# Spaghetti alla carbonara

Roman carbonara. Roma, Lazio. Pasta & Rice (Primi & Risotti).

> Guanciale, egg yolks, Pecorino Romano and black pepper: the Roman carbonara as it is made today, and on this page the yolks are first cooked over a bain-marie so the sauce is safe to eat.

- Level of proof: Documented tradition (Tradizione documentata). A regional tradition documented in cookbooks and local practice, with no single official text.
- Sources checked: 2026-10-27
- Published: 2026-10-21
- Page: https://nonnario.com/recipes/spaghetti-alla-carbonara/

## In short

- Guanciale, egg yolks, Pecorino Romano PDO and black pepper, with no cream and no garlic.
- The guanciale browns in its own fat, crisp outside and soft inside, and goes back in at the very end.
- The egg cream goes in off the heat and is stirred fast, so it turns creamy instead of scrambling.
- For a safe sauce the yolks are first cooked to 71 °C over a bain-marie, or pasteurised yolks are used.

Also called: carbonara, pasta alla carbonara, spaghetti carbonara.

## Where it comes from

Carbonara is a Roman dish whose beginnings are still argued over. For years it was tied to the American army, which reached Lazio in 1944 with rations of egg and bacon. In February 2026 the food historians Alberto Grandi and Luca Cesari confirmed an older trace, found by two Dutch journalists: on 23 August 1939 De Koerier, a Dutch-language daily of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), wrote of a Trastevere trattoria whose speciality was spaghetti alla carbonara; Grandi still sees the Americans as central to the story. The oldest known recipe, found by Cesari, was written by the actor Aldo Fabrizi for a Lille newspaper in April 1952. The first printed in Italy, in a food magazine in 1954, used pancetta, garlic and Gruyère. Some link the name to the charcoal burners (‘carbonari’) of Lazio; others count this among the legends.

Carbonara has no official recipe. We compared four serious recipes and publish the most widely recognised version: egg yolks, guanciale browned in its own fat, Pecorino Romano and pepper, mixed off the heat (the number of yolks varies; this page uses six for four). The recipes agree that those four ingredients, besides the pasta, are the dish's true ones. One step is ours, for safety: in that version only the hot pasta warms the yolks, which does not make raw egg safe, so we first whisk them with cold water over a bain-marie to 71 °C, the temperature US food-safety guidance sets for dishes with eggs. With pasteurised yolks you can skip it.

- Defined by: Roman tradition
- Reference: Compared across 8 sources, listed below; this page publishes the most widely recognised version.

## Sources

- [Giallo Zafferano: spaghetti alla carbonara, its house recipe, on a page sponsored by a pasta maker (Italian)](https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Spaghetti-alla-Carbonara.html)
- [La Cucina Italiana: spaghetti alla carbonara, the magazine's traditional recipe and a note on its history (Italian)](https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/ricetta/primi/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-2/)
- [Cucchiaio d'Argento: spaghetti alla carbonara, its recipe with the yolks whisked over a bain-marie (Italian)](https://www.cucchiaio.it/ricetta/ricetta-spaghetti-carbonara/)
- [Dissapore: spaghetti alla carbonara, its recipe and the dish's disputed origins (Italian)](https://www.dissapore.com/ricette/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-con-guanciale-pancetta/)
- [Dissapore: nine carbonaras from its history, after Luca Cesari's history of pasta (Italian)](https://www.dissapore.com/cucina/carbonara-le-9-versioni-vere-che-hanno-fatto-la-storia/)
- [Il Post: the 1939 newspaper mention of carbonara, confirmed by Alberto Grandi and Luca Cesari (Italian)](https://www.ilpost.it/2026/02/16/carbonara-attestazione-americani/)
- [USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: Shell Eggs from Farm to Table, on cooking dishes with eggs safely](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/eggs/shell-eggs-farm-table)
- [American Egg Board: how to cook egg yolks before using them in a dish that calls for raw ones](https://www.incredibleegg.org/sunnyside-up/how-to-use-cooked-eggs-in-dishes-that-normally-feature-uncooked-eggs-and-other-safety-tips/)

## Ingredients

For 4 servings, in metric units.

- 320 g spaghetti
- 150 g guanciale (cured pork jowl, aged and spiced)
- 6 egg yolks (from medium eggs, about 100 g in all; cooked to 71 °C in the method, or pasteurised)
- 180 ml cold water, for cooking the yolks (not needed with pasteurised yolks)
- 50 g Pecorino Romano PDO, finely grated
- Pecorino Romano PDO, grated (a little more, to finish)
- black pepper (to taste)
- salt (for the pasta water, about 8 g a litre (about 32 g for 4 litres))

## Equipment

- Large pot with a lid for the pasta, and tongs to lift the spaghetti out
- Non-stick frying pan wide enough to toss the pasta in
- Slotted spoon or ladle, and a small bowl for the guanciale
- Small saucepan and a metal bowl that sits on it without touching the water, for the bain-marie, and a larger bowl of cold water to cool it in
- Whisk and a metal spoon
- Probe thermometer, for the 71 °C check
- Grater for the pecorino, a kitchen scale and a measuring jug

## Method

Hands-on 31 min, cooking 24 min.

About 35 minutes, about half of it waiting for the water to boil: use that time to cut the guanciale and to cook the yolks over the bain-marie, a step that needs your whole attention, so the egg cream is ready before anything else is on the heat. Then the guanciale browns while the spaghetti cook. The yolks are cooked to 71 °C because in the classic method only the heat of the pasta warms them, and that does not make raw egg safe; with pasteurised yolks, skip that step.

### While the water heats

1. **Put the water on** (Cooking 15–20 min). Bring 4 l of water to the boil in the large pot, covered. Put about 4 cm of water in the small saucepan for the bain-marie and bring it to a simmer.
   Check: The water in the large pot is at a full, rolling boil. If it boils before the egg cream is ready, turn it down and let it wait.
2. **Cut the guanciale** (Hands-on 5 min). Cut the rind off the guanciale, then cut it into slices and the slices into strips about 1 cm thick.
   Tip: The rind can be kept to flavour other dishes.
3. **Cook the yolks over the bain-marie** (Hands-on 8–12 min; 71 °C). Separate the eggs straight from the fridge. In the metal bowl, whisk the 6 yolks with the 180 ml of cold water. Turn the small saucepan down to a bare simmer, set the bowl on it and whisk without stopping, reaching into the sides of the bowl, until the probe reads 71 °C in the middle of the cream. With pasteurised yolks, skip this step and the next.
   Check: 71 °C on the probe; the cream is smooth and coats a metal spoon with a thin film.
   Tip: This step makes the sauce safe. In the classic method the yolks are only warmed by the hot pasta, off the heat, and do not reliably reach 71 °C, the temperature USDA FSIS gives for dishes with eggs. It matters most for young children, pregnant women, older people and anyone with weakened immunity.
   Tip: 71 °C is close to the point where yolk sets: some recipes keep their bain-marie yolks below 65 °C for that reason. The water (at least 2 tablespoons per yolk) and a whisk that never stops are what let them reach it smoothly. If the cream starts to catch at the sides, lift the bowl off for a few seconds, still whisking, then put it back.
   Tip: If it turns grainy, the yolks have set: start again with 6 fresh yolks, or use pasteurised ones. If you stop before 71 °C, the cream is not the safe version: put it back over the water, or use pasteurised yolks.
   Tip: Pasteurised yolks can be used without cooking: about 100 g of pasteurised liquid yolk replaces the 6 yolks.
4. **Stop the cooking** (Hands-on 2–3 min). Lift the bowl off at once, keep whisking for about 30 seconds, then set it in the larger bowl of cold water and whisk until the cream is cool.
   Check: The outside of the bowl feels cool and the cream is still smooth.
   Tip: The hot bowl keeps cooking the cream at the sides; the cold water stops it before it turns grainy.
5. **Make the egg cream** (Hands-on 2 min). Whisk the 50 g of pecorino and black pepper to taste into the cooled yolks until smooth. With pasteurised yolks, whisk them with the pecorino and pepper now. Leave it aside, away from the hob, until the pasta is ready.
   Check: A smooth cream with no lumps of cheese.

### Cooking

The yolks were cooked first, our step for safety, so they now carry the water that would otherwise go into the pan.

6. **Brown the guanciale** (Hands-on 10 min; heat: medium-high). When the egg cream is ready and the water is boiling or nearly, put the guanciale in the dry non-stick pan, with no oil, and brown it over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then. Do not let it burn: overdone guanciale can turn bitter.
   Check: Golden and crisp outside, still soft inside when you bite a piece, with its fat melted into the pan.
   Tip: The fat gets very hot and spits: stand back, turn the handle away from the edge of the hob and do not leave the pan.
   Tip: The guanciale gives all the fat the dish needs.
7. **Cook the spaghetti** (Cooking 9–11 min). Once the water is at a full boil, while the guanciale browns, salt it lightly (about 8 g per litre, as the guanciale and pecorino are salty) and cook the spaghetti until al dente, about a minute short of the packet time, since they finish in the pan.
   Check: Bite a strand: tender, with a thin, firm thread at the centre.
8. **Lift out the guanciale** (Hands-on 1 min). When the guanciale is done, turn off the heat and lift it out with the slotted spoon or ladle into the small bowl, leaving its fat in the pan. Pour about 2 tablespoons of pasta water into the fat; with uncooked pasteurised yolks, pour in a full ladle (about 100 ml), as in the classic method.
   Tip: The cooked egg cream already holds 180 ml of water, so the pan needs only a splash; the check when the egg cream goes in tells you if it needs more.
   Tip: Pour the water in slowly and stand back: it spits in the hot fat.

### Bringing it together

9. **Toss the spaghetti in the fat** (Hands-on 1 min; heat: medium). Lift the spaghetti out of the pot with the tongs, straight into the pan, letting some cooking water come with them. Set the pan over medium heat and toss them briefly in the fat. Keep the pasta water.
   Check: Every strand is glossy with fat.
10. **Add the egg cream, off the heat** (Hands-on 1 min). Take the pan off the heat, pour in the egg cream and stir quickly until it has thickened into a cream around the spaghetti. If it looks thin, keep tossing a few seconds longer off the heat; if it looks dry, add a little pasta water, a spoonful at a time.
   Check: A glossy cream coats every strand, with no bits of scrambled egg.
   Tip: The egg goes in only once the pan is off the heat, so that it turns into a cream and not into scrambled egg.
11. **Return the guanciale and serve** (Hands-on 1 min). Stir in the guanciale, give it a last stir and serve at once, with a little more pecorino and a pinch of black pepper on each plate.
   Tip: The guanciale goes back only now so that it stays crisp.

## Good to know

- Keeping: Eat it as soon as it is made. ([source](https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Spaghetti-alla-Carbonara.html))
- Variant: Half pecorino, half Parmigiano: Half the pecorino replaced by Parmigiano. ([source](https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Spaghetti-alla-Carbonara.html))
- Variant: With rigatoni or mezze maniche: Short ridged pasta in place of the spaghetti. ([source](https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Spaghetti-alla-Carbonara.html))
- Variant: Carbonara di zucchine: A vegetarian version, with courgettes browned in olive oil in place of the guanciale. ([source](https://www.dissapore.com/ricette/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-con-guanciale-pancetta/))
- Variant: Carbonara di pesce: On the coast of Lazio and Tuscany, made with prawns or other shellfish, or with salmon or swordfish. ([source](https://www.dissapore.com/ricette/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-con-guanciale-pancetta/))

## Common mistakes

- Adding the egg cream over the heat: it scrambles instead of turning creamy.
- Browning the guanciale too far: it can turn bitter.
- Counting on the pasta's heat to make raw yolks safe: cook them to 71 °C first, or use pasteurised yolks.
- Cooking the yolks with too little water, or without whisking all the time: they set into grains before they reach 71 °C.
- Too little pasta water, or eggs cooked too far: the sauce comes out dry.
- Adding cream, garlic or onion.

## Cooking it outside Italy

- Guanciale is cured pork jowl; pancetta comes from the belly. Without guanciale, some cooks allow pancetta, though the original recipe does not use it; others advise against smoked pancetta.
- A medium yolk weighs about 16 g–17 g, so with bigger or smaller eggs weigh about 100 g of yolk. Pasteurised eggs and cartons of pasteurised liquid yolk are sold in some shops.

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From Nonnario, the documented recipes of Italy: https://nonnario.com/recipes/spaghetti-alla-carbonara/. Cite the recipe's page and the month its sources were checked; for the official text itself, cite the document listed under its sources. Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).