Sometimes a rich, indulgent pasta is exactly what you need to hit the spot. This Tortellini Carbonara has a homemade sauce made from eggs and parmesan and the bacon scattered throughout provides the perfect amount of saltiness. Plus, with pre-made tortellini, the dish comes together in just 20 minutes.
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About this Pasta
Tortellini is one of my favorite pastas. The soft, pillowy texture with any variety of filling options - I never get sick of them! Plus, they take literally less than 5 minutes to make, so it’s a super convenient option for busy nights.
Add a homemade, rich, creamy and salty carbonara sauce and you’ve got quite the dinner. The sauce is traditional with eggs and parmesan that thicken together to create something magical. This Tortellini Carbonara is so simple, yet so tasty you’ll think it came straight out of the Cheesecake Factory.
Carbonara is traditionally served with spaghetti or rigatoni. However, as mentioned, I LOVE tortellini and it makes for a fun twist on this classic dish. And if you’re into tortellini as much as I am, also try this Healthy Chicken Tortellini Soup that I think you’ll obsess over as well.
Or if you want more indulgent pasta dishes, try this One Pot Alfredo, this Gouda Mac and Cheese, this One Pot Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta or this Sweet Potato Fettuccine, too.
Recipe Ingredients
- Tortellini - I recommend three cheese tortellini or the chicken and garlic flavor.
- Bacon - Chopped finely, bacon bits give the salty, deep flavor of a carbonara.
- Egg Yolks - The base of our sauce. Using just the yolks creates a richer, creamier sauce as compared to using whole eggs.
- Cheese - I used both parmesan and pecorino cheese. Make sure you get grated, so it can easily melt into the sauce.
- The Cheesecake Factory®’s Brown Bread - It's now available in Kroger! I love adding it to get restaurant taste at home, at a great value!
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Pasta: Tortellini is the star of this recipe, but you could instead use spaghetti or penne to keep it more traditional.
- Sauce: The carbonara sauce is homemade in this recipe. Although homemade is best IMO, you can use a jarred carbonara, jarred Cacio E Pepe (peppery cream sauce), or jarred alfredo sauce if you’d like. If you’re using pre-made sauce, leave out the pasta water.
- Meat: Guanciale (which is pork) is the traditional meat used in carbonara. You can use that in place of the bacon or you could use pancetta, too.
- Veggies: Add some veggies to your dish! Try peas, sautéed onions or mushrooms, or stirring in some spinach.
How to Make This Recipe
1. Start by preparing the bacon. Use kitchen shears to cut it into small, bite sized pieces. Place it in a cold skillet and turn to medium heat. Allow the bacon to cook, but avoid over crisping it. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the pan and keep the excess bacon grease in the pan.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, grated cheese, and ground pepper. Set aside.
3. Then bring a sauce pot of water to medium-high heat. Boil the tortellini for 1 minute less than according to package instructions. Drain the tortellini, saving at least 1 cup of pasta water for the pasta.
4. Add the bacon greased skillet back to the warm stove burner that you used to boil the pasta, but keep it turned off (we want the eggs to warm, not scramble). Add butter, bacon, egg/cheese mixture, and tortellini to the skillet and mix fervently.
5. Gradually add pasta water into the mixture in increments of 2 tablespoons. Mix well, adding more pasta water if the sauce is too thick or tortellini looks dry. Serve tortellini carbonara immediately, garnished with more cheese and black pepper. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave for ~30-60 seconds, until warm throughout.
Carbonara is most often served with spaghetti noodles or rigatoni noodles. Penne is not uncommon to. This recipe, however, takes a little bit of a twist and uses tortellini instead, but feel free to use whatever type of pasta you’d like.
Alfredo is butter and cream based, whereas carbonara sauce is egg based and uses pasta water to thin it out.
Serve this dish alongside warm bread (try the Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread you can now purchase at Walmart, Jewel Osco, Kroger, etc!), a light side salad like this Spinach Quinoa Salad, or a cooked veggie like these Balsamic Green Beans. This tortellini dish is plenty hearty on its own, but if you want to add protein, grilled chicken would be a great option.
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Recipe
Tortellini Carbonara
Equipment
- Kitchen shears
- skillet
- Slotted spoon
- Whisk
- Measuring cups and spoons
- rubber spatula or mixing spoon
- Sauce pot
- strainer
Ingredients
- 1 package (20 oz) tortellini, chicken & garlic or three cheese
- 8 oz thick cut bacon, diced
- 3 egg yolks
- ¾ cup grated parmesan
- ½ cup grated pecorino cheese
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Start by preparing the bacon. Use kitchen shears to cut it into small, bite sized pieces. Place it in a cold skillet and turn to medium heat. Allow the bacon to cook, but avoid over crisping it.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the pan and keep the excess bacon grease in the pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, grated cheeses, and ground pepper. Set aside.
- Bring a sauce pot of water to medium-high heat. Boil the tortellini for 1 minute less than according to package instructions. Drain the tortellini, saving at least 1 cup of pasta water for the pasta.
- Add the bacon greased skillet back to the warm stove burner that you used to boil the pasta, but keep it turned off (we want the eggs to warm, not scramble). Add butter, bacon, egg/cheese mixture, and tortellini to the skillet and mix fervently.
- Gradually add pasta water into the mixture in increments of 2 tablespoons. Mix well, adding more pasta water if the sauce is too thick or tortellini looks dry.
- Serve tortellini carbonara immediately, garnished with more cheese and black pepper. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
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I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
Sydney Van Acker says
I love tortellini but this is definitely my new favorite way to enjoy. Carbonara feels so fancy but this was too easy!
Courtney Paige says
This is the BEST date night dinner idea! Love the easiness of this recipe!