How to make creamy pumpkin carbonara: key tips
Before you start, make sure you bring your eggs to room temperature. As you’re whisking ingredients that contain some fat (the cream and parmesan), warmer eggs will lead to a smoother mixture that will combine and melt more easily when mixed with the hot pasta.
Cook the pasta until it is just al dente, meaning it still has a bit of a ‘bite’ to it, which is the perfect amount of cooking for most pastas. The pasta will continue to soak up the flavoured oil and egg mixture as it’s mixed through.
Serve your carbonara as soon as it’s ready – the longer it sits, the more the sauce will soak into the pasta, making the dish a little drier.
Key ingredients in this creamy pumpkin carbonara recipe
You’ll need some pumpkin puree for this dish. Butternut and Queensland Blue are both sweeter varieties that will work nicely in this recipe. Feel free to use leftover cooked pumpkin, if you have some from a previous meal.
The eggs, along with the pumpkin puree and cream, make up the sauce for this dish and are an essential part of any true carbonara.
Pancetta and parmesan provide a salty hit and, along with the garlic, infuse this pasta dish with loads of flavour. You can use chopped bacon instead of pancetta, if you desire. I also use chopped leftover Christmas ham when I have it.
Here are more than 50 pasta recipes to put on rotation when you’re craving a little Italian. These pasta bakes go down well with the kids, too.
This recipe was originally submitted by Kayla Sciacca/Australian Eggs. Introduction by Kayla Sciacca and additional recipe notes by Natasha Shaw.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 3 egg yolks room temperature
- ¼ cup cream
- 1 cup parmesan grated
- sea salt and pepper *to season
- 500g spaghetti
- ½ cup sage leaves
- 100g pancetta thinly diced
- 1 garlic clove
- olive oil
- parmesan cheese grated *extra to serve
Method
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Step 1Place the pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolks, cream and parmesan into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and whisk until combined. Set aside.
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Step 2Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Season with salt, add spaghetti and cook according to packet instructions. Reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining. Set aside.
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Step 3Heat the olive oil in a frypan over medium heat. Carefully add the sage leaves and cook for 10 seconds or until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside.
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Step 4Return the frypan to low-medium heat. Add pancetta and cook for 4-5 minutes, add garlic clove and cook for another minute. Remove garlic clove and discard. Add drained spaghetti to the pancetta oil mixture and toss to coat, allowing the spaghetti to absorb the flavoured oil.
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Step 5Carefully pour the spaghetti, pancetta and oil into the bowl containing the creamy pumpkin sauce and quickly toss to combine. Add pasta water as required to create a luscious creamy sauce.
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Step 6To serve, place the spaghetti onto a serving platter and top with crispy sage leaves, a good grating of parmesan and a little black pepper.
Recipe Notes
Do I need to add pasta water to my carbonara?
Don’t forget to reserve that 1/2 cup of pasta water. It may seem like you’re adding water that will make your sauce runny, but pasta water contains a lot of starch, which will actually thicken your sauce. Begin with about 1/4 cup pasta water and give the carbonara a stir, only adding more to achieve your desired consistency.
Can I choose other pastas for this creamy pumpkin carbonara?
Traditionally, this dish is made with spaghetti, but we’re not a stickler for the rules at Australia’s Best Recipes. If serving this meal to kids, you might like to cook some smaller easier-to-eat rigatoni, which will also hold the sauce well. You can, of course, use any pasta shape you prefer.
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