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Bon Appétit

Bucatini with Lemony Carbonara

4.9

(21)

This image may contain Spaghetti Food Pasta and Noodle
Ted Cavanaugh

Lemon makes the perfect foil for carbonara’s salty richness. You may never go back.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

1

tablespoon olive oil

6

ounces guanciale (salt-cured pork jowl), pancetta (Italian bacon), or slab bacon, thinly sliced, cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces

2

shallots, finely chopped

4

garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1

teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

12

ounces bucatini or other long-strand pasta

Kosher salt

2

ounces Parmesan, grated, plus more

2

large egg yolks

1

teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus thinly sliced zest for serving

2

tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook guanciale, tossing often, until browned and crisp, 6–8 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add pepper and cook, stirring often, just until fragrant, about 1 minute.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1½ cups pasta cooking liquid.

    Step 3

    Add pasta to skillet along with ½ cup pasta cooking liquid and 1 oz. Parmesan and toss to coat. Remove skillet from heat and add egg yolks. Toss again, adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until a smooth glossy sauce coats pasta. Add grated lemon zest, lemon juice, and another 1 oz. Parmesan. Toss to coat, adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed to loosen sauce.

    Step 4

    Divide pasta among bowls; top with sliced lemon zest and more Parmesan.

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories (kcal) 610
Fat (g) 25
Saturated Fat (g) 11
Cholesterol (mg) 140
Carbohydrates (g) 68
Dietary Fiber (g) 3
Total Sugars (g) 4
Protein (g) 23
Sodium (mg) 880
Explore Bon AppétitPastaItalianEuropeanLemonCitrusFruitGuancialeCured MeatMeatPancettaBaconBucatiniPasta & NoodlesEasyWeeknight MealsMainDinner
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Reviews (21)

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  • Simply. Delicious. I made this for a dinner party and did the pancetta, garlic and shallot mixture ahead and reserved it. Assembling everything at the end was breeze. This is one of those dishes that almost taste better reheated the next day as it allows the flavours time to meld together.

    • Shawn P.

    • Canada, ON, Belleville

    • 7/14/2022

  • Definitely a winner. Delicious. Easy. Flavorful. Got g to become a favorite.

    • Kathy

    • Indianapolis

    • 7/12/2021

  • Wow, this was delicious! So easy, simple, and quick to make too. I used thick slices of bacon instead of guanicale (never actually heard of it before) and green onions instead of shallots. I am definitely making this again. My husband and 3-year old loved it. Surprised there aren't more reviews. This was delicious!!

    • Keiko

    • 6/7/2021

  • We love this! Made it tonight with bacon from the local farm and fresh lemon basil linguine. Yummy!

    • Anonymous

    • Boston

    • 4/26/2020

  • This is an absolute gem and will make over and over again. I didn’t have access to Italian cured pork products, so went with a high quality thick cut bacon, and it works very well. Bucatini definitely seems like the correct long noodle here, perfect heft to hold up to the comfort sauce. I was worried about the amount of fat content after frying up the pork, though it ended up incorporating well and the lemon complements the otherwise heavy flavors. I wasn’t light on the black pep, hope you aren’t either. I will be saving this as my go to carbonara recipe for many more batches to come.

    • Jamie Bando

    • San Diego

    • 6/26/2019

  • One of my favorite recipes ever! Tip: Gotta eat it right away or u will epicly get rekt doritos

    • I_Beat_Bobby_Flay!

    • Hawkins, Indiana

    • 6/14/2019

  • Even if you don't follow this recipe to a T, adding lemon zest and a few egg yolks to my weeknight pasta makes a world of difference. Because yeah, I never casually have guanciale in the fridge. It's not that the zest makes it "lemony" tasting but just brighter/slightly acidic and makes you want to...eat more pasta. Heaven.

    • alexbeggs

    • BonAppétit.com

    • 10/31/2017