Vegetarian Carbonara Recipe: How to Make Pasta Carbonara
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Jan 6, 2023 • 3 min read
Vegetarian carbonara has all the velvety, savory appeal of the original. Here’s how to pull it off.
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What Is Vegetarian Carbonara?
A vegetarian carbonara is a meatless variation of a famous Italian pasta dish. While the original gains a boost of salty flavor from pork belly (or, in some cases, crackly bits of prosciutto), a vegetarian carbonara incorporates vegetables like mushrooms, zucchini, or eggplant to achieve a similar umami-forward effect.
A classic carbonara features raw egg yolks, grated cheese, and cured pork. Unlike alfredo sauce, a creamy carbonara sauce does not include heavy cream; instead, the egg and cheese combine with a splash of starchy pasta water to create an emulsified sauce that evenly coats the noodles. The addition of tiny pancetta cubes (pork belly) or guanciale (cured pork jowl) boosts flavor and textural variety. Vegetarian versions may simply skip the pork or include substitutes like mushrooms, coconut “bacon” (toasted coconut chips), or your favorite plant-based meat alternatives.
3 Tips for Vegetarian Carbonara
More than most pasta recipes, carbonara benefits from speed—be ready to whisk the egg and cheese mixture into the salty, seasoned pasta water until they form the dish’s signature glossy sauce. Have more pasta water on hand to keep things loose. Here’s what else to know about this weeknight classic:
- 1. Use the right pasta. The traditional pasta shape for carbonara is spaghetti. Spaghetti carbonara is easy to manipulate in the pan with tongs, and the sauce coats each thin strand of pasta beautifully. You can also make carbonara with other long pasta shapes, like fettuccine, linguine, and bucatini. (Once you’ve swapped bucatini for spaghetti, you might not go back: The carbonara sauce fills the skinny tubes, providing extra sauce in every bite.) Just make sure to use a long pasta—you need the additional surface area to get the sauce’s texture just right.
- 2. Make it vegan. To make a carbonara without animal products, use a combination of miso, silken tofu, and nutritional yeast in place of the egg yolks and cheese.
- 3. Reheat leftover carbonara with pasta water. Save some pasta water in a container in the fridge separate from the leftover pasta. (The starch in the pasta water helps the sauce coat the noodles.) To restore some of your carbonara’s initial creaminess, bring a splash of pasta water to a boil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the leftover pasta and use tongs to tease apart the noodles and coat them in the liquid, adding a little pasta water as needed.
Easy Vegetarian Carbonara Recipe
makes
prep time
5 mintotal time
25 mincook time
20 minIngredients
- 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.
- 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, and grated cheese until well combined.
- 3
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil until shimmering.
- 4
Add the mushrooms and sauté until they release and reabsorb their juices and turn golden brown and tender.
- 5
Add the garlic and paprika and cook until the garlic is aromatic, about 1–2 minutes.
- 6
Season the mushroom mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
- 7
While the mushrooms cook, add the noodles to the boiling water.
- 8
Cook until they are almost al dente, about 5–6 minutes.
- 9
Use tongs to transfer the noodles directly to the skillet with the finished mushrooms, followed by ½ cup of the pasta cooking water.
- 10
Drizzle the egg mixture over the noodles.
- 11
Working quickly to emulsify the sauce, vigorously agitate the pasta with the tongs while shaking the pan.
- 12
Add more pasta water as needed, tossing the noodles until the sauce is thick and glossy and the pasta is al dente.
- 13
Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.
- 14
Transfer the pasta to plates or wide bowls and garnish with more Parmesan as desired. Serve immediately.
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