Updated 2025-05-12T18:10:04Z
- I made Ina Garten's spring green spaghetti carbonara.
- The pasta features pancetta, peas, asparagus, and Parmesan cheese.
- I loved how light and creamy the pasta was. It's the perfect easy spring dinner.
April showers bring May flowers, and plenty of new dishes to cook.
And if you're looking for a quick and easy pasta that's as bright as the season, look no further than this spring green spaghetti carbonara by Ina Garten.
"Spaghetti carbonara is true Italian comfort food, but it's incredibly rich," Garten writes in her "Modern Comfort Food" cookbook. "I updated it with lots of fresh green vegetables like English peas, snow peas, and asparagus."
Garten's spring green spaghetti carbonara is ready in 30 minutes, making it a quick but delicious dinner that will still impress your family and friends.
Here's how to make it.
Ina Garten's spring carbonara pasta comes packed with veggies.
To make Garten's spring green spaghetti carbonara for six, you'll need:
- 12 ounces of spaghetti (she recommends De Cecco)
- 8 ounces of small-diced pancetta
- 1 cup of shelled fresh peas or frozen peas
- ½ pound of snow peas
- 12-14 thin asparagus (bottom third discarded)
- 5 scallions
- ¼ cup of fresh chives
- 1 lemon (zest and juice)
- ½ cup of heavy cream
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 2 extra-large egg yolks
- ¾ cup freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese
It should be noted that I made Garten's pasta for three people, so I split her measurements in half.
I always finish my prep before I start cooking — a lesson I learned the hard way the first time I tried to make a carbonara.
Once you really get cooking with a carbonara pasta, things need to be mixed together very quickly to achieve maximum creaminess (and to ensure you won't be eating any raw egg).
This time around, I wanted to make sure I had every single step prepped so that I wouldn't be stressed once it was time to put the pasta together.
To start, I cut my asparagus into two-inch pieces and diagonally sliced my scallions, as Garten had instructed.
I also prepped the snow peas, chives, and lemon.
I julienned the snow peas and minced my chives, per Garten's recipe.
Since different parts of the lemon are required for different steps, I first zested the lemon and then juiced it in a separate bowl.
My last step of prep was filling a large bowl with hot tap water.
Garten recommends using "the hottest tap water" to help heat the bowl, which is where you'll later mix the pasta with the carbonara sauce.
Per her instructions, I set the full bowl aside while I cooked the pasta and pancetta. Garten says you should only pour the hot water out of the bowl "just before you drain the pasta."
It was time to get cooking! First, I got my pancetta going.
I drizzled some olive oil into a sauté pan over medium heat and then added the pancetta, which I cooked for around eight minutes.
Garten recommends stirring your pancetta occasionally and cooking until it's browned. Once your pancetta is ready, transfer it to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.
As my pancetta cooked, I started on my pasta.
I brought a large pot of salted water to a boil, then added my spaghetti. I cooked the pasta for eight minutes, stirring the noodles occasionally.
I saved a cup of the pasta water and then added some of the veggies.
I put the pasta water aside for the carbonara sauce, then threw my snow peas, frozen peas, and asparagus into the spaghetti.
I let everything cook together for two additional minutes.
Just before I drained my pasta, I prepped the carbonara sauce.
I dumped the hot tap water out of the bowl, then added the cream, egg, egg yolk, and some of the pasta water (Garten recommends using ¼ cup if you're making this dish for six) and used a whisk to mix everything together.
Once my pasta was ready, I drained the spaghetti and veggies.
It was time to turn this pasta into a spaghetti carbonara!
I added my noodles and veggies to the bowl with the carbonara sauce.
I tossed everything together with tongs for a minute, making sure the spaghetti absorbed the sauce.
I also added just a bit more pasta water to help keep the sauce creamy.
Then, I threw in the rest of the ingredients.
I added the Parmesan cheese to the pasta, as well as the pancetta, scallions, chives, lemon zest, and lemon juice, along with some salt and pepper.
After giving everything a good toss, I admired the bright and pretty pasta dish.
It's easy to see why Garten loves making this in the spring. The green of the veggies and the red of the pancetta pop really nicely against the spaghetti, making this pasta look super fresh and inviting.
You can also whip up a big serving of this dish in no time at all. Even though I split Garten's measurements in half, we still had more than enough food for three people. And the entire dish took less than 30 minutes to make, with most of the cooking time spent on prep.
I added some extra chives and Parmesan before serving the carbonara — which everyone loved.
I won't lie, I was a little apprehensive of this dish when I first read the recipe. I'm a huge fan of Garten's comforting red-sauce pastas, and her spring carbonara seemed, well, a little too green.
But I was pleasantly surprised! The carbonara sauce is creamy without being too heavy, and it's balanced perfectly with the fresh flavors from all the veggies. The pancetta also adds a nice crunch and umami to the pasta — I only wish there had been a bit more of it.
I served the dish to my parents, who both loved it. My dad called it "light and lemony," while my mom thought it'd be ideal for a barbecue.
"I'd never think to put all of these things together, but they tasted very good," she added. "It's light and refreshing."
If you're looking for some inspiration for a spring dinner party or weekend brunch, Garten's carbonara will definitely pack a punch.
And if you're looking for other spring dishes to try, Meghan Markle has her own spin on a spring garden pasta salad.
