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Vegetarian Pasta Carbonara
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4.84 from 6 votes
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Vegetarian Pasta Carbonara

This easy to make recipe for Vegetarian Pasta Carbonara is delicious to eat and will impress your dinner guests. Vegan options.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Vegetarian Recipes
Cuisine: Italian
Search Result: carbonara, easy, Mediterranean Diet, Pasta, vegetarian.
Servings: 8
Servings: 1g
Author: 🔪 Food, Wine, and Love

Ingredients

  • Spaghetti– 1 pound uncooked. That is a 16 ounce box. The starch that is naturally in pasta is needed for this recipe so I urge you to not use a vegetable pasta or similar product. However any similar long noodles such as linguine or Capellini should work (angel hair is probably too thin)
  • Salt- as needed for the cooking your spaghetti.
  • Olive Oil– 3 tablespoons
  • Garlic– 2 cloves minced. That is about two teaspoons.
  • Eggs- 3.
  • Seasonings as desired. This can include Italian Seasonings Salt, and/or Pepper.
  • Romano or Parmigiano cheese- 1 cup grated. Plus additional as needed for topping.
  • Optional- vegan meat. Bacon or pork are traditionally used in a carbonara recipe. But you could alternatively use a vegan bacon or vegan meat instead.
  • Optional- vegetables such as peas

Instructions

  • In a large pasta cooking pot, cook the pasta until al dente (about 7-8 minutes) in water with salt. Tip: for one pound of pasta use 1 tablespoon salt plus 4 quarts water.
  • Drain the water, reserving ½ cup of it to use in the recipe.
  • Next, in a medium to large skillet over medium heat, cook the garlic in the olive oil for about two minutes until soft. You can add optional vegan meat or vegetables here.
  • Not in a small mixing bowl using a whisk, beat eggs with seasonings and cheese.
  • Transfer the al dente pasta to the skillet and turn the heat down to low or turn off the burner. Whisk in the reserved leftover water into the eggs and then gently blend this into the pasta. It is very important that you keep the pasta moving and that the eggs do not get warm enough to become scrambled eggs. I suggest moving the skillet off the burner if needed. Cook the pasta carbonara until the eggs are done.
  • Transfer the carbonara to a serving bowl or large pasta dish and top with additional cheese and seasonings as desired before serving.
  • Pasta carbonara does not keep well and does not do well when reheated. My suggestion is to serve it immediately and to finish it up.

Recipe Notes

As mentioned, since this is technically a vegetarian recipe, you can add cheese and use eggs in it. However, pork or bacon cannot be used. However, you could alternatively use a vegan bacon or vegan meat instead.
I also mentioned that the eggs are an important part of making the 'sauce' in pasta carbonara.
Not only do the eggs work with the pasta to make the consistency of this dish what it is, but they also add a bit of flavor to the dish. Having mentioned this, it is important to keep the eggs from making scrambled eggs in this recipe when they hit the warm skillet or pan. To do so, you will need to add some of the leftover water that the pasta cooked in (this is an important step to the success of your carbonara).

originally posted:

April 23, 2020
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Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 562kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 625mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g
Please note: Nutritional data has been calculated using a tool that comes with this recipe card and not by me. This means that Nutritional Information is only an estimate and can vary especially with ingredients that you use. The accuracy of this tool may differ from other tools as expected. Also note that there is no instructional value to the video that may be attached to this recipe. It is only there for visual pleasure. For more information about the images in this recipe, please refer the the recipe instructions. Thank you!

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