Spaghetti Carbonara
This Spaghetti Carbonara is a new version of one of our first recipes! Slimming friendly, great for calorie counting and diet plans like Weight Watchers.
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories516
- Carbs47g
- Protein39g
- Fat18g
- Saturates6.4g
- Sugars5.6g
Your dishes
You’re amazing, look at the Spaghetti Carbonara dishes you’ve made…
For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!
Creamy, indulgent and pretty damn tasty! We’ve done a non-dairy version of this in the past, but sometimes you just *need* the creaminess that this dish should have.
When you eat this, you just won’t believe that it’s slimming friendly – we certainly didn’t even though we’d made it. It’s that good. Great quality, restaurant style food in a pinch!
If you’re bothered about eating raw egg, don’t be. The egg is going to cook whilst you stir. But you should avoid this if you’re pregnant – just in case.
If you fancy something a little bit different you could even add a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard. Just remember to adjust the calories, and Points accordingly!
What diets is this Spaghetti Carbonara suitable for?
This Spaghetti Carbonara recipe can be made gluten free by swapping out the following ingredients for gluten free versions;
- Stock cubes
- Pasta
Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.
Do you need any special ingredients to make Spaghetti Carbonara?
Since we made this Spaghetti Carbonara the first time around, we’ve come to the conclusion that finely chopped gammon is a much better addition than bacon medallions.
You should (in our opinion), make Spaghetti Carbonara with lardons, but gammon is a VERY close replacement, whilst keeping it light and super slimming friendly.
The other MAJOR addition to this Spaghetti Carbonara is Pecorino cheese. Pecorino is FAR superior to Parmesan and brings such a lovely salty flavour.
Hints & Tips
Below we added some of our communities most common hints and tips. We hope you find them useful.
We don't recommend freezing this recipe as the sauce can end up splitting
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‘Restaurant quality! I'd definitely pay good money for this in a restaurant!’
How many calories is this Spaghetti Carbonara recipe?
This Spaghetti Carbonara is 516 kcal per portion. The same dish at Frankie & Benny’s clocks up a hefty 650 calories, so this is a good saving!
It falls into our Special Occasion recipe category as it’s a little over 500 calories per portion. You can find all of our other Special Occassion recipes here.
This Spaghetti Carbonara fits well into a calorie controlled diet, as well as any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
Step 1
Boil the kettle – whilst you’re waiting for it to boil chop the onion, mushrooms and gammon.
Step 2
Cook the pasta as per instructions on the pack, and heat a large frying pan with a few sprays of low calorie cooking spray. Fry the onions till softened, add the mushrooms and gammon and cook until browned slightly.
Step 3
Add the vegetable stock to the frying pan, and cook on high stirring frequently until it reduces by half.
Step 4
Meanwhile in a bowl whisk the eggs, black pepper, quark and mustard (if you’re using it!) – set aside.
Step 5
Drain your pasta once it’s cooked and tip into a big bowl, add the cooked onions, mushrooms, remaining stock and gammon – stir well. Slowly add the whisked eggs, Pecorino cheese and quark making sure to stir constantly. Do NOT do this on the heat otherwise you’ll end up with scrambled egg!
Step 6
Once it’s all stirred through, add the parsley. Plate up and sprinkle with a little more Pecorino cheese. Enjoy!
What should you should serve with Spaghetti Carbonara?
What should you should serve with Spaghetti Carbonara?This recipe is a full meal on its own, but if you want to you could serve it with one of the options below:
If your’e looking to cut the calories or Points, serve half a portion of this Spaghetti Carbonara with a big green salad to fill you up!
How do you know when this Spaghetti Carbonara is cooked?
The pasta and vegetables will be soft but not soggy, and the gammon will have browned. The pasta will be coated with a creamy smooth sauce. It’s very important you add the whisked eggs, Pecorino cheese and Quark slowly and stir constantly off the heat. This will stop you ending up with any bits of scrambled egg in the dish!
This dish will take about 10 minutes over a medium heat on the hob.
Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.
How long can you keep Spaghetti Carbonara in the fridge?
Once you’ve put it out, ideally you should eat it within 4 hours.
If you allow any left overs to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of Spaghetti Carbonara in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.
Can you freeze Spaghetti Carbonara?
We don’t recommend freezing this recipe as the sauce can end up splitting.
How do I reheat Spaghetti Carbonara?
It’s best to reheat Spaghetti Carbonara on the hob over a low heat until piping hot throughout. You may need to add a little water or some extra egg off the heat if it has dried out. This is a dish thats best made fresh!
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Spaghetti Carbonara
This Spaghetti Carbonara is a new version of one of our first recipes! Slimming friendly, great for calorie counting and diet plans like Weight Watchers.
-
Prep Time
10 MINS
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Cook Time
10 MINS
- KCals 516
- Carbs 47G
Instructions
- Boil the kettle - whilst you're waiting for it to boil chop the onion, mushrooms and gammon.
- Cook the pasta as per instructions on the pack, and heat a large frying pan with a few sprays of low calorie cooking spray. Fry the onions until softened, add the mushrooms & gammon and cook till browned slightly.
- Add the vegetable stock to the frying pan, and cook on high stirring frequently until it reduces by half.
- Meanwhile in a bowl whisk the eggs, black pepper, quark and mustard (if you're using it!) - set aside.
- Drain your pasta once it's cooked and tip into a big bowl, add the cooked onions, mushrooms, remaining stock and gammon - stir well. Slowly add the whisked eggs, Pecorino cheese and Quark making sure to stir constantly. Do NOT do this on the heat otherwise you'll end up with scrambled egg!
- Once it's all stirred through, add the parsley. Plate up and sprinkle with a little more Pecorino cheese. Enjoy!
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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We agreed with Slimming World to remove their trademarked terms from our website
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115 comments
See what others have to say
Becky EllisMonday 5th August 2019
Delicious! Tastiest recipe so far… and I’ve only cooked maybe 4 from Pinch of Nom.
You guys really help to stay on plan with enticing recipes and ideas! I just ordered your book. Thanks!!
Emma TWednesday 25th September 2019
Ahhh thank you Becky! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes! ????
Clare RichmondMonday 15th July 2019
I put 1/4 teaspoon pepper in and that was too much. Will be delicious without as much pepper.
Steve CowderoyWednesday 6th May 2020
Hi Clare, thanks for getting in touch with us, yes use as much pepper to suit your own taste. Hope this helps.
MartinFriday 12th July 2019
Great dish, really enjoyed the taste of this. It actually tastes better then my original one thank you
Sharon FitzpatrickFriday 8th May 2020
Hi Martin, thanks for your lovely comment, we’re so pleased to hear that you really enjoyed this dish.Thanks for taking the time to tell us.
Emma BassThursday 20th June 2019
This was absolutely delicious and a new family favourite for us. We used chopped cooked gammon and it was fantastic. I left pasta and stock/mushroom/onion combo to cool for a bit before stirring quark/egg/pecorino through.
CateFriday 21st June 2019
Glad you liked it Emma! 🙂
Emma TThursday 20th June 2019
Ahhh, So glad you enjoyed it!
EmmaWednesday 8th May 2019
Hi, I selected to make this for 4.
It said 600ml stock, then underneath 300ml with 1 stock cube.
I did 600ml & it was really watery after boiling away for well over 10 minutes. Please help!
Emma TThursday 20th June 2019
Hi Emma,
It’s because the vegetable stock was written as having 1 stock cube, and therefore didn’t update when you altered the calories. If you make this again for 4 people, use 2 stock cubes with 600ml water ????
TabathaSunday 24th February 2019
How long will this keep in the fridge please?
ReannaFriday 25th January 2019
Love this ???? and all the family did too! Wahoo! Thank you ????
CharlotteSunday 20th January 2019
Hi,
I’m a bit confused. I have made this recipe Lots of times and it’s my absolute favourite! However it says it’s freezable but then in the comments here it says if you re-heat this it will turn to scrambled egg. So is this re-heatable or not? Thankyou x
Andrea NicholsonFriday 11th January 2019
This was amazing! I added some cooked spinach to mine for a bit of speed but wow is that tasty!!
MarietteThursday 9th August 2018
Hello can you eat this cold the next day. Put it in the fridge when cooled and have cold with salad?
KellyMonday 25th June 2018
Hello! I’ve just made this for the first time tonight….absolutely delicious! Thank you! Quick question though. I have left overs so would love to take some to work for lunch tomorrow however I’m very aware that the eggs could scramble when i reheat it. Any suggestions? Thank you!
FloMonday 25th June 2018
Ok so was looking a creamy carbonara. Its not creamy but it is nice! Spicy with the pepper. I love spicy but think ill cut down on pepper next time. Still but sceptical about the egg cooking though. ….. love how you can type serve amount of people and recipe adapts ????
AmyThursday 14th June 2018
Am I being a bit dim….. (probably), do I whisk the egg and quark together and add it to a hot pan? Or do I just add it to the bowl that the pasta and everything else is in? (It says add to bowl on the instructions?)
nikiThursday 26th April 2018
Hi
can you tell me please does the pecorino cheese need to be grated, thanks
LauraTuesday 17th April 2018
This is so delicious!! Thank you for the recipe. Feel like I’m being so indulgent but it’s perfectly on plan.
Nicky MooreTuesday 17th April 2018
Just want to check if this is using 30g of cheese which is one persons healthy option but the recipe serves 2 is it only half of your healthy option? Or should i put in 60g of cheese?
RachelTuesday 3rd April 2018
Could you use cheddar instead of pecorino please?
PatriciaFriday 16th March 2018
At the beginning it says bacon. But later gamon. No mention of bacon.
KjS-T xMonday 22nd January 2018
I absolutely love this recipe. I added some crushed garlic and peas too. Thanks for supplying such amazing recipes KjS-T x
CarolineThursday 4th January 2018
Never heard of this cheese what does it look like and who stocks it?
NicSaturday 4th November 2017
This was absolutely Delish! Even my mum who is a fussy one enjoyed it. I will definitely be doing this again. I have tried lots of your recipes now and have to say we have enjoyed them all. I think to date the Chinese chicken and broccoli is a personal fave x
HannahFriday 27th October 2017
If I reheat it will the egg scramble?
RachelThursday 19th October 2017
Wow wow wow amazing!! Love this thank you x
Anne BusbridgeTuesday 19th September 2017
Do you do gluten free recipes ? As I can’t eat a lot of your ingredients. Anne
Shelley HoldenThursday 14th September 2017
So tasty, but far to peppery even with half the amount of pepper used.
Will definitely be doing it again but won’t add any pepper next time.
NickyFriday 25th August 2017
I have just made this and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you so much.
SallyWednesday 23rd August 2017
Could you reheat this for lunch the following day?
caro millsSaturday 19th August 2017
made this tonite was really nice I do not normally cook from fresh but the followed the receipe and it was amazing. Cant believe that it so easy to make something so healthy. This website is defo changing our life style we would normally would have take away but now can manage to stick to a diet at the weekend. win win happy days thank you.
Emma TMonday 11th September 2017
Hi Caro,
So glad you enjoyed it!
Rachael MycockSaturday 19th August 2017
Just made this was absolutely gorgeous definitely make if again and soo quick and easy.
Emma TMonday 11th September 2017
Hi Rachael,
So glad you enjoyed it!
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