Pasta Carbonara is a luxurious italian classic that tastes like it’s worth every dollar of its standard steep menu price. Yet, its one of the simplest pasta dishes offered; made of mainly spaghetti, eggs, and cheese. Delicious? Yes. Worth the price? Most definitely not. 

As an alternative, here’s a vegetarian adaptation of Pasta Carbonara designed to be completely foolproof, unbelievably simple, and quick. I promise that after you try this recipe once, you’ll never be conned into paying double digits for it again. Save your money for something important like paying off student loans or your favorite coffee drink.

You can use this to impress your clueless friends or your parents who think you buy too much chipotle. Just promise you’ll use real parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Never use that powdered fake stuff in the green container. And if you’re worried about the raw egg – trust me, it’ll cook when you add the pasta water and the hot pasta.

Vegetarian Pasta Carbonara

  • Prep Time:5 minutes
  • Cook Time:10 minutes
  • Total Time:15 minutes
  • Servings:3
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound spaghetti (half a standard package)
  • 1 cup green peas, defrosted
  • 2 cloves of chopped garlic
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt, not including salt for the pasta water
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
Photo by Kevin Trieu-Nguyen
  • Step 1

    Cook your pasta in generously salted water according to package directions.

    Photo by Kevin Trieu-Nguyen
  • Step 2

    In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, salt, black pepper, green peas, garlic, and cheese.

    Photo by Kevin Trieu-Nguyen
  • Step 3

    Once the pasta is done cooking, add half a ladle of the pasta water to the mixing bowl and mix well.

    Photo by Kevin Trieu-Nguyen
  • Step 4

    Using tongs, transfer the pasta directly from the pot to the egg mixture in the bowl.

    Photo by Kevin Trieu-Nguyen
  • Step 5

    Serve with a hearty grating of cheese.

    Photo by Kevin Trieu-Nguyen