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Low-Carb Zucchini Carbonara – a healthier, low-carb alternative of a popular Italian dish. Made with spiralized zucchini, bacon, eggs and Parmesan. Low-calorie, gluten-free, light, flavorful and delicious.
As you may already know I’m a huge zucchini lover. Even though zucchini noodles are not as filling as regular pasta, they are a great, healthy and tasty option, that shouldn’t be missed on.
They are extremely easy to make and could be served with different sauces like classic Marinara, Asian flavors, creamy cream based sauces and egg and parmesan cheese sauce like the one in today’s recipe.
While this Low-Carb Zucchini Carbonara tastes a lot different than my very popular 20 Minute Pasta Carbonara, there are some similarities in the taste and my family loves it.
The perfect light, nutritious and quick to make weeknight dinner for busy families.
What ingredients do you need to make Zucchini Carbonara?
To make this zucchini carbonara recipe, you are going to need:
- zucchini
- bacon or pancetta (for Paleo friendly option, don’t use meat, that has been cured with brown sugar)
- garlic
- olive oil
- eggs
- Parmesan cheese
- toppings like fresh chopped parsley and hot red pepper flakes
How to make zucchini noodles?
Zucchini noodles, also known as zucchini pasta or zoodles are very delicious and healthy low-carb and low-calorie pasta alternative.
- The easiest way to make zucchini noodles is to use a spiralizer.
- I don’t own a big spiralizer anymore, but I do own a hand held OXO zoodles maker, that I use all the time.
- You can use a julienne peeler to make zoodles.
- Mandoline can be used for zoodles and while it works well, it is my least favorite tool for making zucchini noodles.
Do you cook zucchini noodles or consume them raw?
It really depends on the recipe.
Zucchini noodles could be eaten raw or could be cooked.
I prefer them raw in salads, grain and Buddha Bowls and cooked in pasta dishes like the one I’m sharing with you today.
We al know that zucchini release water when cooked. This is not a very good thing for recipes like this Easy carbonara with zucchini recipe. We cant the egg and Parmesan based sauce to somehow thicken and stick to the zoodles, forming a creamy pasta dish.
This is why there is a very important, additional step in this recipe – after you spiralize the zucchini, you sprinkle some salt over them and set them on a paper towel lined plate for 15 minutes.
This way the zucchini noodles will release water, that could carefully be sqeezed out, before you saute the pasta. Otherwise zucchini will release its liquid in the pan and while you try to cook it to evaporate the liquid, the pasta will become soft and mushy.
How to make this low-carb Zucchini Carbonara?
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Spiralize zucchini to make zoodles, using one of the methods listed in the blog post. Place on a platter and sprinkle with some salt. Leave for 15 minutes, then squeeze out the liquid. Using kitchen scissors, trim the zucchini noodles to make shorter pieces.
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Cook bacon in a skillet and chop into small pieces. Discard the grease, reserving 1 tbsp.
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Add zucchini to the hot pan with 1 tbsp of the grease. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping with kitchen thongs frequently. If zucchini releases liquid, drain it. Turn the heat to low and leave pan on the burner.
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In a bowl, whisk eggs and add Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.
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Quickly add the Parmesan egg mixture to the ban and using kitchen thongs toss the pasta in the sauce, stirring to coat, being careful not to scramble the eggs. Cook like this for 1 minute, then add bacon.
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Serve immediately with more Parmesan cheese, black pepper and chopped parsley.
More Zucchini Noodles Recipes:
- Roasted Cauliflower Parmesan Zucchini Noodles
- Zucchini Noodles With Ragu
- Zucchini Noodles With Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
Low-Carb Zucchini Carbonara
Ingredients
- 4 zucchini, medium
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 slices bacon
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, more for garnishing
- parsley
- hot red pepper flakes, optional
- black pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Spiralize zucchini to make zoodles, using one of the methods listed in the blog post. Place on a platter and sprinkle with some salt. Leave for 15 minutes, then squeeze out the liquid. Using kitchen scissors, trim the zucchini noodles to make shorter pieces.
- Cook bacon in a skillet and chop into small pieces. Discard the grease, reserving 1 tbsp.
- Add zucchini to the hot pan with 1 tbsp of the grease. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping with kitchen tongs frequently. If zucchini releases liquid, drain it. Turn the heat to low and leave pan on the burner.
- In a bowl, whisk eggs and add Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.
- Quickly add the Parmesan egg mixture to the ban and using kitchen thongs toss the pasta in the sauce, stirring to coat, being careful not to scramble the eggs. Cook like this for 1 minute, then add bacon.
- Serve immediately with more Parmesan cheese, black pepper and chopped parsley.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My boys absolutely love this recipe. I get requests for it all the time.
I made this dish this week, using, Butterball Turkey bacon! My son and I loved it! I plan on making it again next week with thinly cooked slices of chicken as the meat.
Can you use frozen zucchini noodles in this recipe?
yes, defrost and use as directed
Bet this would be great using spaghetti squash!
Yes, it tastes with spaghetti squash delicious!
Hi. Good recipe I would add one additional step. Rinse the salt off the zucchini. Â I forgot to do that. Â Not good. Â I would definitely do this agin with rinsing and maybe a few more vegetables. Â
If you rinse the salt off, the zucchini will absorb more water, so extracting all the water with the salt is pointless.
Just made this, delicious !!
Good thing it’s zucchini season, I’ll be making again 🙂
Thank you !
I made this for my family last night and everyone loved it! I was anticipating a large amount of leftovers, as there are only 3 people in my family, but we ate all of it. I can’t wait to make this again. It is definitely a new family favorite. Thank you!