Delicious Keto Pasta Carbonara
A keto take on the classic dish: Pasta Carbonara. Swapping out the noodles and sticking to the original recipe yields a delicious pasta dish to hit those cravings you might be having. By using shirataki or zucchini noodles, it cuts out most of the carbs you’d find normally in Carbonara.
Net Carbs per Serving: 6.7g
Carbs per Serving (2 servings): 9.3g
Fiber: 2.6g
Full nutritional information posted at the bottom of the page.
Recipe Explained
Recipe card is below text.
I absolutely love carbonara and I knew it would be the one dish that I would crave once I made the switch to keto. Luckily for us all, Shirataki noodles exist. They definitely have their pros and cons, but there are ways to make them the perfect noodle substitute. Also, I believe a thicker sauce like the one used in carbonara does wonders. Since you’re eating low-carb now, go ahead and skip that trip to Olive Garden and make your own Italian styled dish at home.
The Noodle
A lot of people don’t love the consistency and taste of the tofu noodles, so there are a few steps you can take to get rid of that natural flavor. First, you want to strain it from the liquid that it’s packaged with. After that, I like to pat it down with a paper towel before adding it to boiling water. Salt the water just like you would any other pasta, and boil it for about 3 minutes. Once it’s finished, remove it from the water and drain it again (it helps if you’ve rinsed off the strainer that you used to separate the noodles from the packaging water).
The Meat
It’s entirely up to you what meat you use with this. Typically it’s made with some sort of cured pork like pancetta or guanciale. However, considering guanciale proves difficult to get your hands on, I find that a nice thick cut of bacon works equally well. Especially when we get to incorporate the bacon grease into dish. Thick cut bacon is definitely cheaper and easier to find. If you do go with pancetta or guanciale, you want to dice it into small to medium sized chunks (think 1/4 inch cubes). With bacon, I just like to take three slices and slice them into 1/4-1/3 inch strips and put them in the pan. Then separate the pieces the while they cook. Don’t forget to toss the onion and minced garlic into the pan when the bacon is almost done.
The Sauce
A common misconception about carbonara is that the sauce is made with heavy whipping cream. That’s how you’ll find it a lot in other recipes online, and honestly there’s nothing really wrong with it. It’s also another ingredient commonly used in keto meals. However, the consistency of the sauce made with egg yolk tends to make it a little thicker. This gives the tofu noodles, which are usually a little slimy, a more natural noodle texture. Taking shirataki noodles and some low-carb alfredo sauce can be a nice quick meal, but the noodles will tend to slide off your fork. For this sauce, it’s recommended you use a combination of parmesan and pecorino romano. If you can’t seem to find the pecorino or don’t have a cheese grater, you can substitute it for more parmesan and it’ll still turn out great.
The wine is a great addition to the sauce, but if you don’t have any on hand, skip it and subtract 1 net carb from the total. The warm water’s addition to the sauce is just to help make it a little more sauce-like and mix with the pasta without clumping. In non-keto carbonara, you would usually use the salted water you boiled the pasta in, but since we’re working with tofu noodles, we’re going to use warm water to keep away from the tofu taste as much as we can.
Top with some parsley (preferably fresh, but dried works in a pinch), plate it, and enjoy this quick and hearty keto meal. It’s surprisingly filling and would make a good main course, but it also makes a great side with something like grilled chicken breast to make sure you don’t leave any of that sauce behind.
Note
Neither onion or garlic are typically used in the Roman dish, and Italian food is centered on the simplicity of ingredients. However, this is a still a western take on the dish. We’ve come to associate garlic with Italian food, even when it’s not correct for the dish. It’s still delicious.
What You Need
- Equipment and Utensils
- Sauce Pan
- Skillet
- Mixing Bowl (small)
- Knife
- Cheese Grater (Optional if you purchased pre-grated cheese)
- Food (What We Use)
- Shirataki Noodles (You can get these at a regular grocery store as well, usually found around the vegetables)
- Panchetta or Smithfield Thick Cut Bacon
Keto Pasta Carbonara
Ingredients
- 8 ouncse Shirataki Noodles (Spaghetti)
- 3 slices Thick-Cut Bacon Sliced
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 2 cloves Garlic Minced
- 1/3 Small Onion Diced
- 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup Grated Pecorino Romano
- 1/4 cup White Wine (Sauv Blanc)
- 1/2 tablespoon Parsley Preferably fresh, but dried works.
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
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Slice and cook bacon or pancetta in a skillet.
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Remove pasta and drain again.
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When bacon is starting to brown and render some fat, place diced onion and minced garlic into skillet.
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Add wine to skillet. Reduce to a simmer and let sit for until the pasta is done, 3-5 minutes. Here you can add pepper, or add it to taste at the end.
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Drain, wash, and boil (in seasoned water) pasta for 3 minutes. This is to help remove the natural taste of the tofu noodles.
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Whisk egg yolks until well mixed. Whisk in parmesan and pecorino to create a thicker textured carbonara sauce.
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Pour 1/4 cup of warm water into sauce mix. Start with small amounts and mix, then gradually add more as to not make it too soupy.
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Add pasta to skillet with the bacon.
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Pour the egg sauce into skillet with pasta and meat.
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Toss with tongs to coat the pasta with the sauce and evenly mix in the meat. Continue to mix while the sauce heats and thickens up.
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Add handful of chopped fresh parsley. (Dried works as well)
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Salt to taste, plate, and enjoy.
