Valentina Ablaev
This chicken carbonara recipe is a homemade recreation of the classic Olive Garden dish! Each bite is packed with pasta, crispy bacon, tender chicken, and that rich and creamy sauce. This is a dish you’ll want to fit into your weekly dinner rotation!
Let me preface, I never said authentic carbonara, because yes, our dish doesn’t feature egg yolk or pancetta, but it is just as delicious. We created this simplified chicken carbonara to be approachable for cooks of all levels, and it retains all the flavor!
Restaurant Copycats
There’s no better feeling than when you recreate your favorite restaurant dish at home, and we have so many incredible recipes that do just that! Forget overpaying for pasta because you can now recreate everything from cheesy chicken parmesan to a complex dish like creamy chicken scampi. That’s not all, though, because we have copycat zuppa toscana and our better-than-Olive Garden breadsticks for dipping. Does it get better than that?
Ingredients for Chicken Carbonara (Easy Version)
- Pasta – We use spaghetti for this recipe, but you can use rigatoni, penne, fettuccine, or even linguine.
- Bacon – Bacon offers the perfect crispy bacon bits, but also bacon grease that we use to build that sauce – so much flavor!
- Chicken – Thin chicken breast cutlets coated in a seasoned flour mixture.
- Shrimp – Large shrimp add a great flavor to this dish and an extra boost of protein.
- Vegetables – Onions, garlic, and tomatoes infuse the dish with so much flavor.
- Sauce – The combination of chicken broth and half & half creates a rich and flavorful sauce that isn’t overwhelmingly heavy.
- Cheese – Though traditionally made with pecorino romano, our carbonara recipe requires shredded parmesan cheese. It’s more accessible and just as delicious.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and quantities.
Tools for this Recipe
Shop all of Valentina’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and kitchen must-haves!
- You’re going to want to pull out your trusty large skillet for this one. Aside from the pasta, we cook everything in one pan. This allows for the flavors to deepen as the sauce cooks with the remnants of shrimp, chicken, and bacon. Bonus points for fewer dishes!
- This recipe requires you to dredge the chicken, and for that, we love our dredging trays!
How to Make Chicken Carbonara
- Pasta. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package instructions. Drain and cover to keep warm.
- Bacon. To a large pan with the heat off, add the chopped bacon. Bring the pan up to medium heat and cook the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and reserve the bacon grease.
3. Chicken. Cut the chicken breasts into thin cutlets and coat them in the flour dredge. To the pan, add butter and bacon grease. Cook the chicken cutlets on both sides until golden-brown and cooked through. Remove from the pan and cut into strips.
4. Shrimp. Add butter to the pan and saute the shrimp until just cooked. Remove the shrimp and set aside.
5. Vegetables. Add bacon grease and butter to the pan and saute chopped onion, along with garlic, and tomatoes.
6. Sauce. Pour in the chicken broth and half & half, and bring it up to a light simmer. Whisk in the parmesan cheese and season with salt & pepper. Stir in the pasta noodles along with chicken, cooked bacon bits, and finally, shrimp.
Expert Tips for a Fail-Proof Recipe:
- Be organized. The key to mastering a dish with many components is to be organized and prepared. Having all of your ingredients ready to go and chopped helps make the cooking process so simple! Make sure to start the carbonara sauce while the pasta is cooking, to avoid wasting any time!
- Don’t burn the bacon. Yes, it seems obvious, but nothing will ruin a dish faster than burnt bacon bits.
- Perfectly cooked shrimp. Shrimp cook so fast and will quickly turn from juicy goodness to a rubbery mess. When cooking the shrimp, keep them on the heat until it is just cooked. Once you add it back into the sauce, serve it immediately to prevent it from overcooking in the warm pasta sauce.
- Perfect sauce. When cooking a rich sauce that is made up of dairy and fat, you want to be careful not to boil it. This can cause it to separate and become gritty.
- Garnish. Presentation can go a long way, which is why this pasta dish needs to be garnished with lots of cheese, freshly cracked black pepper, and a dash of parsley.
Serving Suggestions
- Side salad: Yes, let’s keep it healthy with a side caesar salad! Crisp romaine leaves in the best homemade caesar dressing; yum!
- Soup and breadsticks: Just like Olive Garden, you can serve this pasta with a side of homemade breadsticks and a serving of chicken and gnocchi soup!
Store & Reheat
- Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Reheat leftover carbonara in a warm pan. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of half-and-half to break it up.
- Freeze. We don’t recommend freezing carbonara pasta as the sauce doesn’t hold up well when frozen and reheated.
More Pasta Recipes
If you enjoyed this chicken carbonara recipe, be sure to try our other popular pasta recipes; here are some of our favorites:
Grains and Pasta
Grains and Pasta
Grains and Pasta
Grains and Pasta
Grains and Pasta
Grains and Pasta
Grains and Pasta
Grains and Pasta
If you tried this chicken carbonara recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below – we appreciate it!
Chicken Carbonara Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 oz spaghetti pasta
- 8 oz bacon chopped & cooked
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breasts boneless skinless halved (about 2 breasts)
- 2 Tbsp reserved bacon grease divided
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 1/2 lb raw shrimp
chicken coating-
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground paprika
carbonara sauce-
- 1/2 large onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup tomatoes cubed
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups half & half
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
pasta –
- Boil the pasta according to package instructions while you prepare the sauce. Drain and set aside once it reaches al dente.
bacon –
- Chop the bacon up into small bits and add to a cold pan. Warm up the pan to medium heat and cook the bacon, rendering the fat.
- Once the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan, and save 2 tbsp of bacon grease and discard the rest.
chicken –
- Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise to create thin cutlets.
- In a large bowl, mix together the chicken coating and dredge each cutlet in the flour.
- To the same skillet, add 1 tbsp of bacon grease and 1 tbsp of butter. Once sizzling, add the cutlets one at a time and cook on both sides until golden brown and cooked through. (About 4 minutes per side.)
- Remove the chicken from the heat and cut it into strips.
shrimp –
- To the same pan, add 1 tbsp of butter. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook on high for 1-2 minutes per side, being careful not to overcook the shrimp. Remove from the pan and set aside.
sauce –
- To the same pan, add 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of bacon grease. Once the butter is melted, add the finely chopped onion and cook until softened. Add minced garlic and cubed tomatoes to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
- To the pan, add chicken broth, half & half, and heat up to a light simmer. (You don’t want the sauce boiling or bubbling).
- Stir in Parmesan cheese gradually until incorporated smoothly. Salt and pepper the sauce to taste.
- Lightly simmer the sauce until it thickens. Add the pasta to the sauce along with chicken and bacon bits. Stir the shrimp into the pasta right before serving to prevent the shrimp from overcooking.
- Serve, and enjoy friends!
Notes
- Be organized. To master a complex dish, stay organized and prepared. Having all of your ingredients prepped and ready makes cooking much easier! Start the carbonara sauce while the pasta cooks to save time.
- Don’t burn the bacon. Yes, it seems obvious, but burnt bacon will quickly ruin your dish.
- Perfectly cooked shrimp. Shrimp cook fast and will quickly become dry and rubbery. Keep it on the pan until it is just cooked through and no longer. Once you add it back into the sauce, serve the pasta immediately to prevent the shrimp from overcooking in the warm sauce.
- Perfect sauce. When a sauce is made of dairy and fat, you want to be careful not to boil it. The sauce can separate and become unusable. Keep it at a light simmer while thickening.
- Garnish. We eat first with our eyes, so, presentation is vital. Garnish your pasta dish with lots of cheese, freshly cracked black pepper, and a dash of parsley.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
Though we love the juicy addition of tomatoes, it is entirely optional!
Traditional carbonara is made with egg yolk, but our version doesn’t require it!
This pasta dish is already heavy with half and half, bacon, butter, and all! That’s why we opt for half&half instead of heavy cream.
