No.6 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Spaghetti carbonara

Made famous by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill

Photo: Mattes Boch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From the Roman classic, as taught in Tasting Rome, 2016. Katie Parla is No. 46 on the Hot 100.

Rome's most copied dish and one of the most searched pasta recipes in the world. Eggs, cheese, guanciale and pepper: no cream.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Tasting Rome.

Ingredients

• 6 oz (170 g) guanciale (or pancetta), rind removed, cut into strips 1/4 inch thick and 1 inch long
• 4 large egg yolks plus 1 whole egg, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups (100 g) finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus more to serve
• 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, plus more to serve
• 1 lb (450 g) spaghetti or rigatoni
• Fine salt, for the pasta water

Steps

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it lightly; the cheese and guanciale are salty.
2. Put the guanciale in a large cold skillet and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring now and then, 8 to 10 minutes, until the fat has run out and the edges are golden and crisp but the middles still chewy. Turn off the heat and leave it in the pan with its fat.
3. In a bowl, whisk the yolks, whole egg, Pecorino and pepper into a thick paste.
4. Cook the pasta until 1 minute short of al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1 cup of the cooking water.
5. Drain the pasta and tip it into the skillet with the guanciale. Toss over low heat for 30 seconds to coat in the fat, then take the pan off the heat and let it sit 30 seconds; it should be hot but not sizzling.
6. Whisk 2 tablespoons of the pasta water into the egg mixture, then pour it over the pasta. Toss and stir quickly and constantly, adding pasta water a spoonful at a time, until the sauce is creamy and clings to every strand, about 1 minute. If it is too loose, keep tossing; it thickens as it cools. If it starts to look grainy, add a splash more water and keep moving.
7. Serve at once with more Pecorino and pepper.

Chef's tips

• If the pan is too hot you get scrambled eggs; too cool and the sauce stays runny. Off the heat, but straight after draining, is the spot.
• Guanciale is cured pork cheek; it's worth finding at an Italian deli.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Tasting Rome by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill: get the book, No. 93 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

← No. 5Lasagne alla bolognese→ No. 7Perfect roast chicken