Gluten Free Carbonara

This easy Gluten Free Carbonara has a thick, creamy, and rich cheesy sauce that coats the gluten free rotini perfectly every time. Flavored with smoked gouda and thick, juicy strips of bacon, this dish gets all of your taste buds zinging.

If you ever visit Italy, you'll see some sort of Carbonara dish on every local Italian restaurant. It's like a staple meal to every menu. It uses just a few ingredients that are almost always easy to get your hands on and none of them are extravagant or expensive. Carbonara is a belly filling, warm meal that is easy to bulk out to make it go further if needed.

You really can't go wrong making a pasta carbonara for dinner. Now, with this gluten free recipe, you don't have to miss out on any of the goodness if you have a gluten allergy, celiac disease, or are just choosing to follow a gluten free diet for other reasons.

If you love pasta like we do, then I have a few other pasta recipes you need to check out. They're filling and super flavorful as well. Try Sage Pumpkin Pasta, Gluten free Ravioli, and a fan favorite, Mac Salad.

Why you'll love this pasta dish

• You only need a handful of common ingredients
• Bursting with flavor
• Easily customizable
• Ready in under a half hour

Ingredients Needed

• Thick Bacon
• Eggs
• Grated Smoked Gouda Cheese
• Gluten free Rotini : you can use any other preferred gluten free pasta of choice if needed.
• Oil: we prefer to use olive oil or avocado oil
• Salt
• Black Pepper

How to Make Gluten Free Carbonara

1. Place a large skillet or frying pan on the stove and turn the burner to medium. Put the bacon in the skillet while it's warming up.
2. Meanwhile, fill a medium sized pot half way with water, and add a few pinches of salt. Place this on another burner and turn it to medium-high heat.
3. Stir the bacon ever few minutes until it has shrunk and darkened in color, remove when the bacon is at your preference of doneness (I love crispy bacon in my carbonara, but lots of people prefer it on the chewy side). Remove the bacon from the pan, set it aside for now, and turn the burner to low heat.
4. Once the water is boiling, add in the pasta and cook till Al Dente, using the package instructions on the box or bag.
5. While the pasta is cooking combine the raw egg yolks, eggs, and smokey gouda in a bowl and set it aside.
6. When the pasta is Al Denta, drain it, reserving a tablespoon or so of the hot pasta water, and set is aside.
7. Turn the burner with the skillet up to medium low and add the oil and bacon to it. Then add the pasta and reserved pasta water. Mix well to coat the noodles. Now add the egg and cheese mixture and stir constantly until the cheese melts and the eggs begin to cook. This will form a thick and creamy sauce. 
8. Remove the skillet from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Serve while warm.

Storage

If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can reheat them in the microwave or transfer leftovers to a skillet on the stovetop to heat thoroughly before enjoying again.

Tips and Variations

• I like to garnish this pasta dish with some fresh parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
• Instead of rotini, you can use any pasta, to keep it more traditional, try this as a gluten free spaghetti carbonara recipe.
• If trying to lower your carbohydrate intake, you can make this with zucchini noodles, but they may not absorb the traditional carbonara sauce as well as the classic dish with regular pasta or your favorite gluten free pasta would.
• To bring more Italian flavor, don't be afraid to add a little garlic to your sauce.
• Traditional carbonara also uses pecorino romano cheese. If you have it, don't hesitate to add it to really jazz up this main dish. I just used what I had in my cheese drawer.

What is Traditional Pasta Carbonara?

Traditional Pasta Carbonara is a classic Italian dish. It's traditionally made with hard cheeses like Romano and Parmesan and is very popular with Spaghetti noodles.

Do I have to use rotini pasta for this carbonara?

I love using Rotini noodles for this recipe. The sauce gets trapped in the pasta ridges which makes every bite perfectly saucy. The beauty of this recipe is that you can use any gluten-free pasta that you like.

Can I add protein?

Certainly. You can easily add some cooked chicken, pork, ground turkey, or even shrimp would all be tasty in this dish. Top it with some more cooked bacon and enjoy!

If you have been on the search for a good gluten free pasta dish, you can end the hunt because this Gluten Free Carbonara is just what you need ot make!

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