Hen Carbonara - The Keep At Dwelling Chef

It’s simply too darn simple to like Hen Carbonara with that velvety sauce, crispy bacon, and pecorino romano cheese. Significantly, how may you not love this dish? And, including hen to a basic carbonara makes this meal a bit extra substantial, so it’s not simply loading up on the pasta.

However once you just do need to load up on the pasta, go for our Authentic Pasta Carbonara.

Why Our Recipe

Prepared in simply half-hour which is ideal for weeknight dinners.
Deliciously juicy hen provides to the basic pasta to make it extra filling.
The sauce is velvety easy, made with eggs, pasta water, and pecorino romano cheese.

Closeup shot of tongs picking up chicken carbonara in cast iron pot.

No want to attend for an important day to order this at your favourite Italian restaurant when you notice how simple it’s to make. Take pleasure in this at your kitchen desk each time the craving hits! Add some hen to a basic carbonara and it’s a complete meal prepared in half-hour. You continue to have that superb, thick-cut bacon and a velvety egg and cheese sauce. In case you don’t have pecorino romano, you possibly can all the time cheat and use parmesan—we gained’t inform should you gained’t. We do it on a regular basis!

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients used to make chicken carbonara.

Thick-Minimize Bacon: You possibly can all the time substitute pancetta for bacon which is the genuine ingredient. Pancetta isn’t all the time as simple to come back by and might be dearer, so we default to bacon as the higher choice for many of our viewers.
Hen Breasts: Boneless, skinless hen breasts are nice for this recipe. Cube into bite-sized items.
Eggs: You’ll need massive grade AA eggs for this recipe. You’ll use a mix of egg whites and entire eggs for the right silky easy sauce.
Spaghetti: Simply use from the field. Cook dinner to al dente, tender however agency.
Pecorino Romano Cheese: You possibly can simply substitute with parmesan cheese. Simply ensure that it’s freshly grated as pre-grated doesn’t soften as easily and might make the sauce gritty.
Parsley: It’s simply there so as to add a pop of coloration. It’s non-obligatory, however makes it look a bit of extra fancy.

Hen Choices

We favor to make use of boneless skinless hen breasts, however you possibly can all the time use hen thighs should you favor darkish meat or a fattier lower of hen. These boneless skinless hen thighs are all the time juicier than the breasts.

Time & Cash Saver

You possibly can simply use leftover hen or shredded rotisserie hen on this recipe. You’ll want about 2 cups or you possibly can actually load it up with a cup or two extra. Rotisserie hen is usually bought as one thing known as a “loss chief” for grocery shops the place they promote the hen at or under price to get you into the shop and hopefully purchase different issues. Which means that rotisserie hen is usually the perfect value per pound for hen you may get. Save a bit of time, save a bit of cash.

Pasta Choices

Spaghetti is the normal alternative for pasta in a carbonara, nevertheless, you don’t must really feel tied to that. You would use virtually any lengthy, skinny pasta form. Different favorites are linguine, fettuccine, and bucatini.

Overhead shot of chicken carbonara in cast iron pot.

Pasta Water

Pasta water is the key weapon when combining pasta and cheese. The starch that’s pulled from the pasta through the cooking course of emulsifies (binds) the components collectively, making a easy sauce. No clumpy cheese right here. You possibly can all the time use a bit of extra pasta water to regulate the thickness of your sauce as wanted.

Wait till the final minute to get your pasta water in order that the water is filled with starch. Dip the sting of a glass 2-cup measuring cup into the pot of pasta water and fill the cup, ensuring you get a minimum of 1 1/2 cups. Then, you possibly can go forward and drain your pasta.