Smoky Tomato Carbonara Recipe (2024)

I don’t understand the need to criticize this recipe so mercilessly. I made this last night and the sauce was perfectly silky, exactly the way carbonara should be. I wanted more tomatoes, so I’ll add them next time. I’ll definitely make this again.

I made this exactly as written except that I added a lot of red Chile flakes and some Calabrian peppers with the tomatoes. I’m calling it Smoky Tomato Carbarrabbatriciana. It was delicious. Fight me, haters!

All you purists, just relax. It's literally a carbonara base with tomatoes added. I used guanciale because that's what I had on hand. It was delicious.

I am a pescatarian and when I read this recipe I thought smoked salmon as a sub for the bacon. Wow, so tasty! Thanks for the tempering technique. Will make this again and again!

This was totally fabulous. There's just one of me, so I cut the pasta, bacon, and carbonara sauce in half. I kept the tomato paste and cherry tomatoes the same, and added some minced garlic and chili flakes. I did everything else as recommended (and LOVE the tempering technique -- if you haven't tried it, SO easy!).Understand that I'm not a purist. I just love great tasting food. This tasted great, and produced 2 or 3 lovely meals for me.

Hey Dave, you looked it up using Google Translate? Don't! :-))'Carbonara' has nothing to do with eggs and bacon. It is a word derived from carbon, from coal, from the people who made charcoal in the forests around Rome. According to tradition, they made this meal while waiting because you can easily take it with you: eggs, pasta, a piece of Peccorino cheese (or half Parmigiano/half Peccorino as done in Tuscany) and guanciale (pork cheek). That's it. Among food writers there is consensus.

the original Carbonara is with Pecorino Romano

I love this recipe. It's a well jazzed up version of traditional carbonara. I gave it a little extra snap by adding roasted garlic and freshly chopped rosemary when adding the tomato paste and cherry tomatoes to the bacon. This one has been added to my will make again list.

Most bacon sold in the US has artificial smoke flavoring added. In pasta, this results in a flavor that is overwhelming, rather than a "nice smoky note". Pancetta is a better choice, but you don't really find out what all the carbonara excitement is about until you use guanciale (smoked pork jowl). Once you do, you'll never use anything else again. Seek out an Italian specialty store or order it on line. Pecorino Romano instead of Parmesan, and free range eggs if possible. Ixnay on the tomatoes.

Something similar already exist. It is called "pasta alla zozzona" (dirty pasta). Combining the ingredients (egg, guanciale, pepper,cheese and tomato) of the most famous pasta, dishes made in Rome (amatriciana, gricia, cacio e pepe and carbonara). But please never bacon. The pork cheek, not the belly.

Overall pretty good, I would keep the bacon and tomatoes separate from the noodles until you dish out individual bowls, that way each person gets the good stuff. Also, double the amount of tomatoes. A lb is a lot of pasta so you can easily add more "stuff"

I didn't know about pasta alla zozzona, so thank you for the new term, but I think you should explain the meaning more fully. It is VERY evocative, and what it evokes is that no decent person should be making the dish. I'd suggest "slatternly" as a translation rather than "dirty."

I used some chopped pancetta and two slices of chopped bacon, and I poured off almost all the fat - there was still plenty of flavor. As someone else suggested, I doubled the tomatoes - good move! And I used four whole eggs. I think I like this dish even better than traditional carbonara! The acid and umami from the tomatoes and tomato paste are great enhancements.

Made this for my husband who works as a chef and he loved it! The recipe was easy to follow and inexpensive.

Personally, I found this delicious. When I ate it the second day as leftovers, I made a little more of the bacon/tomato/paste mixture and it was even better. So I’d recommend using a half pound of good bacon, and another half batch of tomato paste and tomatoes. But really, with a dusting (ok, a pile) of Parmesan, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, I found this to be highly enjoyable, not to mention easy, and am already looking forward to making it again.

My first time making carbonara and it was so good and easy! I added calabrian chili paste for a little extra heat and flavor. Will be adding this to the recipe rotation.

The flavors here are reminiscent of pasta alla zozzona minus the sausage. It is not such a departure from an “authentic” dish, so relax and enjoy. The pasta polizia will not be knocking on your door.

Since I'm a vegetarian, I used olive oil and added smoked paprika to the tomato paste. Forgot to buy tomatoes. It was still delicious!

Agree with others-- double the tomatoes, and maybe 3 TBS of tomato paste. And up the bacon too.... because it's BACON! This longest thing about this prep was waiting for the water to boil and pasta to cook. Will def make again!

Such a good addition to easy pasta suppers. Double the cherry tomatoes. The rendered egg tip is brilliant: no inadvertent scrambled egg and the dish was piping hot with plenty of sauce. Yum yum yum!

This was easy and delicious! I added garlic per the suggestions, and finished with a squeeze of lemon to brighten it up a bit. I had all the ingredients on hand so this was honestly a dream for a last minute occasional home cook like myself just tryin’ to survive!

Halved the recipe and liked this a lot. When I was little, my favorite food was “spaghetti and bacon,” which my mom used to make for me by mixing cooked bacon and spaghetti with a can of Campbell’s tomato soup. This is a grown-up version of that. Made as written with the addition of a few red pepper flakes. Will definitely make again.

This was really good. Our first try took a little longer than 30 minutes but next time it will be easier. We used pancetta instead of bacon and it worked. We'll make this again but add red pepper flakes for sure.

Made this today just as written and it was perfect. Silky sauce, subtle tomato and bacon flavor. Yes, you could add all sorts of other things to it but I love the simplicity as its presented here. I feel like this recipe is an excellent example of paying homage to a traditional recipe. while adding more veg/less meat. I'll be adding this to my rotation because I always seem to have extra cherry tomatoes leftover from other dishes.

So first, to be fair, it makes sense to be slightly "purist" in this case. People add cream and peas and shredded cheddar or whatever and say it's carbonara when it's just not. So I get it.Second, this is very clear about what it's adding and changing, and to me that's fine. Tomatoes, not sure, but I'll give it a shot. Bacon is a totally fine substitute (salt pork is a better one).The tempering method is great! I've been doing it like that for many years. Use tongs to stir. Vigorously!

I could do without tomato as it will swallow the flavors of the bacon and the parmigiano. Traditionally carbonara has pecoroni, NOT parmigiano, so the recipe is already off on the wrong foot. I’ve been using thick cut bacon for at least 20 years, and my northern Italian wife has no issues with it. Other than that it looks like a nice recipe. Just don’t call it carbonara.

Super good. I didn’t but should have added more tomatoes. Use uncured bacon! (always).

Made thus last night. I prefer spaghetti carbonara without the added tomatoes.

This was delicious, exactly as specified. Delicious!

Delicious. Glad I'm no purist. Halved the recipe. Cooked the pasta (bucatini) in a 12-inch skillet, then used the same skillet to proceed. No bacon; used some previously reserved bacon grease to cook the tomato paste & tomatoes (this also meant my drained pasta only sat for a minute or so). I honestly think the bacon would've made this too heavy for my taste. The egg mixture tempering method worked perfectly. Finished dish definitely benefits from another hit of cheese at the table. Thanks Kay!