Spaghetti Carbonara Pie

From the very first bite, I have been totally in love with Spaghetti Carbonara. It is amazingly simple, made up of just a few basic ingredients, and yet it’s so incredibly delicious – creamy (even though there’s traditionally no cream), salty with pancetta and pecorino, and plenty peppery. This recipe takes that same concept and flavor and transforms Carbonara into a sliceable, comforting bake.

The ingredients and the process here are very similar to traditional Carbonara, you’re just adding in an extra step of baking, which builds in a little more comfort and makes it a little simpler to serve to a crowd. The ingredient list is short, even though it’s certainly not short on flavor.

You start with pancetta that’s crisped up in a pan and tossed with spaghetti, eggs, and plenty of pecorino and pepper. This version also includes some cream – it helps keep things moist with the extra baking time in this method.

And then all you have to do is pour the mixture into a pan and bake it! A springform pan works best so that you can easily remove it once it’s done and slice it up, pie-like.

The magic of carbonara is in how the eggs are cooked by the heat of the pasta and they somehow meld with the cheese into a creamy and velvety sauce that took virtually no work. While it’s a little different here since the eggs set in the oven, it is just as magically creamy and delicious – it just also happens to be sliceable!

Spaghetti Carbonara Pie

30 minutes to prepare serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3/4 cup diced pancetta
  • 1 lb spaghetti, cooked and drained
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups Pecorino Romano cheese, grated and divided
  • Fresh parsley, finely chopped, for serving

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease a 9-inch baking dish or springform pan with butter. If using springform pan, wrap outside tightly with foil and place on baking sheet.
  2. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, and salt and pepper. Add 2 cups of the cheese, the spaghetti, and pancetta and toss to combine.
  4. Pour mixture into prepared pan and top with remaining cheese. Bake until egg has set, about 40 minutes.
  5. Let cool five minutes before cutting around springform pan to loosen and releasing pan. Serve in wedges with additional pecorino and parsley and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Italian Food Forever.

Whizzco for LPE