This rich pasta toss is great for everyday dinners or special occasions. I can come home from work and throw this dish together in a half hour.
Made this the other night...can't stop thinking about it. Ten stars. Followed exactly. This stuff is no joke. Will probably have to make it again in a couple days:)
Read Morecream cheese took forever to melt and the sauce curdled, had to add salt and pepper
Read MoreMade this the other night...can't stop thinking about it. Ten stars. Followed exactly. This stuff is no joke. Will probably have to make it again in a couple days:)
This was a last minute dinner attempt after my original dinner tanked. VERY simple which I appreciated. I did not have ham or peas, what I did was throw in a good amount steamed broccoli. I also added a good amount fresh ground pepper. I sprinkled fresh parmesan over each portion before serving. The boys and I inhaled this. VERY good.
Very yummy! Slightly time consuming but well worth the extra effort! I added shredded grilled chicken to mine as well which was a nice added touch.
cream cheese took forever to melt and the sauce curdled, had to add salt and pepper
Delish-- As I rule I don't rate or comment on a recipe if I make changes to it but in this case will make the exception.This to me was a marriage of an Alfredo and a carbonara with the bacon. I was looking for something different to make for dinner. I had leftover tortellini salad I wanted to use up and together they worked well. My tortellini salad had a little fresh basil and parsley, a few pine nuts, red and yellow peppers, pepper flake and artichoke hearts. The vinagrette was very mild but it added a touch of brightness to the dish to cut through some of the fat.I did drain some of the bacon fat as there was enough fat in the cream cheese and the extra olive oil from the dressing. I followed the recipe exactly until the point I added the pasta where I substituted the tortellini salad. I warmed the cold pasta salad in the sauce and added cooked bacon and cheese as directed. I did not have any ham and eliminated the peas as well. The artichoke hearts and peppers were there for sweetness and color instead. The changes made were out of desire to use existing product but the actual sauce was as written. I have made again as written and I do cut out some of the bacon fat and add just a touch of red pepper flakes depending on who is home for dinner.
Delicious. Made it exactly as said. To avoid curdling, I took it off the heat when it started to bubble and stirred until smooth. Will make again.
I found this recipe with not much in the house to cook and craving pasta. I did not find it time-consuming to cook as others have commented. I had to substitute the Parmesan cheese for shredded "pizza" 5 cheese blend and bacon for ham. It came out super tasty. I'd say a mix b/c spaghetti carbonara and alfredo sauce. Will definitely make again.
I have never tasted anything of the carbonara flavor. The way I tweaked it I know I am much more off. However, the flavor is actually quite good for 5-10 minutes of effort. I made 1/2 recipe and used 3 Tablespoons of real bacon bits cooked in 2-3 teaspoons of grapeseed oil. Removed the bacon and then added the rest of the ingredients, using whipped butter (lower calorie), reduced fat milk, and 4 triangles of laughing cow lite garlic and herb. It reminds me of cream cheese and I didn't have any. I just threw the peas in frozen. I didn't have ham, but it was fine without it. Not a dish I would repeat often as the calories, even with the tweaks, are still very high. Although, it worked well this evening. Without the pasta, and with my tweaks, 3 servings of the sauce as made above was 245 calories. ty
i didnt have ham or peas so i used corn and chicken still came out great! i'd probably say next time id take out at least half the grease from the bacon. i also added salt and pepper.. for my self more parmesan too!
I made it and my family loved it. I was generous with the garlic and also added oregano, basil, black pepper, and extra ham.
Add this a little while ago and my wife and I loved it. Great flavour, easy instructions and simple ingredients resulted in a wonderful dish. Great as a side or a main and also well received at potlucks.
Love it! Quick and easy. I followed the recipe but added onions to the bacon grease which I drained off. I didn't have ham so I used all bacon and saved some to crumble on top. deliciously easyy.
We made this for Sunday dinner-turned out great! We used only one clove of garlic and drained off a quarter of the bacon grease. Hubby wants to make it again with chicken or scallops instead of ham.
Quick to prepare. Quite tasty and filling. We all enjoyed the dish prepared according to directions (thankfully I had all of the ingredients on hand).
Delicious! Made mostly as written - added more ham (1 cup) and instead of peas I used a bag of steamed broccoli. If you are having a hard time getting cream cheese to melt/blend in, just use a whisk to stir. Also, 2 tablespoons of bacon grease to cook the garlic in is more than enough (this info must have been left out).
Loved it, my wife does all the cooking and thought I'd do this as a one off, i followed the recipe and it was 5/5 I changed the ham for chicken
Delicious! My whole family, including two picky children, devoured it. Thank you for this keeper!
This looked like a recipe for a (delicious) heart attack. So instead, I cooked the bacon in the microwave on paper towels and sopped off all the grease, then threw it in a skillet with a little olive oil and lots of fresh garlic. I used skim milk, reduced fat cream cheese and half the butter. Shouldn't have skimped on the parmesan, though; fresh would have made a big difference. Yummy anyway!
Great recipe, one of the best carbonaras I've made, BUT the one ingredient that makes it a carbonara is missing from the recipe!!! The pepper is VERY important; don't forget to add a generous amount. Also, I left out the ham because I thought it was too much pork.
I didn't have any peas, so I chopped fresh broccoli and used that. Next time I will double the amount of veggies. I also only used a small amount of the bacon drippings to saute the garlic. The ham and bacon, along with the garlic, add great flavor. The cheeses, milk and butter are definitely creamy. Will certainly be making this again!
Delicious. Omitted the peas and added mushrooms and onion. Will make this again.
I doubled the bacon instead of using ham. I used Kerry Gold butter and half and half instead of milk. This recipe came out really good! Thanks for the recipe :)
It's pretty good, although not enough sauce. It doesn't even vaguely resemble carbonara though. Carbonara has an egg-based sauce.
This is a quick and easy recipe that uses ingredients that I usually have on hand. My husband hates peas, but he likes this! I use half the butter and cream cheese that this calls for and 3 pieces of turkey bacon. This makes it a little lighter and it is still yummy!
I made it but I substituted broccoli and extra bacon for the peas and ham. It was DELICIOUS!
Absolutely wonderful!! I used bow tie noodles, still a great dinner. It is very harty and heavy, very "filling" meal
This would have been much better if I had drained the bacon grease. I should have gone with my gut and done that. Then I would have just softened the garlic in the butter. This is an easy way to make a last minute dinner, and it is kid friendly.
I made this to take to a sick neighbor and I must admit, at the last minute I almost changed my mind and kept it! It’s an easy go-to any night of the week.
It didn't work.
Awesome. Fast and easy! Super flexible for ingredients. I've subbed in chicken with the ham, and corn for the peas, and even a handful of fresh baby spinach. Salt and pepper over top before serving. Definitely in the dinner lineup. All kids ages 1-6 ate this up.
was more time consuming than expected. I melted the butter on low and then added the cream cheese in small chunks to the butter to make it melt faster. Used an entire box of penne pasta instead of rotini. Added chicken instead of ham which I browned in the bacon grease. Also added salt and pepper to the recipe. Otherwise a great base recipe.
Loved this! I doubled the recipe as we have 5 in our family and wanted leftovers. Reheats well with a splash of milk over it. I added 2 cans of chunk chicken breast which was great with the bacon, added more peas. Very nice creamy consistency. You can make this with pasta you already have cooked. I also like to cook the peas and add to the sauce so I don't over or under cook them. I had something similar at Cheesecake Factory and liked this just as well.
I thought it was very tasty, but not eggy enough to be a real rich carbonara, so at the end I added a few egg yolks to the sauce after I took it off the heat. Yummy.
Perfect recipe simple yet so delicious! Added a little salt and pepper to taste thank you!
Very easy and quick meal to make,I had some ham I needed to use up and this was great dish for it. Ate it for lunch and dinner
Eliminated the ham, used more bacon and put some red pepper flakes in for ooomph, delicious!
This was tasty and enjoyable as a meal. There are lots of last minute components to juggle. I didn't get a carbonara flavor I think because of the cream cheese. Still flavorful and not too hard. I felt it needed pepper and salt to enhance the taste.
With this recipe I did put in diff veggies but other than that kept it the same and I loved it. So did my 1 1/2 year old. I will definitely continue making it this way
Made this following all the directions and ingredient list, which doesn't normally happen. This is fantastic! My kids loved it! I was looking for a recipe to use up my leftover ham and this is now going to be my go-to recipe from now on.
This is amazing! Even the grandkids loved it! Will definitely make it again especially since my husband asked me to make it weekly.
Not bad, and it doesn't take a long time if you use already cooked and crumbled bacon, which is what I did. I don't think I could handle the bacon grease it calls for personally, but that's me. I fully expected this recipe to have eggs; since it doesn't, I suppose it's more of an Alfredo sauce, but it's not bad. Hubs and I had for a quick lunch. I added red peppers in place of peas since we didn't have any and used tri color rotini and penne since that is what we have. Thanks for the recipe.
Delicious and quick meal. I changed the portions for one and it still turned out fantastic.
Easy peasy and delicious ! Used marscapone instead of cream cheese cos I had none , also used only bacon as I had no ham ,seasoned a bit more for my taste . A hit and will use often
Easy! Last minute fix, short on ingredients so I made some substitutions: spaghetti for rigatoni, Chicken for ham, fresh asparagus for peas. I threw the a few pieces of 1 to 1-1 1/2" asparagus in the pasta water the last 5 minutes of cooking time. I added 1 cup rotisserie chicken and cut the cream cheese in half. My husband loved it. A fresh take on this recipe.
It’s a great recipe but the butter (real butter) makes it too oily for my taste. I used just a touch to brown the garlic as I used pre-made bacon crumbles. I also added some fresh ground white pepper. My husband and I just gobbled it up!
Very easy & delicious. I found this recipe to use my leftover ham. I made some substitutions and used what I had in my pantry. I used bacon bits instead of bacon, and added a little bit with the garlic while it was sauteing. I added more bacon bits to taste towards the end. I also used one stick of butter and one stick of margarine (I doubled the recipe). I substituted reduced fat cream cheese and frozen peas. Overall, I was happy how quick and easy this was!
Big Daddy DOES KNOW how to cook!! Followed his recipe, but I did things just a tad different: 1 ) I oven cooked / browned the bacon and about six thin slices of pre-cooked ham, placing them on paper towels before dicing them. I poured the bacon / ham fat in glass measuring cup. 2) Using just a shade over 1 Tablespoon of bacon fat in skillet, I browned the garlic. 3) Used "garden herb" flavor cream cheese. 4) Found and used the most robust / nutty flavor SHREDDED Parmesan cheese out there---and I wasn't shy about using generous amounts, either. And this was FAST EASY to make and serve---your family WILL love this !! If Big Daddy opens up his restaurant---I pray this recipe is on the menu!!
Amazing! My kids and husband all scarfed it down. I didn't put ham in because I did not have any on hand and I drained some of the bacon grease. We added some mushrooms and the whole meal was delicious!
I really liked it! I went to Italy a couple of years ago and had carbonara pasta and fell in love with it. When I came across this recipe, I had to try it. It was sooo good, but not very healthy. So if you are looking for a healthy recipe, this is not the one for you.
Haven't made it but would leave out the ham be cause not fond of it and increase the bacon amount for the am. A true Carbornara then. Yummy.
The flavor was great, but what I couldn't get out of my head (or mouth) was the film that the bacon grease left. Sadly these leftovers weren't touched again, a sure sign that it was only an adequate dinner. If somebody had made this for me I would have been completely satisfied, but no way will I bother putting the time and effort in to make it myself again. Altogether tasty but not perfected.
I didn't have bacon, so I used half and half instead of milk to even out the fat content. Delicious! Not healthy, but delicious.
Loved this dish! I basically made it as written, doubled the ham and peas and added a little mozzarella to make the sauce thicker. It is easy to make, but takes attention most of the time. Absolutely going into the rotation!
