Published: February 26, 2026
Instead of a black pepper, this 30-minute carbonara swaps in a crispness thanks to the intense heat that will leave you licking your lips for more. Chili crisp carbonara features the same bright, silky smooth sauce as pasta carbonara, with a hint of heat.
Chili Crisp Gives This Easy Carbonara A Restaurant-Class Flavor
This quick and easy recipe combines green spaghetti carbonara with crunchy, savory chili crisp.
Despite the “chili” in the name, this chili crisp carbonara doesn’t give off so much heat that you’ll be breathing fire like a dragon. There’s a kick of spice to the sauce, but it’s more of a mouth-smashing spice that will have you reaching for another forkful of pasta (and each other).
As a bonus, because there is no milk in this recipe to separate when thawed in the refrigerator, any leftovers are divinely warmed in the microwave, then enjoy with a fried egg.
With a short list of budget-friendly ingredients and a quick cooking time of just 30 minutes, this Italian-Asian fusion pasta is guaranteed to be a weeknight favorite.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Cooking Success
Not all chili crisps are created equal. This is my favorite type of chili crisp. It costs less than $5 and has a lovely dry scent-flavor.
After cooking the pasta, immediately add cooked pancetta or bacon. This coats the pasta in the rendered pork drippings and keeps it from absorbing too much of the carbonara sauce. However, this keeps the sauce silky and creamy for a long time.
Avoid using starchy water. It helps emulsify and thicken the sauce without adding any dairy or heavy cream.
The 6 Main Ingredients
The full recipe, with quantities, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Pasta – I like hollow bucatini strips because of their chewiness, but spaghetti or fettuccine works well too.
- Egg yolks – Save your morning egg whites! I know it’s tempting to just use the whole egg, but if you add whites to carbonara sauce you end up with a fried sauce.
- Parmesan cheese – Freshly grated Parm melts effortlessly in the pan without clumping.
- Chili crisp – Traditional pasta carbonara relies on freshly ground black pepper for most of its flavor, but we’re using chili crisp to provide a more complex spicy-savory-umami flavor. (After making this carbonara recipe, use the leftover chili crisp to make my favorite salmon.)
- Pancetta or bacon – Use whatever is convenient for you. I buy chunks of pancetta from the deli counter, then dice them myself. In my opinion, in pre-diced packs of pancetta, the chunks are small and don’t carry much flavor.
- Yellow onion — Cut into thin slices that will melt into the pasta and sauce when cooked.
Heidi’s tip: Make this vegetable pasta by submerging the pork for 8-10 red mushrooms, chopped and cooked in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Or, add mushrooms to the whole kit and kaboodle for more recipes!
How to make Chili Crisp Carbonara
- Boil the pasta. Follow the package directions and cook it for a minute or two less so that it retains a good amount of chewiness. Set aside ½ cup of the starchy pasta water before draining – you’ll use this later!
- Prepare the ingredients for the soup. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, Parm, chili crisp, and black pepper. You want to do this early because things move quickly from here on out.
- Serve with pancetta (or bacon). Add the pancetta to the cold pan with the olive oil, and turn the heat to medium (heating the bacon in the pan over medium-low will help provide more oil). When it is moist but slightly crisp and has given off its oil, transfer it to a plate.
- Put the onion in the oil. If you thinly slice the onion as directed, it should only take three to four minutes to soften.
- Add the cooked pasta from the heat. Return the pancetta to the pan with the onions, then the cooked pasta. Toss everything together to coat the pasta in the remaining bacon grease.
- Heat the egg mixture. Gradually add ¼ cup of the reserved (hot) pasta water to the beaten eggs, beating constantly so as not to spoil.
- Finish the soup. Add the hot eggs to the pasta and toss quickly to create a smooth and silky sauce. Add more cooking water as needed to make the sauce Don’t be too shy about adding pasta cooking water! The sauce will thicken as it stands, and you want a silky sauce, not clumpy.
Heidi’s tip: You can add 1-2 tablespoons of butter while tossing to create a more creamy sauce.
- Make and serve. I like to garnish my chili crispa carbonara with sliced nori leaves for an extra Asian nod.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Chili Crisp Carbonara Recipe
Instead of black pepper, this simple carbonara swaps in a crisp chili because of the intense heat that will leave you licking your lips some more.
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Servings 6
Calories 473kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound bucatini, or other long-grain pasta (reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water)
- 3 spoons kosher salt, of cooking water
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 spoons chili crisp
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 spoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 scraps pancetta or bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, slightly chopped
Instructions
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Get pasta cooking. In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil with 3 tablespoons of kosher salt. Add 1 pound of bucatini pasta to hot water and cook according to the package instructions, until al dente.
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Prepare the egg and cheese mixture. In a medium mixing bowl, beat 3 eggs, 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons chili crisp, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper until smooth, and set aside.
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Cook pancetta or bacon. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, large skillet with 6 ounces of diced pancetta or bacon and heat over medium-low heat. Cook until the oil is gone and the pancetta is still moist but browned to your liking, then transfer to a plate. Add 1 chopped onion to the oil in the skillet and cook until softened, 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the pancetta back to the skillet to reheat.
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Mix the pasta with the bacon and onion. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, drain the cooked pasta, then add the pasta to the skillet with the pancetta and onion, tossing well to coat with the rendered oil.
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Throw them together! Slowly whisk ¼ cup hot pasta water into the egg mixture, stirring constantly so the eggs don’t break. Off the heat, quickly add the egg mixture to the pasta in the skillet and toss well to form a sauce. If needed, add more pasta water while tossing the pasta to make a silky sauce. Add some salt and pepper to taste, dollop with some chili crisp if you like, and serve with some grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
You can add 1-2 tablespoons of butter while tossing to create a more creamy sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Proteins: 20g | Oil: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 3897mg | Potassium: 315mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1044IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 242mg | Cast iron 2mg
What to Serve with Chili Crisp Carbonara
Care tips
Pasta carbonara in any form is best enjoyed immediately, but I can eat leftovers for 3-4 days after making it as a main meal.
More 30-Minute Pasta Recipes
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