Make this easy creamy cheesecake factory pasta carbonara recipe! Made with a rich, savory garlic parmesan sauce, crispy bacon, and sweet peas, this recipe is easy and saucy dinner any day of the week.
Love pasta recipes? Give my lobster cream pasta a try for date night; a hearty and saucy beef ragu over pappardelle on those cold winter evenings; Alfredo sauce just like I learned in culinary school; or pulled pork mac and cheese for a cookout!
The Best Cheesecake Factory Pasta Carbonara Copycat!
If you really like a rich sauce poured over something, Cheesecake Factory's your place to be.
And my site, too, to be honest. We love a sauce.
When you make pasta carbonara, you have two paths: classic Italian style with plenty of
...or anger the local Italian population with a very American style, rich and creamy, ridiculous (and I say that with love!) pasta carbonara made with ample amounts of things that just don't belong in the authentic stuff: cream, garlic, vegetables, cheap, salty bacon instead of the good guanciale...it's the stuff of Carbonaragate.
That doesn't mean that it isn't absolutely delicious, just look at the cult-like following the Cheesecake Factory has! I make this all the time whenever I'm craving a hearty bowl of pasta or am having a low energy day and need some easy-to-make comfort food. It's the best pasta dish when you are just hungry and wanting something quick and easy.
This copycat Cheesecake Factory carbonara is saucy, rich, creamy and delish. Not to mention easy AF and done in under half and hour!
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Jump to:
- The Best Cheesecake Factory Pasta Carbonara Copycat!
- Why You'll Love this Delicious Pasta Dish
- Americanized Carbonara, not Authentic
- Equipment Needed
- Ingredients
- How to Make Pasta Carbonara like the Cheesecake Factory
- Variations and Substitutions
- What to Serve with Pasta Carbonara
- Storage and Reheating
- FAQs
- Restaurant-Worthy Dishes to Serve with Pasta!
- Cheesecake Factory Pasta Carbonara Copycat
Why You'll Love this Delicious Pasta Dish
- Restaurant-worthy dinner in just 25 minutes!
- A completely beginner-friendly recipe - there's no fancy techniques here! Boil some pasta, whisk up liquids in a boil, chop up some bacon and throw it in a pan. If you can do that, you can make Cheesecake Factory pasta carbonara.
- Great base for other ingredients - mix in some leftover rotisserie chicken, add some sautéed mushrooms, this recipe is great for leftovers or as a side to other main dishes.
Americanized Carbonara, not Authentic
Real, authentic carbonara is a rich dish with an interesting origin story: it's believed to both be a spin on the Neapolitan cacio e uova, pasta tossed with eggs, cheese, and melted lard, and the idea that Americans brought in rations of bacon and powdered egg during World War 2.
The 'official' Roman way to make it is with pancetta, which is salt-cured pork belly, or guanciale, which is a super fatty cured cut from the pig's cheek and jowls.
The carbonara sauce is made with fresh raw eggs, cheeses like parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, the rendered fat from the pork, and reserved cooking water from the pasta. Whisked all together and tossed with pasta for a perfectly creamy dish.
This takes us to the pasta carbonara at Cheesecake Factory; it's more like an alfredo sauce with bacon and peas. Easy to make consistently, and without raw eggs you lower the risk of sickness when it's mass produced, while still getting richness and creaminess from their garlic-parmesan cream sauce.
My recipe has eggs, though. It's not carbonara without them.
Equipment Needed
- Large Saucepan or Large Pot - for boiling pasta
- Microplane - this is a handheld grater that wears down cheese with ease.
Ingredients
- Grated Parmesan Cheese - use a real wedge of parmesan, please. The stuff in the green can is coated in cellulose and you won't be able to melt it into the sauce.
- Spaghetti Pasta - you can also use other pasta like bucatini or angel hair.
- Frozen Green Peas
- Thick Cut Bacon - this is give you the most rendered fat and the most meat than a thinner cut. Try to go for the uncured, nitrate-free kind so there's not as much salt.
- Shallots and Garlic - shallots are a bit like small onions with a lighter flavor. You could swap in half of a small yellow onion instead.
- Heavy Cream
- Kosher Salt and Pepper
How to Make Pasta Carbonara like the Cheesecake Factory
Step 1 | Cook bacon - Cook the bacon over medium heat to render the fat. Because they're chopped up into bite-sized pieces, they'll cook faster than full strips. While that's going, cook the pasta according to package directions in a large pot of water.
Step 2 | Add shallots - As the bacon is rendering and crisping up, add the shallots to the pan. We want to do this just around the end of the bacon's cook time, the shallots only need a few minutes to soften and get a little color.
Step 3 | Add frozen peas and minced garlic - Reduce heat to medium low and let these two gently cook with the bacon in the pan. Let it cook for just 2-3 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Step 4 | Whisk together the parmesan cream sauce in a large bowl.
Step 5 | Once the pasta is al dente - Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, then pour in the cheese, egg, and cream mixture. Toss it all together with tongs to really mix the fat and sauce together and coat the pasta. Taste as season with salt and black pepper as needed.
Step 6 | Serve the carbonara with extra parmesan on top!
Variations and Substitutions
- Chicken Carbonara - add rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken breast and toss it right into the pasta sauce, it makes an easy and filling meal.
- Change up the flavors - add red pepper for some spice or squeeze in some mellow roasted garlic for a cozy depth of flavor!
- Add in lemon juice and zest to cut through the richness of the pasta sauce.
- Fresh herbs like thyme, oregano, or basil work wonderfully in this recipe as well.
- Too much bacon fat in the pan? Sop it up with a paper towel and tongs, but leave at least a tablespoon or two.
- Leave the peas out if you want to!
What to Serve with Pasta Carbonara
- Fresh Heirloom Tomato Caprese with Burrata - It's perfectly refreshing, especially in the summer!
- Black Pepper Focaccia Bread - one of my favorite bread recipes to make, it's super simple and so delicious with a crispy bottom.
- A Fresh, Crisp Green Salad - have a salad to cut through the richness of the carbonara.
Storage and Reheating
Carbonara is best eaten fresh but if you have leftovers, the eggs in the sauce do not reheat well in the microwave.
So splash some cream into the leftovers and reheat in a saucepan on medium-low heat, stirring to warm up the leftover carbonara.
FAQs
The hot pasta helps cook the eggs as you toss the pasta in the egg and cheese sauce, which melts the cheese and thickens up the sauce.
I 100% suggest using fresh eggs (eggs that you bought this week from the grocer, I mean. You don't have to own a farm.) so that you have peace of mind. The fresher the egg, the less likely for bacteria.
The main differences is that carbonara is a pasta dish with pork and eggs, while Alfredo in Italy is made with butter and parmesan cheese, and the American version with cream and garlic added.
Restaurant-Worthy Dishes to Serve with Pasta!
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Cheesecake Factory Pasta Carbonara Copycat
Ingredients
- 12 oz spaghetti pasta
- 1 cup thick cut bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 5-6 slices of bacon)
- 2 shallots, small diced
- ½ cup frozen green peas
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅔ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 2-3 eggs
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- Grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water with about 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the pasta to the pot once you are in the middle of cooking your bacon to make sure they are ready by time the bacon is cooked.
- In a large pan over medium heat, add your diced bacon. As the fat renders, add your shallots to cook in the bacon fat until the shallots become soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes, and bacon is done to your liking. Turn heat to low and add the frozen peas garlic, stirring to ensure it doesn't burn. Turn off the heat.
- While bacon cooks, whisk together the heavy cream, grated parmesan cheese, and fresh eggs in a mixing bowl until well combined. Set aside.
- When pasta is al dente, drain the pasta and put it all into the pan. Then pour in the parmesan cream sauce mixture and toss together well, making sure that the sauce coats all the pasta and the cheese melts into the sauce. Taste, then season to your liking with salt and pepper.
- Serve your pasta carbonara immediately while still hot. Garnish with more parmesan cheese, if desired.
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