Hen Carbonara - The Keep At House 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 traditional carbonara makes this meal a bit extra substantial, so it’s not simply loading up on the pasta.

However if you do exactly 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 traditional 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 understand how simple it’s to make. Get pleasure from this at your kitchen desk every time the craving hits! Add some hen to a traditional carbonara and it’s an entire meal prepared in half-hour. You continue to have that superb, thick-cut bacon and a velvety egg and cheese sauce. When you don’t have pecorino romano, you possibly can at all times cheat and use parmesan—we received’t inform when you received’t. We do it on a regular basis!

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients used to make chicken carbonara.

Thick-Minimize Bacon: You’ll be able to at all times substitute pancetta for bacon which is the genuine ingredient. Pancetta isn’t at all times as simple to return by and may be costlier, 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 giant grade AA eggs for this recipe. You’ll use a mix of egg whites and entire eggs for the proper silky easy sauce.
Spaghetti: Simply use from the field. Prepare dinner to al dente, tender however agency.
Pecorino Romano Cheese: You’ll be able to simply substitute with parmesan cheese. Simply be sure 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 optionally available, however makes it look somewhat extra fancy.

Hen Choices

We desire to make use of boneless skinless hen breasts, however you could possibly at all times use hen thighs when you desire darkish meat or a fattier lower of hen. These boneless skinless hen thighs are at all times juicier than the breasts.

Time & Cash Saver

You’ll be able to 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 offered as one thing known as a “loss chief” for grocery shops the place they promote the hen at or beneath price to get you into the shop and hopefully purchase different issues. Because of this rotisserie hen is usually the perfect worth per pound for hen you will get. Save somewhat time, save somewhat cash.

Pasta Choices

Spaghetti is the normal selection for pasta in a carbonara, nonetheless, you don’t have to really feel tied to that. You may 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 in the course of the cooking course of emulsifies (binds) the elements collectively, making a easy sauce. No clumpy cheese right here. You’ll be able to at all times use somewhat 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 stuffed 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 no less than 1 1/2 cups. Then, you possibly can go forward and drain your pasta.