Pasta Carbonara Cheesecake Factory
Pasta Carbonara Cheesecake Factory copycat recipe is mouthwatering with a creamy garlic parmesan sauce with crispy bacon and peas if you wish. This copycat recipe is on your table in under 30 minutes on the stovetop or in 5 minutes in your pressure cooker.
Copycat recipes are something I love to do, and testing it out in the instant pot is a bonus. I have made this both on the stovetop and the pressure cooker. This carbonara pasta sauce is absolutely better than The Cheesecake Factory, Just like my Spinach and Artichoke Dip Buffalo Wild Wings chicken pasta, and Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce.
Ingredients for Carbonara Pasta Sauce
- 6 slices bacon: I used thick-cut bacon. You can also use panchetta for a more authentic Italian dish.
- 3 cloves garlic: Minced garlic or garlic powder if you don’t have fresh garlic.
- 2 small onions: finely chopped onions.
- 16 oz spaghetti or fettuccini: you can use either pasta for this recipe.
- 1/4 cup heavy cream: Heavy cream works best for this recipe. I would not substitute with milk.
- 3 eggs: Room temp eggs that are beaten.
- 4 cups water: For Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.
- 8 oz parm cheese: Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese always works best.
- 1/2 cup frozen peas: Peas are completely optional.
- Salt and Pepper: To taste.
Step by Step Directions for Pasta Carbonara Cheesecake Factory
Step 1
For Stove Top Directions: In a skillet cook bacon until crispy and remove from pan.
For Instant Pot: Place pot on saute, and cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon.
Step 2
For Stove Top Directions: Remove bacon from skillet and set aside. Add garlic and onion to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes in the bacon grease until tender and translucent.
For Instant Pot: Continue cooking on saute; add onions and garlic to the pot and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any stuck bacon.
Step 3
For Stove Top Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente, reserving pasta water 1 cup.
For Instant Pot: Place Pasta and Peas(optional) inside the Instant Pot. Pour 4 cups of water over the top. Do not stir.
Step 4 For the Carbonara Sauce
For Stove Top Directions: While pasta is cooking, Make the egg mixture by mixing the eggs and parmesan cheese in a large bowl.
For Instant Pot: While Pasta is cooking in the Instant Pot, Mix the eggs and parmesan cheese.
Step 5
For Stove Top Directions: Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the pan with the onions and garlic; stir in the egg mixture and heavy cream and whisk till creamy. Quickly Add the pasta while the pasta is hot and toss until well coated. Stir in half the bacon.
For Instant Pot: Do a Quick Release draining the pasta of excess water, reserving one cup of the pasta water. Then pour in the egg mixture and heavy cream. Toss until pasta is well coated.
Add half the bacon to the pan and mix.
Step 6
For Stove Top Directions: Top with bacon, fresh parsley, and parmesan cheese.
For Instant Pot: Add in bacon and top with fresh parsley.
Tips and Tricks for Pasta Carbonara
- Quickly Toss the egg mixture with the pasta while the pasta is still hot, or the eggs will scramble.
- Use freshly grated parmesan.
- Substitute bacon with pancetta for a more authentic Italian flavor.
- Skip the peas if you do not like peas.
Frequently Asked Questions for Carbonara Pasta Sauce
You can use spaghetti or linguine noodle for Carbonara. Depending on what I have in my pantry will depend on what I use. Using a thinner noodle-like angel hair doesn’t work as well in the pressure cooker. I recommend using linguine or spaghetti for sure.
Carbonara is a rich and creamy sauce with an egg base loaded with irresistible parmesan and garlic flavor.
Yes, It’s such a rich and creamy meal I have to order it every time we go to the cheesecake factory.
In the fridge, you can store carbonara sauce in an air-tight container for 3 days.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. You might have to add a few splashes of milk or cream to make it creamy again.
What to eat with Pasta Carbonara
Pasta Carbonara Cheesecake Factory
Pasta Carbonara Cheesecake Factory copycat recipe is mouthwatering with a creamy garlic parmesan sauce with crispy bacon and peas if you wish. This copycat recipe is on your table in under 30 minutes on the stovetop or in 5 minutes in your pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick bacon
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 small onion
- 16 oz spaghetti or fettuccini
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 eggs
- 4 cups water
- 8 oz parm cheese
- 1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)
Instructions
For Stove Top Directions:
- In a skillet, cook bacon until crispy and remove from pan.
- Remove bacon from skillet and set aside.
- Add garlic and onion to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes in the bacon grease until tender and translucent.
- Remove bacon from skillet and set aside. Add garlic and onion to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes in the bacon grease until tender and translucent.
- Cook pasta according to package directions until Al’dente reserving a cup of pasta water.
For the Carbonara Sauce
- While pasta is cooking, Make the egg mixture by mixing the eggs and parmesan cheese.
- Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the pan with the onions and garlic; stir in the egg mixture and heavy cream and whisk till creamy. Quickly Add the pasta while the pasta is hot and toss until well coated. Stir in half the bacon.
Instant Pot Directions
- Place pot on saute, and cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon.
- Continue cooking on saute; add onions and garlic to the pot and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any stuck bacon.
- Place Pasta and Peas(optional) inside the Instant Pot. Pour 4 cups of water over the top. Do not stir.
- Place on manual high pressure for 4 minutes.
- While Pasta is cooking in the Instant Pot, Mix the eggs and parmesan cheese.
- Do a Quick Release draining the pasta of excess water and reserving one cup of the pasta water.
- Then pour in the egg mixture and heavy cream. Toss until pasta is well coated.
- Add half the bacon to the pan and mix.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 678Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 222mgSodium: 1403mgCarbohydrates: 60gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 37g
So you are tossing the pasta in 3 raw eggs?
Yes 🙂 It cooks with the hot pasta and tastes great no worries 🙂
I get VERY ill whenever I have raw egg or undercooked eggs. Will the egg actually cook when mixed with the hot pasta? I can’t risk it if not. Thanks
yes they are safe 🙂
I’ll have to try this version, I’ve never made it with heavy cream.
This sounds good…Hope to try this next.
So to make Chicken carbonara just add pieces of cooked chicken?
I just added a bit of pepper as the pancetta supplied enough salt for those watching their sodium intake. great meal with garlic bread on the side. Thank you Adventures of a Nurse.
Do you put the bacon back in while pressing cooking or do you put it in at the end?
stir in at the end
Grated parm or fresh? I’d put fresh on top, but what about the rest?
In my experience, the grated stuff in the can won’t melt properly into sauces, it tends to clump. But if you don’t want to grate that much parm, just buy the fresh grated stuff in the deli or cheese aisle.
We go through a lot of grated parm, so we buy the freshly grated Cello brand from Costco to save money. It’s with the rest of the refrigerated cheese. We fill a quart mason jar to keep in the fridge and store the rest in the freezer. It’ll keep for months.
Did you drain the pasta?
There’s no need. Pasta cooked in the IP with 1 cup liquid per 4-5 ounces (by weight) of pasta is just right. Your sauces will thicken on standing for a minute. I use this ratio for all of my IP pasta recipes. Just weigh the pasta and you won’t go wrong.
Is that 2 or 4c water for the pasta?
Pretty tasty, very easy to do. I thought it may need more cream
as it was drier than I’m used to, but it was definitely good.
Yummy. I cut up some ham lunch meat and sauteed it in a little olive oil in place of the bacon. Probably kinda trashy but it tastes great! Thanks!
This says chicken carbonara and that was what I was looking for but there is no chicken in this recipe please help as to how much chicken and when to put in please
it says pasta carbonara not chicken 🙂
Can you use penne pasta and is the cook time the same.
Yes
Same time
Delicious!
This recipe was super delicious and easy to make changes to if you wish. I left out the peas, used shallot instead of onion, and did a mix of regular parm with Parmigiano-Reggiano. This recipe was the perfect amount of creaminess. My new go-to recipe for carbonara.