Home > Recipes > Carbonara recipes > Quick ham carbonara

Quick ham carbonara

Name: Quick ham carbonara
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian recipes
Ingredients: 3 large free-range egg yolks; 100ml double cream; 50g parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve; Good knob of butter; 250g leftover cooked ham, shredded; 1 garlic clove, crushed; 400g spaghetti; 1 tbsp olive oil

Published: 9 Nov 16
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Use leftover ham in this quick and wickedly decadent carbonara recipe. The dish takes just 15 minutes to make and, we guarantee, even quicker to devour.

Easy
January 2013

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4
Ready in 15 minutes

Use leftover ham in this quick and wickedly decadent carbonara recipe. The dish takes just 15 minutes to make and, we guarantee, even quicker to devour.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 675kcals
Fat: 29.9g (14.5g saturated)
Protein: 30.7g
Carbohydrates: 70.1g (4.3g sugars)
Fibre: 3.9g
Salt: 2.2g

Save recipe

Save

Save recipe Print

Rate

Ingredients

3 large free-range egg yolks
100ml double cream
50g parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve
Good knob of butter
250g leftover cooked ham, shredded
1 garlic clove, crushed
400g spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil

Cook Mode Sticky screen? No thanks! Tap to prevent your screen from going off while cooking.

Method

Mix the egg yolks, cream and parmesan in a jug and whisk until well combined. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan and add the shredded ham. Fry until crisp and browned. Add the crushed garlic, cook for 30 seconds, stirring, then take off the heat.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil over a high heat and cook the spaghetti until al dente according to the pack instructions. Drain, reserving 1 tbsp of the cooking water, then return the pasta to the pan, off the heat. Drizzle with the olive oil.

Stir the fried ham and reserved cooking water through the pasta. Swiftly add the cream mixture, lifting the pasta as you go, so it doesn’t curdle. When the pasta is coated with the sauce, serve immediately. Sprinkle with extra grated parmesan and plenty of ground black pepper.

Recipe from January 2013 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 675kcals
Fat: 29.9g (14.5g saturated)
Protein: 30.7g
Carbohydrates: 70.1g (4.3g sugars)
Fibre: 3.9g
Salt: 2.2g

delicious. tips

Carbonara sauce doesn’t like to hang around so, to appreciate it at its best, make sure you eat it as soon as it’s ready.
Classic carbonara isn’t made with cream – beaten eggs are lightly cooked by the hot spaghetti and enriched with parmesan. We’ve added cream here for an extra-special carbonara.