Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish consisting of egg, bacon, fresh cracked black pepper and cheese and I am a huge fan of it; it’s so quick and easy to make and so amazingly good! One of the things that I like about it is that you can easily add things, like vegetables, and I figured that it was past time to make a carbonara with my new favourite vegetable, cauliflower. Of course, I could not resist roasting the cauliflower to give it that caramelized flavour and I also brought cauliflowers best fried, mushrooms, to the roasting pan! Once the vegetables are roasted you really just need to cook the bacon (I used pancetta this time) and pasta and toss everything together! The trick to carbonara is that you want to mix the egg sauce with the hot pasta, bacon and pasta water so that the eggs ‘cook’ without scrambling, which is actually pretty easy! This roasted cauliflower and mushroom carbonara might just be my favourite carbonara yet!
Check out below the recipe for some more carbonara pasta recipes!
You really can’t go wrong with a creamy egg and bacon sauce!
Roasted cauliflower and mushrooms are just so addictively good!
Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Carbonara
A roasted cauliflower and mushroom pasta in a creamy egg and bacon sauce seasoned with plenty of fresh cracked pepper.
ingredients
- 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 8 ounces mushrooms, quartered
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounces fettuccine (or pasta of choice) (gluten free for gluten free)
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced or 4 ounces bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
- plenty of fresh cracked black pepper
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
directions
- Toss the cauliflower and mushrooms in the oil, salt and pepper, place on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in a preheated 400F/200C oven until they start to caramelize, about 20-30 minutes, mixing half way through.
- Start cooking the pasta as directed on the package.
- Cook the pancetta in a pan, pour off all but a tablespoon of the grease from the pan, add the garlic, cook for 30 second and turn off the heat.
- Mix the egg, cheese, pepper and salt and parsley in a bowl.
- Drain the cooked pasta reserving some of the water.
- Mix the pasta, egg mixture, cauliflower and mushrooms into the pan with the pancetta, adding reserved pasta water as needed.
Option: Replace the parmigiano reggiano with pecorino romano.
Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Carbonara
Roasted Brussels Sprout Carbonara
Asparagus Carbonara
Butternut Squash Carbonara
Spring Pea Carbonara
Shrimp Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Carbonara
Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Quinoa Salad
Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Gratin
Creamy Mushroom and Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Roasted Cauliflower, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Quiche with Quinoa Crust
Roast Head of Cauliflower in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Cajun Chicken Carbonara
I want to dive right into this!!!
Dinner is at your place, right? This looks incredibly scrumptious, Kevin! You have done it again. You had me at roasted cauliflower, pasta and Carbonara. I want this for breakfast right now!
I LOVE carbonara! Glad to see you've added some healthy veggies in there.
LOVE this pasta dish!
We don't eat meat so I am always on the lookout for good non meat dishes and if it is pasta, even better ! I am making this tonight for company coming to dinner 🙂 besos !
This is so perfect Kevin! Love it!!
Amazing! I really like how you don't add cream to carbonara! Just egg and pork 🙂 And I can just imagine how the crunchy cauliflower and meaty mushrooms would be…deff making this!
Love the addition of cauliflower to carbonara, what a tasty way to add the veggies!
This pasta is perfect. It's really, really perfect!
This pasta looks so good. I will be trying this recipe this weekend!
What you think about tomato sauce? Will it be more better if I add some tomato sauce?
Love this Kevin, sharing everywhere!
KgReciPes: I have not tried it with this recipe but I have combined tomato based 'bolognese' and carbonara with good results. https://www.closetcooking.com/2007/07/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-with-twist.html
This looks like the best version of carbonara ever!
This looks great – I was thinking only the other day I'd like to make a veggie friendly carbonara. While this isn't quite it with the pancetta, I can always omit this. I love roasted cauliflower – good addition! 🙂
kneadwhine: This will work without the pancetta!
I can barely handle how delicious this looks!!! I would devour this dish.
I love how loaded up with veggies this is! Such a great pasta and your photos always make me drool!
Kevin, I love this recipe! It looks so delicious and full of rich flavors. I definitely have to try this one soon…mmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! Thanks!
I'm making this tonight!!! I can't wait.
Gorgeous. I have some cauliflower and mushrooms that I need to use up. This is so happening this weekend!
Oh my goodness, you're totally killing me with this! So yummy!
Love, love. love this!!! Looks amazing, Kevin!
The eggs are raw??
Anonymous: The eggs are placed into the sauce raw but the heat of the still piping hot pan, pasta and pasta water 'cooks' them.
That is what I wasn’t familiar with. If the eggs were cooked.
Wow. Awesome round up. Keeping this one round up real close by. You just can't go wrong with the slow cooker. Easy and convenient!
Awesome!!! Raw eggs in pasta definitely makes the food really tasty!
One thing I am confused about is about eggs. Put raw two eggs with cheese, etc. Then put them in the pasta.. Raw eggs in the pasta?
Made this tonight..amazing!
Made this tonight..doubled the recipe for leftovers plus extra parsley, cauliflower, garlic & an extra egg (had to use the rest of my carton). Amazing! No side dish needed as the veggies were very prominent in the dish. My entire family loved it..including my 10 yr old and 8 yr old boys! Thank you for sharing.
Really enjoy all of the recipes you post. Great job with this one.
Priceless!!!..This is gonna be on my menu for tonight. I mean..definitely:)
Cheers!!!
Wow, this looks amazing! I want to run out for ingredients immediately! Love your work!!
I'm making this tonight, but feel like I'm going to mess up the 'salt and pepper to taste.' Is there a ballpark amount you use? Also, would dried parsley be OK? If so, I'm assuming I'd have to use a different amount…
Lovely recipe. So when u mix eggs , pasta , veggies and water up do u need to cook it ? Pasta should b hot ?
aina: By that time everything but the sauce has been cooked and the heat from the pan, veggies, and piping hot pasta and pasta water will 'cook' the eggs in the sauce.
Amy: A pinch or so of salt should be enough or you can omit it and allow every one to use salt at the table as desired. The dish is supposed to have a peppery flavour so if you like fresh cracked black pepper go for a teaspoon or more and if not cut back. I might omit the parsley if not using fresh but you can use the dried and I would cut back to 1/4 teaspoon.
made this last night and i can't stop thinking about it…. so happy i made a double portion so we can have it again tonight!
Made this dish tonight and it was wonderful! Next time I'm going to add MORE pepper and maybe some cherry tomatoes. TY!
I just made this. It is awesome! Simple to make and full of flavor. Thanks for upping my carbonara game.
Your picture looks so lovely! My husband and I love this dish. He hates mushrooms so i just keep them separate and add them to my dish. I add lots of garlic too. Love that there is no cream. Thank you for a wonderful dish!
so good and easy! My husband is relatively picky and he asked to add this to the recipe book. I used prosciutto instead and just sauteed with the garlic a few minutes. It turned out great. Thank you!
I'd have never thought about adding vegetables to a carbonara! But mushrooms plus pasta are always a good combination – I think I'll have to try this recipe out.
So does the egg really get fully cooked with only the heat of the cooked pasta and veggies? I am not a huge fan of undercooked eggs so I just want to be sure…. 🙂 It does look good though!
Karen Barnes: The egg should 'cook' enough to make it safe but it is not guaranteed. If you are concerned then you might want to avoid this recipe. You could also replace the egg yolks with heavy/whipping cream as an alternative.
Making this recipe tonight! Thanks for the cooking inspiration! 🙂
Looks incredible – roasted vegetables and pasta are such a great combination!
Bill thewoksoflife: I love roasting vegetables!
I love the way you roasted the veggies then added them. I am not a fan of adding mushrooms to liquid while cooking, they become spongy. Your way of roasting them and then adding them at the end keeps thier texture! Can't wait to make this 🙂
I love roasted cauliflower!! Roasted veggies and carbonara!!! looks so tempting! Can't wait to try it!
Excellent recipe. I made it last night for company. Everyone loved it. I loved that it did not have cream in it, but the egg and cheese combo made it tasted creamy. My only suggestion would be to double the mushrooms (just because I like lots). I used 8oz. of white button mushrooms & 8oz. baby portabella mushrooms. And, I added 1 cup of the water from the pasta at the end to bring it all to a creamy goodness. This recipe is a keeper. Give it a try. You won't be sorry.
Can't wait to try it for dinner tonight, thank you so much Kevin, it looks yummy.
Judi
what a great idea to add roasted cauli!
I made this a few days ago and it was delicious! Thank you for this recipe, it's definitely a keeper!
Can spinach be added to this? Also, does the egg cook fully when added to the sauce? I am going to be serving to a 3 year old
I was thinking of using spiraled veggies instead of pasta… but after reading the steps it seems like the pasta water is necessary for the sauce (starch) and also for cooking the eggs.. what do you think, Kevin? I love all your recipes! Thanks
Amanda Tarrant: Veggie noodles would be nice but as you mentioned you would have to change some things for the sauce. Potato or sweet potato noodles would be nice for the starch and a lot of veggie noodles will release extra liquid making the sauce less thick, creamy and clingy. You could continue to cook the veggie noodles and sauce in the pan over medium-low heat while mixing to cook the eggs without scrambling them. Another option is to replace the 2 eggs with 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream and you can reduce the cream to thicken it and compensate for the extra moisture from the veggie noodles.
I have made this several times. I just wanted to tell you how much I love it. Thanks for such a great recipe!
I can't get bacon for obvious reasons,I'm Jewish. What can I use instead please
Judy Goldin: You could simply omit the bacon or replace it with something like sliced sun dried tomatoes!
Kevin, I want to say thank you for sharing this recipe! I made it today for my 81 yo mom and we both loved it.
Kevin- I made this last night and it was wonderful! I really liked it but more surprising- my husband did too! He's really not a picky eater but hesitates when something fixed in a "unconventional" manner. There was nothing left on his plate.
Fabulous recipe Kevin! I am going to try it. Looks beautiful plated.
This was awesome. We will definitely make this again. Thank u for an delicious recipe
Been trying new recipes for my happy planner recipe cookbook and this one was SOOOOO GOOD!!!! My picky toddler even ate it all, veggies and everything, she loved it. I was surprised. And it was ridiculously easy, too! I actually used a 12 oz bag of frozen cauliflower florets (to save time on chopping), thawed a bit, and that worked fine, too. Thank you 🙂
I hope I can get a response this late! This has been a go-to for me but my daughter has just been diagnosed dairy free (and gf). Do you think the sauce will work if you leave off the parm? Maybe adding extra garlic?
Extra garlic would be good! I have not tried it but ‘nutritional yeast’ is a common substitute for parmesan cheese and it might work.
Made this tonight…. loved it!! Will be making it again
I have made this dish several times and we love it! I just put some of the mushrooms and cauliflower aside to make my daughter’s vegetarian portion first and then finish it off for the rest of us. Absolutely love this recipe!
I made this tonight, and it was phenomenal. My toddler, our friend, and I loved it.
I splashed my hand with bacon grease and almost created a new curse word, but that was my own fault. I am absolutely making this again in the future.
Made this dish the other night using bacon and Parmesan fettuccini. The husband loved it – he’s brought it up multiple times over the last few days. Can’t wait to try with pancetta for the next round.
Thank you!! I was searching for how that worked out!! so it is cooked right?
Absolutely wonderful meal. Thank you very much 👍
Wow, this recipe is pure genius! The roasted cauliflower and mushrooms add such a rich depth to the classic carbonara. It’s comfort food at its finest!