This Bucatini with Bacon Cream Sauce Is Sure to Impress Weeknight Pasta Fans

Creamy, savory, and full of umamithanks to lots of Parmigiano-Reggiano, bacon, and garlicthis simple pantry pasta tastes like the Italian love-child of carbonara and cacio e pepe. Shallots and garlic are cooked in bacon fat, then simmered with heavy cream and starchy pasta water for a sauce thats full of flavor. Its the best meal to quickly put together on a weeknight since it comes together in under 30 minutes.
Related Reading:Spaghetti Carbonara Is the Weeknight Pasta Youll Make On Repeat
Swaps Are Encouraged
The real joy of this recipe is how amenable it is to swaps. Onions can be used in place of shallots. Pancetta or guanciale (should you have them on hand) are great substitutes for bacon. You can make it a little spicy with a dash of pepper flakes or add extra protein by serving a fried egg on top.

Alexis deBoschnek
Any Pasta Shape Is Welcome
Bucatinis tubular shape with a hole down the middle ensures that every bite of pasta is covered in sauce. But since this is a weeknight pasta, and youve got to just use whats in your pantry, other shapes are perfectly fine to swap in. Spaghetti and fettuccine are obvious choices, but shapes like shells and orechiette that can hold little cups of sauce are great too.
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Reserve Your Pasta Water for a Creamier Sauce
Dont drain all that pasta water! Chefs know that starchy pasta water is the key to creating silky sauces. While the pasta cooks, it releases starch into the water. The starch acts as an emulsifier when tossed with sauce, making it cling to noodles rather than clumpor even worse, separate. Plus, if youre salting your water (which you always should), itll add a bit more salty flavor to the pasta.Pro tip: You can also freeze leftover pasta water in ice cube trays and pop them into soups or stews down the line to act as a thickener!
Bucatini with Bacon Cream Sauce Recipe
This pasta is a pantry staple dream, tossed with bacon, garlic, shallots, cheese, and cream. Serve as is or pair it with an easy-to-build side salad.
Bucatini with Bacon Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound bucatini
- 10 ounces bacon, sliced into -inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- cup parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Prepare bucatini to al dente according to package instructions, reserving cup pasta water.
- Meanwhile, add the bacon to a skillet over medium high heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes on both sides, until your desired level of crispiness.
- Use tongs to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan.
- Return the pan to medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes, until softened.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant.
- Add the heavy cream, salt, and pepper and whisk for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Add the al dente bucatini, cup reserved pasta water, bacon, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and parsley, and cook for 1-2 minutes, tossing with tongs, until the bucatini is fully coated in glossy sauce.
- Serve with parsley.