Put another way – carbonara is how you get your creamy pasta fix without feeling weighed down like you do when you indulge in pastas doused with heavy cream. But you don’t get that slick of dairy fat coating your mouth like you do when eating cream. You see, real carbonara is rich and creamy to eat. Not a bad thing, per se, it’s just that it’s no longer a real carbonara.īut more importantly for me (in addition to, of course, the fact that I’m sharing a recipe with the intention of respecting the origins), cream alters the mouthfeel and flavour. Outside of Italy, lots of recipes “cheat” by adding cream into carbonara sauce, for various reasons. Make it a reality!! It’s so quick and easy it will blow your mind! What happens if I add cream? You can imagine eating that mouthful of chewy spaghetti bathed in the creamy sauce, right? Don’t dream about it. And you’ll make 60 million Italians beam with pride! Just egg, cheese and a splash of starchy pasta cooking water.ġ5 minutes later, THIS is the sight that will be in front of you.

And indeed, there’s plenty of recipes that cheat by adding in cream.īut today, we’re making spaghetti carbonara properly, the authentic, traditional way. But don’t add cream! 😊 Spaghetti carbonaraĬarbonara is a beautiful, classic Italian pasta that’s so creamy, you’d swear there’s a good amount of cream in it.

Economical note – Use bacon instead of guanciale and parmesan instead of parmigiano reggiano for a very respectable version of carbonara that will still make Italians proud.

Don carbon pasta salad