Spaghetti Carbonara – 41p a portion

May 3, 2018 | 0 comments

Archives

This post was last revisited, repriced and updated in April 2018

Inspired by the Great British Budget Menu, I thought I would have a look at the Carbonara sauce recipe I use and see how much it costs. One of my favourite recipe books, and I have a few! is the Italian equivalent of Mrs Beeton,  The Silver Spoon (recipe herebook here) and it is the Carbonara sauce recipe from there that I use.

spaghetti carbonara sauce recipe

the pecorino is the defining taste of a carbonara, so if you can’t afford both cheeses, try and use the pecorino and add a splash of milk to replace the grana

If you have any, a crisp green salad is lovely with this – maybe some leaves from the garden if you are lucky enough to have one

Verdict

Absolutely delicious! Spaghetti carbonara this authentic is wonderful. It’s much easier to make than many people think, using just basic ingredients and a couple of pans.

Variations

I wouldn’t twiddle with this one at all. If you really must, try adding some well fried mushrooms or onions: chopped and steamed kale or dark cabbage: perhaps some peas, or a couple of big handfuls of frozen mixed veg that have been cooked.

Slimming World

The only ingredient that isn’t Free on SW is the cheese. You are allowed 30g of full fat cheese per day as your healthy extra A (HEXA). There are 20g per person in this, two thirds of your allowance, leaving some maybe for milk in tea and coffee

If you prefer to use Syns for the cheese, it would be 4 Syns per portion of carbonara

Serve with a nice big salad on at least a third of your plate. Cheap salad options include iceberg lettuce, cucumber, radish, sliced raw courgette, ribboned or spiralised carrot and beetroot. If you must have a dressing on it, vinaigrette is 1 Syn a teaspoon

With a huge salad, you might find you need less than the portion size here, making it even cheaper. Any leftovers are lovely for lunch the next day

Diet, what diet?

 

carbonara sauce recipe

Spaghetti Carbonara

5 from 1 vote
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course:
Lunch
,
Main Course
Cuisine:
Italian
No Nuts by Llisole from the Noun Project
Nut Free
,
Vegetarian by Philipp Petzka from the Noun Project
Vegetarian
Servings: 2
Cost per portion 45p
Calories: 539kcal
Click on the check box to cross off Equipment, Ingredients or Recipe Steps completed.
If you click and buy anything, I may get a small commission on the purchase. It won't cost you anything extra. Some are just things that I like and/or use myself rather than necessarily best value 🙂
If you enjoyed this recipe, would you please consider leaving a review? It would really help

Ingredients

  • 50 g cooking bacon chopped into small cubes 57p/500g – 6p
  • 175 g spaghetti 23p/500g, 8p
  • 1 egg box of 15, mixed weight, £2, 14p
  • 20 g parmesan 170g/£2.38, 28p
  • 20 g pecorino £2.30/150g, 31p
  • ½ tsp garlic from a jar, or a clove well chopped, 3p

Instructions

  • Boil the pasta in generous amounts of salted water.
  • Meanwhile, fry the bacon and garlic slowly in a pan
  • Once the pasta is cooked, not too soft, drain and tip it into the bacon pan, add half the cheeses and stir well.
  • The pasta will now be off the boil, add the beaten egg and stir well
    again. If you try and add the egg when the pasta is still very hot, the
    egg will scramble – nasty
  • Season with black pepper and tip into a serving dish or onto plates
  • Top with the remaining half of the cheeses and serve immediately

Notes

Print Friendly, PDF & Email




I wouldn’t twiddle with this one at all. If you really must, try adding some well fried mushrooms or onions: chopped and steamed kale or dark cabbage: perhaps some peas, or a couple of big handfuls of frozen mixed veg that have been cooked.
Got a great recipe? How about submitting it to appear on Thrifty Lesley!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Spaghetti Carbonara
Amount per Serving
Calories
539
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
19
g
29
%
Saturated Fat
 
8
g
50
%
Cholesterol
 
116
mg
39
%
Sodium
 
482
mg
21
%
Potassium
 
275
mg
8
%
Carbohydrates
 
67
g
22
%
Fiber
 
3
g
13
%
Sugar
 
3
g
3
%
Protein
 
24
g
48
%
Vitamin A
 
238
IU
5
%
Calcium
 
255
mg
26
%
Iron
 
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @ThriftyLesley or tag #ThriftyLesley !

0 Comments

0 Comments

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Demo's and anchovy pizza, 39pThrifty Lesley – 1 person, 1 day, £1 - […] and chickpea hoummous (hummi?) Then the shortest cooking time things, raisin breakfast pancakes and spaghetti carbonara. I was waffling…
  2. Dieting using Meal Plan One and other Thrifty Lesley RecipesThrifty Lesley – 1 person, 1 day, £1 - […] 6p a bowl of home made butternut squash soup, about 20p and slightly less than a half portion of Spaghetti Carbonara…
  3. Post Christmas DietThrifty Lesley – 1 person, 1 day, £1 - […] I have had porridge for breakfast, butternut squash soup for lunch and have the carbonara posted here planned for…
  4. More musings, Chorizo this time | Thrifty Lesley - 1 person, 1 day, £1Thrifty Lesley – 1 person, 1 day, £1 - […] or in macaroni cheese, or a couple of slices in a toasted sandwich, with gnocchi, or instead of bacon…

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Thrifty Lesley has an associated Facebook Group. Do come over and say hello if you haven’t already joined. I’d love to see you!

I’m a perpetual dieter, and to help with that endeavour, there is now also a Thrifty Lesley dieting group, a lovely, growing community.