This post was created in partnership with Bi-Lo. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
At my local grocery store, Bi-Lo, there is a BIG celebration going on, and it is all about bacon.
Awww yeah! #BaconLove is spreading like wildfire! And honestly, what’s not to love about the food also known as “meat candy?” Bi-Lo has some really great deals happening right now on all things bacon, so if you live in the part of the country that has a Bi-Lo, don’t miss out on your chance to go “hog wild” (Snort snort)!
In celebration of this event, Bi-Lo asked me to share my favorite bacon recipe, and I didn’t even have to think for a second before I knew what I’d be sharing. Friends, today I’m going to teach you how to make this:
Aside from cold cereal, which will always be the culinary equivalent of my first love, spaghetti carbonara is my favorite meal. I would eat this twice a week for the rest of my life with absolutely no complaints. Please understand that as a general rule, I don’t make the same dish in my home more than once every six months. I can’t stand to eat the same food frequently (yes, it is every bit as annoying as it sounds…I curse myself daily for needing so much variety). Anyway, the point is, for me to have a food other than cereal that I will eat so often is a REALLY. BIG. DEAL. And that’s because it is just that good.
And what makes it so good? The bacon, of course!
So here’s what you need to get started:
1 lb spaghetti noodles
2 eggs, cracked and scrambled in a bowl (but not cooked!)
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
handful of fresh parsley (roughly 1/3 cup) (spring for the fresh stuff…it’s worth it!)
1/3 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil, and arrange bacon on the sheets. Once the oven is preheated, cook the bacon in the oven for 15-20 minutes (start watching it at the 15 minute mark). Such an easy way to get perfectly crisp bacon! While the bacon is doing its thing, get some water boiling for your spaghetti. Once you have a rolling boil, cook your noodles for the time indicated on the package.
While your noodles are cooking, go ahead and get your parsley chopped. I use kitchen shears to get the job done fast! Now’s also the time to grate your cheese, get your eggs cracked and scrambled in the bowl, and to start heating up the olive oil and the butter in a pan. Once the oil/butter combo is hot, add the garlic and cook it for a few minutes until it turns golden.
By this point, the bacon might be done. if so, remove it from the oven, and once it is safe to touch it, get it all nice and crumbled (once again, I used the kitchen shears!). Set crumbled bacon to the side.
Now your noodles should be done. This is where things are about to get intense, as you’ll need to do all the remaining steps fairly quickly. Ready? Here we go! Drain the cooked noodles and then return them to the pot. Add the butter/oil/garlic mixture to the pot and give it several quick stirs. Then add the scrambled raw eggs to the pot and STIR! STIR! STIR! The eggs are basically going to cook all over the noodles. You want egg-coated noodles, and not chunks of egg in your noodles. Stirring quickly is the key to success here.
Once you feel like you’ve got a good coating on your noodles, it is time to add all the other stuff (parsley, cheese and bacon) and mix it around a bit. And this is your end result!
The taste is absolutely incredible, friends! Don’t be intimidated by the crazy egg stirring step, and don’t be weirded out by how it sounds, either. Just trust me on this one and spread some #BaconLove to your family this week by giving it a try!
And since you already be interested in pasta dishes with bacon, definitely check out the Bacon with Butternut Squash Penne recipe. It’s SO yum!
What’s your favorite bacon recipe? Do tell!
Taylor says
Oh my goodness this looks absolutely divine! I can not wait to try it! How many people does this feed? I usually cook for five people (two of them being hungry males haha) but sometimes I also cook for bigger crowds. Would this be a good recipe to double? Also I am gluten-free! Do you think it would taste just as good with Gluten-free pasta? Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try it!
Katie says
Awesome recipe! I made it tonight!
Tiffany Merritt says
Hooray! Glad it was a hit!
Mer says
Thanks for the recipe – I made this for dinner tonight and it was a success. I didn’t have parsley so I sautéed some frozen veggies along with the garlic to add color. I added dried basil at the end. I think next time I might add more butter to the noodles before adding the oil mixture (if I add the veggies again) as I think I lost moisture to coat the noodles. Thanks again!
Tiffany Merritt says
LOVE your creativity with adding some frozen veggies! I bet you are right that more butter was needed, though. Yum…great way to make this dish your own!
Kevin P says
This recipe looks so delicious (and easy),…
even I think I could pull this one off!
Meredith Hodgson says
This looks delicious! I’ll definitely be trying this recipe soon!
Jason K says
I love all things Bacon and I like to see that your using bacon that is free of nitrites and nitrates! Smart selection!
Tiffany Merritt says
Absolutely! I try to buy that kind whenever I can find it! 🙂
Brutus Duffy says
Thanks so much-have been looking for great week night meal ideas. This looks delicious!
tiffany says
I hope you enjoy it!
Vanderbilt Wife says
YUM. You can make that for me for dinner any day. I love carbonara!
I think my favorite recipe is just bacon dredged in brown sugar and baked. It’s candy. I can eat a whole pound. Maybe more. (I don’t. But I could.)
tiffany says
It is definitely a must-try. And NEVER teach me how to make what you just referred to. Or else I’ll make it all the time!