Carbonara Eggs Benedict
The flavors of carbonara are front and center in this eggs benedict topped with pasta and pancetta on top of a garlic english muffin! Combining two of the most egg centric dishes into one! It’s a celebration of eggs! The recipe is for two people and uses 10 eggs! Some in the hollandaise, some in the carbonara, and of course some poached right on top. Imagine this at brunch with bottomless mimosas or a bloody mary. Perfection!
The idea for this recipe
I actually put a version of this carbonara eggs benedict in my Mashup cookbook from a while back but I never posted it online. I decided I would do some edits and finally post it here! One thing I did with the older version is let the past cool and solidify so it was perfectly round on the english muffin. This time I used fresh carbonara so it was soft and creamy! The other main change was that I turned the english muffins into garlic bread!
Garlic Bread English Muffins
Melt the butter and add garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and chili flakes. Then broil this until crispy!
Start the carbonara
Pancetta first, then take it out and finish the pasta in the pancetta fat! Traditionally carbonara is with guanciale but I didn’t have time to go to a specialty shop to get it so I went with grocery store pancetta.
Finish the carbonara with some pecorino romano and eggs. There is one whole egg and three yolks. I also added some of the pasta cooking liquid. Use as much pasta cooking liquid as you need to make the carbonara the perfect texture to sit on top of the english muffin in this eggs benedict.
Build the carbonara eggs benedict
The hardest part of making carbonara eggs benedict is having everything hot and ready at the same time. Honestly, that is the hard part of making any eggs benedict! I did the hollandaise first and let it sit in a warm water bath. Then I did the english muffins, then the carbonara, and finally poached the eggs.
That beautiful english muffin first, then the pancetta, then the pasta.
Some more pancetta along with pecorino romano and black pepper. Then top with the egg and hollandaise!
Serve the carbonara eggs benedict
Make sure you are ready to eat right when it’s ready cause you want to dig in quick! This dish is best eaten immediately.
The richness of the eggy goodness running through all the carbonara eggs benedict makes this an epic brunch! Add some friends and some drinks and call it a day!
Twists on this recipe
I mentioned using guanciale to give it a more traditional carbonara flavor. If you can get it, definitely use it! I just didn’t have time to grab it the day I made my carbonara eggs benedict.
I didn’t really touch on the hollandaise in this post, so here is an easy guide if you have never made it before.
For more on guanciale and traditional carbonara, check out the recipe I wrote right after I visited rome.
For more epic fusion brunch mash-ups, check out my red curry biscuits and gravy, eggs benedict nachos, or this butter fried chicken and garlic waffles!
Carbonara Eggs Benedict
Equipment
Ingredients
Hollandaise
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 stick butter melted and hot
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
Garlic Bread English Muffins
- 2 english muffins
- 1/2 stick butter melted
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
- salt and pepper
Carbonara
- 4 ounces pancetta diced
- 1/2 pound spaghetti
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano plus more for garnish
- 1 egg
- 3 egg yolks
- salt and pepper
The rest
- 4 eggs
- lots of fresh cracked black pepper
- grated pecorino cheese
Instructions
Hollandaise
- Mix the yolks, salt, mustard, and lemon juice in a large bowl that you can set over a simmering pot – or a true double boiler if you have one. Set the heat as low as you can so the water in the pot is not really even simmering, just steaming.
- Whisk the egg mixture and slowly drizzle in the hot melted butter, whisking constantly as you do this. If it seems too thick, take it off the heat and continue.
- After adding all the butter, if it is combined and a nice texture, you are done. If it seems too thin you can continue to whisk over the heat for a little longer.
- This will stay in the fridge and can be re-warmed in a hot water bath, or you can hold it over the steaming water with the heat off as you cook the rest of the ingredients.
English Muffins
- Preheat broiler to high
- If the english muffins aren't split already, use a fork to cut them in half leaving the surfaces rough and textured.
- Mix the garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and pepper flakes into the melted butter. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Brush the butter mixture onto the english muffins. Broil to brown and crisp up.
Carbonara
- Bring a heavily salted pot of water to a boil.
- Add the pancetta to a frying pan to cook and crisp. Stir often. Remove from the pan, leaving the fat.
- Cook the pasta and just before it is ready, reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Strain the pasta and add it immediately to the pan with the pancetta fat. Toss to combine and cook 2 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add in the pecorino cheese and the eggs and yolks. Toss to combine, continuing to stir and toss as it cools so the eggs don't overcook or solidify on the bottom of the pan. Stir in some of the pasta cooking liquid if needed to achieve the right texture.
Finish it
- Almost there! Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Crack an egg into a mesh strainer allowing the excess egg to drip through. Dip the strainer into the boiling water to poach the egg. Repeat with all 4 eggs.
- Build the benedict with the english muffins down first, then most of the pancetta, then the pasta. Next add more pancetta along with black pepper and pecorino cheese. Finally top with the poached eggs and hollandaise and more black pepper!
Just made this and it is so so good. Ridiculously rich – but nothing that a good mimosa couldn’t handle!
Awesome!!!