Vegetarian carbonara has all the velvety, savory appeal of the original. Here’s how to pull it off.

Vegetarian Carbonara Recipe: How to Make Pasta Carbonara

A vegetarian carbonara is a meatless variation of a famous Italian pasta dish. While the original gains a boost of salty flavor from pork belly (or, in some cases, crackly bits of prosciutto), a vegetarian carbonara incorporates vegetables like mushrooms, zucchini, or eggplant to achieve a similar umami-forward effect.  

A classic carbonara features raw egg yolks, grated cheese, and cured pork. Unlike alfredo sauce, a creamy [carbonara sauce](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-carbonara-sauce) does not include heavy cream; instead, the egg and cheese combine with a splash of starchy pasta water to create an emulsified sauce that evenly coats the noodles. The addition of tiny [pancetta](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/whats-the-difference-between-pancetta-bacon-and-prosciutto) cubes (pork belly) or [guanciale](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-guanciale) (cured pork jowl) boosts flavor and textural variety. Vegetarian versions may simply skip the pork or include substitutes like mushrooms, coconut “bacon” (toasted coconut chips), or your favorite plant-based meat alternatives.
More than most pasta recipes, carbonara benefits from speed—be ready to whisk the egg and cheese mixture into the salty, seasoned pasta water until they form the dish’s signature glossy sauce. Have more pasta water on hand to keep things loose. Here’s what else to know about this weeknight classic:

1. __Use the right pasta__. The traditional pasta shape for carbonara is spaghetti. Spaghetti carbonara is easy to manipulate in the pan with tongs, and the sauce coats each thin strand of pasta beautifully. You can also make carbonara with other long pasta shapes, like fettuccine, linguine, and bucatini. (Once you’ve swapped bucatini for spaghetti, you might not go back: The carbonara sauce fills the skinny tubes, providing extra sauce in every bite.) Just make sure to use a long pasta—you need the additional surface area to get the sauce’s texture just right.
2. __Make it vegan__. To make a carbonara without animal products, use a combination of miso, silken tofu, and nutritional yeast in place of the egg yolks and cheese.
3. __Reheat leftover carbonara with pasta water__. Save some pasta water in a container in the fridge separate from the leftover pasta. (The starch in the pasta water helps the sauce coat the noodles.) To restore some of your carbonara’s initial creaminess, bring a splash of pasta water to a boil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the leftover pasta and use tongs to tease apart the noodles and coat them in the liquid, adding a little pasta water as needed.
Vegetarian carbonara has all the velvety, savory appeal of the original. Here’s how to pull it off.

A vegetarian carbonara is a meatless variation of a famous Italian pasta dish. While the original gains a boost of salty flavor from pork belly (or, in some cases, crackly bits of prosciutto), a vegetarian carbonara incorporates vegetables like mushrooms, zucchini, or eggplant to achieve a similar umami-forward effect. A classic carbonara features raw egg yolks, grated cheese, and cured pork. Unlike alfredo sauce, a creamy <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-carbonara-sauce' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-carbonara-sauce","linkCopy":"carbonara sauce","category":null}'>carbonara sauce</a> does not include heavy cream; instead, the egg and cheese combine with a splash of starchy pasta water to create an emulsified sauce that evenly coats the noodles. The addition of tiny <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/whats-the-difference-between-pancetta-bacon-and-prosciutto' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/whats-the-difference-between-pancetta-bacon-and-prosciutto","linkCopy":"pancetta","category":null}'>pancetta</a> cubes (pork belly) or <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-guanciale' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-guanciale","linkCopy":"guanciale","category":null}'>guanciale</a> (cured pork jowl) boosts flavor and textural variety. Vegetarian versions may simply skip the pork or include substitutes like mushrooms, coconut “bacon” (toasted coconut chips), or your favorite plant-based meat alternatives.

What Is Vegetarian Carbonara?

More than most pasta recipes, carbonara benefits from speed—be ready to whisk the egg and cheese mixture into the salty, seasoned pasta water until they form the dish’s signature glossy sauce. Have more pasta water on hand to keep things loose. Here’s what else to know about this weeknight classic:<ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. Use the right pasta. The traditional pasta shape for carbonara is spaghetti. Spaghetti carbonara is easy to manipulate in the pan with tongs, and the sauce coats each thin strand of pasta beautifully. You can also make carbonara with other long pasta shapes, like fettuccine, linguine, and bucatini. (Once you’ve swapped bucatini for spaghetti, you might not go back: The carbonara sauce fills the skinny tubes, providing extra sauce in every bite.) Just make sure to use a long pasta—you need the additional surface area to get the sauce’s texture just right. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Make it vegan. To make a carbonara without animal products, use a combination of miso, silken tofu, and nutritional yeast in place of the egg yolks and cheese. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. Reheat leftover carbonara with pasta water. Save some pasta water in a container in the fridge separate from the leftover pasta. (The starch in the pasta water helps the sauce coat the noodles.) To restore some of your carbonara’s initial creaminess, bring a splash of pasta water to a boil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the leftover pasta and use tongs to tease apart the noodles and coat them in the liquid, adding a little pasta water as needed. </li></ol>

3 Tips for Vegetarian Carbonara

Easy Vegetarian Carbonara Recipe

Vegetarian carbonara has all the velvety, savory appeal of the original. Here’s how to pull it off.

Vegetarian carbonara has all the velvety, savory appeal of the original. Here’s how to pull it off.
