Creamy Chicken Carbonara Pasta (Printable)

Tender chicken, crispy bacon, and creamy Parmesan-egg sauce tossed with pasta. A comforting Italian-inspired dish ready in 35 minutes.

# Ingredient List:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz spaghetti or fettuccine

→ Proteins

02 - 7 oz cooked chicken breast, shredded
03 - 5 oz bacon or pancetta, diced

→ Sauce

04 - 3 large eggs
05 - 2 oz grated Parmesan cheese
06 - 1/4 cup heavy cream, optional
07 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Aromatics

08 - 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

→ Garnish

09 - Extra grated Parmesan for serving
10 - Fresh parsley, chopped, optional

# How-To Steps:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
02 - Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy, approximately 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in shredded chicken to warm through, then remove from heat.
03 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, Parmesan cheese, heavy cream if using, and generous black pepper until well combined.
04 - Add drained pasta to the skillet containing bacon, garlic, and chicken. Toss thoroughly to combine all ingredients.
05 - Pour egg-Parmesan mixture over pasta and toss rapidly and continuously off the heat to create a silky sauce. Gradually add reserved pasta water in small amounts until desired sauce consistency is achieved.
06 - Transfer to serving plates immediately. Top with extra Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It delivers restaurant-quality comfort in about half an hour, perfect for weeknights when you are too tired to think but too hungry to wait.
  • The creamy sauce clings to every strand of pasta without needing a jarred sauce or complicated reductions.
  • Leftover rotisserie chicken works beautifully here, turning odds and ends into something that feels intentional and indulgent.
02 -
  • Take the skillet completely off the heat before adding the egg mixture, or you will end up with scrambled eggs instead of a creamy sauce, a mistake I made exactly once before learning my lesson.
  • Reserve more pasta water than you think you need because it is the only way to loosen a sauce that tightens up, and you cannot add it back once you have drained the pot.
  • Do not let the garlic sit in the hot bacon fat for more than a minute or it will burn and turn the whole dish bitter and acrid.
03 -
  • Toss the pasta in the egg mixture as fast as you can without panicking, because constant motion is what keeps the sauce smooth and prevents clumping.
  • Grate your Parmesan on the finest side of the grater so it melts instantly into the sauce instead of leaving little chewy bits.
  • Taste the pasta water before you drain it, if it is well salted, your dish will taste balanced, but if it is bland, your carbonara will taste flat no matter how much cheese you add.
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