiently waited for all 300 files to upload to the computer so I could email them to myself and then edit in the Lightroom app on my phone (YES my life really IS this complicated when I don’t have my computer!!!!)  I also had a lentil recipe on there with some gorgeous photos for a sponsored post, so keep that in mind as I explain what happened next…

So no sooner had all the photos uploaded and deleted, and I attempted to open one, did I realize they were all in the wrong format!  Turns out, that just because my cool Mac can take RAW photos (CR2 files) and convert them into JPEG after I edit them in Lightroom, does NOT mean that all computers are capable of doing such things.  This was pretty much the worst thing ever.  I was already exhausted from filming a blog video that weekend, as well as entertaining my sister for her 21^st birthday (which was a significant reminder to me that I’m nearing 30 based upon my desire to fall asleep long before last call!).  I could not imagine the process of converting each photo one at a time from CR2 to JPEG, despite SweetPhi sending me a link with information on how to do it.  It just wasn’t worth it.

It was truly LESS effort to make this meal again and re-photograph it, than to attempt to save these photos.  Why? Because I literally make this meal once a week.  If I don’t make it one week, it’s because I’m on vacation, on a work trip, or just too tired to make anything at all that week (rare but yes, it happens!).  This Carbonara is truly a staple in our household.  I’ve gradually increased the amount of pancetta in the recipe because my husband is the true definition of a meat lover.  The best part about this Carbonara is that it only takes five ingredients (so it’s perfect for Five Ingredient Fridays!) and is super simple and quick to whip up.  That’s why I make it so often, and it’s truly my “go-to” recipe when I’m utterly exhausted after court or just don’t have the brain capacity to think of another recipe to make.

So when I say this is the recipe that almost wasn’t, I’m really just being facetious, as this is the recipe that always is, and always will be, in our home.  I intend to make this dish for years to come and always look forward to sharing it with the people I love.  So having to make it again to photograph it and devour it?  No problem at all!

5 Ingredient Carbonara Pasta

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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 -4

Ingredients

• ½ lb. pasta I prefer whole wheat spaghetti or thin spaghetti for this recipe
• 4 oz pancetta
• 2 eggs
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch each of salt and pepper
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Bring pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to instructions on box.
• Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and cook the pancetta until crispy (10 minutes or so) then turn heat off and let it sit there.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the two eggs together with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• (Ideally, if you start the water and the pancetta at the same time, everything should be ready at the right moment!)
• Once the pasta is ready, strain the pasta, reserving about ½ cup of the pasta water.
• Toss the pasta with the pancetta and the extra grease from the pancetta using pasta tongs.
• Mix in half the egg mixture at a time, tossing the pasta vigorously as you do so to prevent the eggs from scrambling in the pan (you want them to cook onto the noodles instead!)
• Add a little of the pasta water to make the sauce more saucy, then add in the Parmesan cheese and toss to evenly distribute.
• Top each serving with Parmesan cheese and additional salt and pepper if you desire (although pancetta and Parmesan are both salty, so you may not need it!)