Every time I post about making this Pancetta Pasta for dinner I get a lot of people asking to share! I used to make this Pancetta Pasta so often early in our marriage. I somehow forgot about it, but have started making it again in the last year. It’s one of those recipes that has been handwritten on a recipe card and it got buried in my stash. So much of what I make is recipes I find on Pinterest, etc. Getting this in a blog post will be helpful to pin and refer back to. My kids absolutely love this dinner. It’s super simple, with easy ingredients. Every member of your family will like this one. Here’s how to make pancetta pasta for your next dinner!
One of the reasons I love making this pasta is that I usually have most of the ingredients on hand. Aside from the pancetta, or bacon, I usually always have everything in my panty and fridge! We usually don’t have leftovers because everyone goes back for seconds! This is also a very inexpensive dish to make, so it’s a win/win!
Ingredients for Pancetta Pasta:
- 1 Tablespoon EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- package of pancetta
- 4 garlic gloves, minced
- 3 beaten eggs
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I use powdered thyme so it mixes in really well)
- 12 oz. pasta of choice
- salt & pepper
- parmesan cheese
A quick note about pancetta if you’ve never cooked with it before. It’s a Italian meat, similar to bacon. The difference is that bacon is smoked and pancetta is unsmoked. They can be used interchangeably in cooking. I think its fun to taste and use something a little different, since we eat bacon on the regular over here! But, if you can’t find pancetta, certainly use bacon!
Instructions to make Pancetta Pasta:
- Start boiling water for pasta and cook pasta according to instructions on the box. In this recipe, I like to use bowtie pasta, but any will work.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat EVOO and butter over medium heat in a large skillet until frothy.
- Add pancetta and garlic and cook until browned.
- While pancetta is cooking, mix eggs, milk, thyme, and salt & pepper in a small bowl.
- After pancetta is cooked, add cooked pasta to the skillet.
- Keeping stovetop temperature at medium, add egg mixture to the skillet. Flash fry for 30 seconds, stirring continuously. See photos below!
- Remove from heat and stir in sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
A few things to consider:
- Thyme has a strong flavor. I never have fresh thyme on hand, so I always use dried. You want enough to give it the signature flavor, but too much and it overpowers!
- You can certainly sub bacon for pancetta! You might even add in double the pancetta if you have meat eaters in your family!
- This serves 4 of us (two adults and two teens) and we never have leftovers. If you have a large family, or want leftovers, I would definitely double the recipe.
- Certainly add veggies to this if you like!
- Don’t let the egg mixture scare you! Keep stirring for 30 seconds and it will turn out.
I’m so happy I dug and found this recipe I have been using for almost 20 years! My kids love this one! You know it’s a good one when the recipe card looks like this, ripped and rewritten on top of old writing.
Be sure to pin this Pancetta Pasta recipe for when you need an easy to throw together dinner! And be sure to explore all the other recipe ideas on my blog! xo
