Healthy pasta: Spaghetti carbonara

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Posted at 4:00PM, 23 August 2011 by Hannah Williams - Editor, bbcgoodfood.com

Angela Nilsen conjures up a delicious carbonara recipe with two thirds less fat. Here's how...

A creamy bowl of spaghetti carbonara is one of the nation's favourite pasta dishes but the spoonfuls of butter and ladles of cream often added, mean this is normally seen as a guilty pleasure.

Few people would argue that food tastes better minus the cream but this Italian classic should traditionally be eaten without such calorific embellishments.

Traditionally a dish served to Umbrian coal men (carbonari) the original recipe was always enough to satisfy the heartiest of Italian appetites.

This Italian classic should traditionally be eaten without such calorific embellishments

Charged with delivering a virtuous version of carbonara that could sustain a miner and still taste delicious our healthy makeover wizard, Angela Nilsen, worked her magic and reduced the fat in our classic recipe by two thirds while slashing the calories.

Think that's too good to be true? Well here's how she did it...

By using lean back bacon with the fat trimmed, Angela reduced a large chunk of the fat.

She then substituted some of the bacon and cheese with peas to cut even more of the fat but still keep the protein, whilst also adding colour.

Angela found a healthier route to deep flavour by using garlic and chives in place of salt.

Using a strong-flavoured mature Parmesan meant she could use less calorie-packed cheese.

Finally, she reduced the saturated fat by eliminating the non-essential cream. Instead Angela added a ladle of the pasta water to the pan, which helped maintain a creamy sauce.

There's even scope for further fat loss by losing the bacon altogether and replacing with lean roast ham. Either way we're left with a delicious plate of pasta that won't pile on the pounds.

Try it for yourself here: The Ultimate Makeover Spaghetti Carbonara

Get more healthy pasta ideas.

Share your top tips for healthy cooking below...

Comments

Belit

24 August 2011, 1:38PM
Belit

While I applaud Angela Nilsen's "Healthy makeover" column, Pasta Carbonara is one dish I'm just not willing to mess with. I never use cream in mine anyway, just egg yolks, black pepper, Maldon salt, parmiggiano (generous amounts....), bacon, and - ahem - bacon "cooking juices"... Some things are better left as they are. For me, a more health conscious approach to the Carbonara would be to have it less often - but untampered with, complete with bacon cooking juices :-)

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silvia

25 August 2011, 9:07AM
silvia

I agree with the first comment. Even though I use a small amount of cream to break up the egg and it helps in not curdling...I like traditional dishes traditional. I will eat them less often but without changing them. I would make the above pasta but i wouldn't call it carbonara...it just doesn't suit. There used to be a show in australia called 'Two fat women" about cooking...one was adding cream to something. The other said "do not use yogurt...yorgurt is NOT cream." I agree you can't change some things. But great effort for low fat pasta dish I would call pasta with peas and bacon. :)

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Jane

25 August 2011, 1:36PM
Jane

Agree with the first comment - traditional spag. carbonara doesn't have cream in the first place! The trick, as Angela seems to have partly implemented, is to use just the traditional ingredients, but in sufficiently high quality that the intense flavour makes up for the lack of quantity. But peas? Not for me, thanks.

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Gary @ The Greedy Fork

25 August 2011, 1:44PM
Gary @ The Greedy Fork

I agree with the above comments. Whilst the recipe above is fine, I would not it's a carbonara. I particularly like the comment about the two fat women.

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drdougie

25 August 2011, 2:26PM
drdougie

I'm willing to mess with all my dishes! I never add cream to my carbonara but the suggestion of pasta water to keep it loose is a great one. I do like to fry some mushrooms and pancetta together and stick it on top. I don't know if that's still a carbonara but I won't loose any sleep over it. I'm going to try it with peas though. I bloody love peas.

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Bremee57

31 August 2011, 7:37PM
Bremee57

I am currently losing weight with the Slimming World healthy eating plan and this fits in nicely!! I make it with a fillet of ham boiled first and then finished in the oven. mmmm..egg and parmesan as usual..s&p to taste.

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Elle

3 September 2011, 6:49PM
Elle

I have just made this and with a husband and teenage son to feed am always on the lookout for a hearty and healthy recipe and this one works very well and is a great way to include a portion of veg as well. I used chopped boiled gammon in mine as I had some left over and probably missed out on some of the fat if you use bacon or lardons. It may not be a carbonara to the purists but it was voted delicious so that is good enough for me.

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shelley

7 September 2011, 6:55PM
shelley

I'm also an egg yolk user. Sometimes I just nestle a yolk on top of each serving and let people mix it through themselves. And yes plenty of parmesan please. I make something similar to the healthy alternative for my 4 year old niece (not wanting to give her lightly cooked egg yolks) and she loves it peas and all!

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castelli

26 September 2011, 12:28PM
castelli

spaghetti alla carbonara..must agree with the first comment, have been living in Italy for 18 years now and being a real lover of traditional cuisine I've researched high and low (and tasted)! regional dishes. CREAM is not an ingredient..warm water from the boiling pasta yes to loosen up the egg (only yolk) and a big heap of finely grated pecorino will help to create a creamy sauce. peas should be left to other culinary creations..lardons best for 'pancetta' result

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Ishamel

4 December 2011, 3:46PM
Ishamel

As an inveterate cream hound, I would say that the whole point of making 'carbonara' is the CREAMy sauce. It may not be traditional but then I'm not an Italian miner, and wouldn't want to eat like one every day! This seems like a nice recipe as it goes but it's not the carbonara I know and though healthy, it's not particularly imaginative either. bacon and peas is Soooo English...Makeover? no, unrecognisable. healthy and tasty? yes.

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