Courgette carbonara

Tips: Perfect your courgette carbonara

We offer a few useful tips and tricks to help you make the best courgette carbonara.

Explore courgettes of different colours 

Adding a mix of courgettes to your carbonara brings vibrant colours. For visual appeal, use a julienne peeler or a sharp knife to slice both yellow and green courgettes into ribbon-like strands. These ribbons mix well with the spaghetti, providing a striking contrast of colours that is as delightful to look at as it is to taste.

Select the right courgettes

When selecting courgettes, make sure to pick the best quality to ensure the dish turns out both flavourful and appealing. The courgettes should feel solid and firm to the touch; any softness or mushiness can indicate they are overripe or dehydrated. You want courgettes with smooth, glossy surfaces without any nicks, cuts, or blemishes. The colour should be a vibrant green, although some varieties may be slightly yellowish or pale green, which is perfectly fine as long as the skin looks unblemished.

Discover our easy courgette carbonara recipe

Our courgette carbonara is a fresh vegetable take on the classic carbonara. Fried courgette strips join the spaghetti and are coated in a deliciously creamy sauce. Instead of bacon, we have added tasty green peas for extra colour and texture.

Traditional carbonara, renowned for its simple yet flavourful ingredients, has been a favourite for decades. While our version introduces a fresher, greener take, we have made sure it stays true to its origins.

Fried courgette strips and green peas

Frying the courgette strips in butter and rapeseed oil gives them a delightful texture – slightly crisp on the outside yet tender inside. This step imparts a rich, nutty flavour to the dish, adding depth much like bacon or pancetta would traditionally do. The addition of frozen green peas introduces a burst of earthy sweetness and contributes to the visual appeal of the courgette carbonara, giving it a fresh, green look. A simple squeeze of lemon juice adds a welcome touch of brightness, contrasting beautifully with the rich creaminess of the dish.

For more pasta dishes with vegetables, try our spinach and courgette lasagne or beef and vegetable lasagne. We also have several vegetable carbonara variations, like the creamy mushroom carbonara, the easy vegetarian carbonara, or the kale carbonara with walnuts.

Coated in a creamy sauce with egg yolk on top

While a classic carbonara typically uses just eggs and cheese for the sauce, adding a little cream can go a long way. The cream melds with the cheese to form a soother, velvet sauce that richly coats the spaghetti and vegetables. Just before serving, we top each portion with an egg yolk and mix it into the warm pasta. The result is an extra luscious sauce that is both delightful and exciting to present to your guests.

Experiment with the ingredients

If you like a meaty depth to your carbonara, try adding bacon. Its savoury and salty flavour pair well with the rich sauce and sweet vegetables. Salmon is also a great choice, and you can use both smoked or fresh salmon for a rich and savoury taste. For a simpler variation, switch out the pasta with another type. Tagliatelle remains a popular choice because of how well the creamy sauce adheres to the pasta.