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Keto carbonara with zoodles

Keto carbonara with zoodles

1
2
3
4
5
4.4
111 Ratings
Not enough ratings
Zucchini noodles, or zoodles, are more than just an "alternative" to regular pasta – they're a culinary treat! With all the creamy textures and crispy bacon crunch of the Italian classic, this quick and satisfying keto recipe hits all the right notes.
June 6 2016 recipe by , photo by , nutritional review by in Recipes, Lunch, Meal

Keto carbonara with zoodles

1
2
3
4
5
4.4
111 Ratings
Not enough ratings
Zucchini noodles, or zoodles, are more than just an "alternative" to regular pasta – they're a culinary treat! With all the creamy textures and crispy bacon crunch of the Italian classic, this quick and satisfying keto recipe hits all the right notes.
USMetric
4 servingservings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup 240 ml heavy whipping cream
  • 11 oz. 300 g bacon or pancetta, diced
  • salt and pepper
  • 1¾ lbs 800 g zucchini, zoodles
  • 4 4 egg yolkegg yolks
  • 1 cup (2¾ oz.) 240 ml (80 g) shredded Parmesan cheese, save some for serving
This recipe has been added to the shopping list.

Instructions

Zoodles

  1. Use a spiralizer to create zucchini noodles (zoodles). If you don’t have a spiralizer, a potato peeler can be used instead to create slightly wider zoodles.

    2. Bacon

  2. Fry the bacon in a large frying pan until crispy.
  3. When done, set aside the whole pan and allow it to cool.

    4. Sauce

  4. Pour heavy cream into a different saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat and gently boil until the cream has reduced by approximately one quarter.
  5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the cream to cool, stir occasionally to prevent skin from forming.
  6. In a separate bowl (while the cream is reducing), combine the egg yolks, cooked diced bacon, including the fat, and parmesan cheese.
  7. Add the egg-bacon-parmesan cheese mixture to the slightly warm sauce, stirring continuously to ensure the egg mixture does not curdle or scramble. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Return the saucepan to medium-low heat to gently warm the sauce. Add the zoodles to the saucepan and warm through (1-2 minutes).

To serve

Divide the carbonara into portions. Top with a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan.

Vegetarian keto carbonara

You can easily turn this recipe into a vegetarian keto dish! Just skip the bacon and add some olive oil to your keto carbonara after combining the zoodles with the parmesan mixture.

Recommended special equipment

Spiralizer

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What did you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
1 2

69 comments

  1. 1
    carol
    June 9 2016
    Just made this and it was yummy, another winner.
    Reply: #19
  2. 2
    Kirsten
    June 14 2016
    I'm confused... what do you do with the yolks at the end?
  3. 3
    carol
    June 16 2016
    I didnt bother with the eggs
  4. 4
    Zoe
    July 20 2016
    I think the raw egg yolks go into the warm dish to cook gently and make the sauce rich and glossy. In fact a classic carbonara wouldn't use any cream at all - only raw egg yolks. I'm going to try the Diet Doctor version though, as it sounds delicious.
  5. 5
    Krista
    August 31 2016
    So is the zucchini raw?
  6. 6
    Krista
    September 1 2016
    Amazing! I didn't use the egg yolks either. I also sautéed the zucchini in the bacon grease instead of drizzling it on top. Yum!
  7. 7
    Caroline
    September 14 2016
    Just made this for lunch. Amazing, didn't use the egg yolk, fried the noodles in the bacon fat, highly recommended.
  8. 8
    Rachel
    November 18 2016
    So good!!!!!!!!!!!! I made mine with turkey strips and mushrooms. I added the zucchini strips at the end and heated them for 2 minutes maybe? They were soft but not mushy. I did use the egg yolk - simply added it to my dish before eating and the egg cooks enough for sure. Delicious!!!!!!
  9. 9
    Destiny H
    February 5 2017
    I wish I could see all nutrition info for this recipe to add in MyFitnessPal.
  10. 10
    Pete
    March 5 2017
    Destiny you can add recipes to MyFitnessPal directly in the app. after you select what meal you are adding to tap recipes at the top, then click create a recipe, then add from the web and you can copy the link directly in to myfitensspal. works great.
  11. 11
    Gracey
    March 6 2017
    Definitely one of my favourite recipes thus far. Very tasty, and I loved the "zoodles".
  12. 12
    Andrea
    March 27 2017
    Sooo yummy! This is possibly my favourite LCHF recipe, and it really hits the spot as far as a creamy pasta substitute goes. Even my husband (who doesn't like vegetables) thought it was fantastic. I put the egg yolks in at the end, as per recipe, and mixed it all up so they just become a part of the sauce. Delicious!
  13. 13
    Mark
    October 18 2017
    Call it whatever you like, but certainly not carbonara... :)
  14. 14
    Kelli
    April 17 2018
    This may be a stupid question, but are the nutritional facts per serving or per recipe? When I did the calculations for each individual item per serving, it didn't match these numbers.
  15. 15
    Christine
    May 23 2018
    were can I find keto recipes just for Dinners?
  16. 16
    Donna
    May 27 2018
    Loved it!! I added garlic and mushrooms, and at the end I added some chopped Basil... Very good! but I didn't add the eggs either! (I forgot! ;)
  17. 17
    Pennie Morgan
    July 13 2018
    Would this freeze well? Anyone tried?
    Reply: #36
  18. 18
    Tanya
    July 15 2018
    Hi guys sup. The food was really nice and I just had t
  19. 19
    Reply to comment #1 by carol
    Shirley
    August 8 2018
    A typical carbonara recipe would have you mix them in at the end while it's all still on the stove. Add beaten eggs and cook, tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. Quickly add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and toss again. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty). Peace :)
  20. 20
    Shirley
    August 9 2018
    Just made this and it is AMAZING. I will definitely make this again.
  21. 1 comment removed
  22. 22
    JAMES HALES
    September 20 2018
    Is there a breakdown of the crabs by ingredient somewhere? I do not see how its more than 5.5 net carbs per serving?
  23. 23
    JAMES HALES
    September 20 2018
    *carbs
  24. 24
    Nina
    November 17 2018
    Just made this with a few tweets, I added chicken breast, garlic and onions. It came out lovely, I also added the Egg yolks at serving which made it lovely. I questioned it but decided to go with it. Two of us added the yolk one of us didn’t, you could tell the difference and the one who didn’t add the yolk regretted it.
  25. 25
    maryse
    November 27 2018
    I mix my egg yolks with my cream then pour it in once the rest is cooked, just simmer a few minutes and stir, done.
  26. 26
    Michelle
    January 1 2019
    The egg yolks get mixed in to the dish once it has been served. You stir them in on your plate while it's still warm. They make the sauce extra creamy and yummy.
  27. 2 comments removed
  28. 29
    Dione
    March 19 2019
    Hi Alex, zoodles aren’t pasta either! I’d love your quantities and method for proper carbonara please. Maybe D Dr will add it to the recipes for us. :-) To go with zoodles of course.
  29. 30
    allison
    April 8 2019
    awesome !!! Will make again !!
  30. 31
    KATHERINE
    April 19 2019
    according to a macros app im using, not based on caloric intake, im eating too much fat to lose weight, about 32g too much. im only eating these 3 meals a day in the plan. i dont how this will work.
    Reply: #32
  31. 32
    Reply to comment #31 by KATHERINE
    Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
    April 20 2019

    according to a macros app im using, not based on caloric intake, im eating too much fat to lose weight, about 32g too much. im only eating these 3 meals a day in the plan. i dont how this will work.

    Most calculator apps seem to over recommend protein and under recommend fat for some reason. We recommend keeping fat at about 70-75% of your calories and 20-25% from protein.

  32. 1 comment removed
  33. 34
    Courtney
    June 16 2019
    When you say soupy, did you mean from the cream or the zucchini? Zucchini noodles release so much liquid that I sweat them on paper towels for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking... turning them over frequently on the paper towels to absorb as much liquid as possible before. I'm going to try this recipe using this method!
  34. 35
    Marcin
    July 7 2019
    I don't care people say it's not real carbonara. It tastes great. I didn't even bother making zoodles, just cut zucchini roughly julienne style and fried it shortly in the fat from bacon. Unfortunately the sauce breaks if you want to reheat it the next day or I'm just unlucky.
    Reply: #37
  35. 36
    Reply to comment #17 by Pennie Morgan
    Jackie
    July 26 2019
    No. The zucchini will get mushy

    Would this freeze well? Anyone tried?

  36. 37
    Reply to comment #35 by Marcin
    Jackie
    July 26 2019
    It’s b/c of the water in the zucchini 😕

    I don't care people say it's not real carbonara. It tastes great. I didn't even bother making zoodles, just cut zucchini roughly julienne style and fried it shortly in the fat from bacon. Unfortunately the sauce breaks if you want to reheat it the next day or I'm just unlucky.

  37. 1 comment removed
  38. 39
    Manda Black
    August 11 2019
    Hello. Can you freeze this, not the zucchini, but the sauce? Thanks!
    Reply: #41
  39. 1 comment removed
  40. 41
    Reply to comment #39 by Manda Black
    Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
    August 14 2019

    Hello. Can you freeze this, not the zucchini, but the sauce? Thanks!

    Heavy cream doesn't always thaw and reheat very well.

  41. 42
    Klancy
    September 23 2019
    For those bringing up the egg yolks....... That is what makes the dish carbonara.........
  42. 43
    HeatherB
    October 24 2019
    Delicious but soupy but we ate it in a bowl and didn't mind too much. We may sweat the zucchini next time.
  43. 44
    Georganna Lujin
    November 12 2019
    This turned out terrible for me. I tried to sweat the zucchini for an hour and it was still so soupy. Anyone else have any other recommendations?
  44. 45
    Tammy
    November 25 2019
    I use Konjac fettuccine as I detest zucchini. Turned out really good. Very high in fat as I do nutritional keto but none the less tasted amazing
  45. 46
    Sarah Hart
    January 22 2020
    This was just delicious. I too didn't bother with the egg yolks, I fried the pancetta in butter, added the spiralised courgette, a glug of olive oil, and a teaspoon of garlic powder. When I thought the courgette was cooked enough, I added a couple of big spoons of creme fraiche, already thick, no need to reduce, and some grated parmesan. I expected to get two servings out of it, but actually just ate the lot.

    I'll make this one again

  46. 47
    Amy Giddins
    January 30 2020
    This is one of my Keto favs! Vey tasty
  47. 48
    Antoinette Struwig
    April 18 2020
    This was amazing!
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Ratings

5
71%
4
14%
3
8%
2
2%
1
5%
4.4
1
2
3
4
5
111 Ratings

Ratings

5
71%
4
14%
3
8%
2
2%
1
5%
4.4
1
2
3
4
5
111 Ratings