This Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Carbonara has all the delicious flavors of a traditional pasta based carbonara, but in a low carb, keto-friendly version. Perfectly roasted spaghetti squash, with smoky pancetta, onions, garlic, and a creamy sauce, topped with lots of grated parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. It is the perfect low carb pasta substitution.
Ingredients in Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
Ingredient Notes
How to Make Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
How to Cook Spaghetti Squash
STEP 1: Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 2: Cut spaghetti squash in half crosswise (Cutting it this way will make for longer, more spaghetti like shreds). Scrape out the seeds.
STEP 3: Drizzle the squash halves with olive oil and sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper.
STEP 4: Place cut side down on baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until fork tender and the shreds pull away from the skin effortlessly.
How to Make Carbonara Sauce
STEP 5: While the spaghetti squash is roasting, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta to the pan and cook until crispy. To the pan, add the onion and the garlic. Cook until translucent and soft.
STEP 6: Once the spaghetti squash is roasted, use a fork to scrape out the shreds of squash. If there is a lot of excess moisture from the spaghetti squash shreds, use paper towels to dab the squash and remove as much excess moisture as possible.
STEP 7: Add the spaghetti squash to the skillet and toss with pancetta, onion and garlic. Make sure that spaghetti squash is nice and hot.
STEP 8: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, parsley, grated Parmesan, sea salt and black pepper. To the mixing bowl, add squash mixture and toss with egg mixture. The heat of the spaghetti squash will cook the eggs just enough to coat them to the strands of squash without scrambling them. Top with shredded Parmesan, and garnish with parsley before serving.
Recipe Tips and Variations
Frequently Asked Questions
A perfectly ripe spaghetti squash will be firm and have a deep yellow color. It will have some weight to it and will feel heavier than it looks. The stem should be firm and dry. Try to select a spaghetti squash without soft spots or cracks in the shell.
While the eggs are added raw, they are slowly cooked as they are tossed with the hot spaghetti squash, pancetta, and onions. Adding them this way is what gives this pasta it's creaminess without making an actual sauce.
What to serve with Low Carb Carbonara
More Keto Recipes
Spaghetti Squash Carbonara - low carb, keto, gluten free
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
This Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Carbonara has all the delicious flavors of a traditional pasta based carbonara, but in a low carb, keto-friendly version. Perfectly roasted spaghetti squash, with smoky pancetta, onions, garlic, and a creamy sauce, topped with lots of grated parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. It is the perfect low carb pasta substitution.
Ingredients
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper
- 8 ounces pancetta, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic. minced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, extra for garnish
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
- Cut spaghetti squash in half crosswise (Cutting it this way will make for longer, more spaghetti like shreds). Scrape out the seeds. Drizzle the squash halves with olive oil and sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper. Place cut side down on baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until fork tender and the shreds pull away from the skin effortlessly.
- While the spaghetti squash is roasting, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta to the pan and cook until crispy. To the pan, add the onion and the garlic. Cook until translucent and soft. Once the spaghetti squash is roasted, use a fork to scrape out the shreds of squash. If there is a lot of excess moisture from the spaghetti squash shreds, use paper towels to dab the squash and remove as much excess moisture as possible.
- Add the spaghetti squash to the skillet and toss with pancetta, onion and garlic. Make sure that spaghetti squash is nice and hot.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, parsley, grated Parmesan, sea salt and black pepper. To the mixing bowl, add squash mixture and toss with egg mixture. The heat of the spaghetti squash will cook the eggs just enough to coat them to the strands of squash without scrambling them.
- Top with shredded Parmesan, and garnish with parsley before serving.
Notes
- Dry the Spaghetti Squash: If your roasted spaghetti squash has a lot of excess moisture, be sure to dry it as much as possible by dabbing it with paper towels. You don't want the excess moisture to water down your sauce.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: I recommend reheating this in a pan on the stovetop.
- Add another protein: This is also delicious with some shrimp or chicken added. I like to use shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Add heavy cream: While traditional carbonara does not have cream, this keto spaghetti squash carbonara is extra delicious with some heavy cream added to give it a richer, creamier sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Pasta Recipes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Sherri says
So delicious! One of my new favorites!
Susan says
Made this last night and it was delicious! Cooked the squash In the slow cooker for 2 hrs on high. Let it cool and took all the meat out and place in a strainer for several hours to drain excess liquid. Didnt have bacon/pancetta so used ham and diced up small and sauteed until brown and crisp. Added squash to pan with meat and the sauteed onion/garlic (2 cloves was plenty) added to egg/cheese mixture and some thawed frozen peas. was a bit dry so added 1/3 cup half and half. Will definitely be making this again!!!
Cailean says
Pretty darn tasty!! I made this. But used wine braised bratwurst instead if the pancetta. It came out good! I, like many others, was unable to cook the egg how it instructed. I forgot to dry my squash noodles, first. I still didn't trust the soupy egg mixture in the bottom, so I threw it on the stove and finished it off!
Mary says
This was absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing it 😊
Sheryl says
Delicious! I ended up finishing it off in my skillet because I had a lot of uncooked egg in the bottom of my bowl and my squash noodles were super hot. But it was yummy. I could have eaten the whole pan by myself!
Stacey says
I sort of made this recipe. I used bacon, dried parsley, and I didn’t have eggs so I used a pad of butter and a small amount of cream (less than 2 tbsp probably), but it was delicious!
Carol says
This was lovely! I was very liberal with the Parmesan cheese,
Thank you for posting.
Whitney says
I strayed from the recipe (bacon instead of pancetta). Other than the egg not cooking it was great! No worries, just tossed it all back in my work for a few...and done. Thanks!