Carbonara Mac ‘n Cheese Souffle

Carbonara Mac ‘n Cheese Souffle – the end all of mac and cheese. It’s fluffy, puffy, yummy, gooey, cheesy and creamy pasta with crispy pancetta. Need I say more?

Sigh, Carbonara Mac ‘n Cheese Souffle. One can say this recipe is more than a treat, it’s an experience. Might even make you cry it’s so good. Not that I’d want you to cry, but it would be tears of joy. 

But you might wonder why I call it a souffle. It’s perfectly simple, my dears. It has eggs, the eggs are separated and the whites are whisked to stiff peaks, and added to the cheese sauce, making this a fluffy, puffy, yummy, gooey, cheesy pasta. Yep, that about describes it.

What Is Carbonara?

At its core, this Italian dish is from Rome and is super super simple. It’s made from egg, hard sharp cheese, pepper, and guanciale – a cured pork.  If guanciale is a little too hard to find pancetta or bacon works in a snap. Try my creamy carbonara recipe, you won’t regret it.

What Is A Souffle?

Souffles are a French dish that is egg based and notoriously difficult to make. But that reputation couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to this recipe! We’re just separating some eggs today to get a dish that feels both fluffy and light while also being creamy and decadent.

Ingredients

• Pasta – I used little shells for this recipe as I wanted something small and shaped that cooks well in a casserole.
• Pancetta – Our key pork treat, feel free to substitute bacon if that’s what is on hand.
• Milk – I used a higher fat milk today to create a rich creamy sauce, I used 3.25%.
• Eggs – Keep in mind we’re separating our eggs today, so don’t incorporate them whole!
• Cheese – We’re using some super melty and creamy gruyere and white cheddar cheese.
• Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
• Butter – Unsalted so as to control the sodium content of our dish.
• Herbs – Fresh parsley all chopped and diced up.
• Nutmeg – The perfect spice addition for this uber creamy sauce, it helps round it out nicely.

How To Make Carbonara Mac ‘n Cheese Souffle

Carbonara

1. Preheat oven: To 400 F degrees. Butter or grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish.
2. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
3. Cook the pancetta: Add the pancetta to a saucepan and cook until it browns. Remove the pancetta from pan and place over paper towels to soak up some of the fat.
4. Prep the eggs: Separate the eggs and whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. In another bowl whisk the egg yolks and set aside.

Sauce

1. Form the sauce: Add the butter to the saucepan and melt. Add the minced garlic and cook until it starts foaming and gets aromatic, about a minute. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir. Whisk in the milk and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
2. Melt the cheese: Add half the gruyere and half the cheddar cheese to the sauce and continue whisking until the cheese melts.
3. Temper the egg yolks by adding a ladle of the sauce at a time to the egg yolks and whisking them, add about 3 ladles of sauce altogether. You want to do this to avoid the eggs from scrambling up when you add them to the cheese sauce.
4. Finish the sauce: Stir in the egg yolk mixture back into the cheese sauce. Remove from heat. Fold the egg whites into the cheese sauce.

Assembly

1. Assemble the casserole: Start layering the casserole by adding half the pasta shells to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half the pancetta over the pasta, then add half the cheese sauce. Sprinkle half of the remaining gruyere and white cheddar over then add the rest of the pasta. Repeat with the remaining pancetta, sauce, and cheese. Finally top with the chopped parsley and place the dish in the oven.
2. Bake for 20 minutes until golden and puffed. If you want it more golden you can turn the broiler on and broil the souffle for 2 or 3 minutes.

The Best Way To Separate Your Eggs

Just in case you’re a bit of a cooking newbie, here’s some great tips for ensuring that yolk and those whites stay as far away from each other as possible.

1. Crack your egg on a flat surface like a counter top. This will ensure that no little bits of egg shell sneak their way in.
2. Let the yolk settle in one of the egg shell halves and use the other halve to pass the yolk back and forth.
3. Allow the egg white to fall into a bowl before placing the yolk in a separate bowl.

Having Trouble Getting Your Sauce To Thicken?

When it comes to great pasta dishes, your magic ingredient really is the pasta water. So before you drain your pasta, reserve a full of cup of this magic water, just in case. It’s what will make your sauce smooth and glossy, and it emulsifies with the butter and cheese and just makes everything delicious.

It’s Easier Than You Think!

While you may look at this recipe and think there’s a bit of work involved, it’s still a dish you can have ready in about an hour, and it will be so worth all your effort. It’s so delectable, you can serve this as a side dish, or with a salad, but I simply served this on its own and just savored it. Perfect for lunch or dinner.

Leftovers

Store carbonara mac and cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, but make sure it’s cooled completely before storing it in the fridge.

How to Serve

Here are some sides that you can serve along with this dish:

• Italian Roasted Mushrooms and Veggies
• The Ultimate Roasted Broccoli
• Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Balsamic Parmesan Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes

Freezing

Yes, you can freeze this pasta dish. Store it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can also store it in a baking dish covered tightly with aluminum foil. Bake, frozen and covered with foil at 350 F degrees for 1 hour.

Craving More Pasta? Try These Delicious Recipes:

• Cajun Chicken Pasta
• Creamy Avocado and Spinach Pasta
• Pesto Shrimp Asparagus Pasta
• Baked Mac and Cheese
• Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
• One Pot Creamy Parmesan Pasta
• Easy Pasta Alfredo

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Carbonara Mac ‘n Cheese Souffle

4.5 from 16 votes

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 45 mins

Total: 1 hr 5 mins

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Serves: 8

Print Pin Rate

Carbonara Mac 'n Cheese Souffle – the end all of mac and cheese. It's fluffy, puffy, yummy, gooey, cheesy and creamy pasta with crispy pancetta. Need I say more?

Equipment

• ▢
  3.5-quart Dutch Oven
• ▢
  9×13-inch Casserole Dish

Ingredients

• ▢ 12 oz pasta such as mini pasta shells or elbow macaroni
• ▢ 4 oz pancetta chopped
• ▢ 3 eggs divided
• ▢ 1 tbsp butter unsalted
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups milk I used 3.25%
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ 1/4 tsp nutmeg ground
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese shredded
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups white cheddar cheese shredded
• ▢ 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Butter or grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish.
• Cook pasta according to package instructions.
• Add the pancetta to a saucepan and cook until it browns. Remove the pancetta from pan and place over paper towels to soak up some of the fat.
• Separate the eggs and whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. In another bowl whisk the egg yolks and set aside.
• Add the butter to the saucepan and melt. Add the minced garlic and cook until it starts foaming and gets aromatic, about a minute. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir. Whisk in the milk and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
• Season the sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Add half the gruyere and half the cheddar cheese to the sauce and continue whisking until the cheese melts.
• Temper the egg yolks by adding a ladle of the sauce at a time to the egg yolks and whisking them, add about 3 ladles of sauce altogether. You want to do this to avoid the eggs from scrambling up when you add them to the cheese sauce.
• Stir in the egg yolk mixture back into the cheese sauce. Remove from heat. Fold the egg whites into the cheese sauce.
• Start layering the casserole by adding half the pasta shells to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half the pancetta over the pasta, then add half the cheese sauce. Sprinkle half of the remaining gruyere and white cheddar over then add the rest of the pasta. Repeat with the remaining pancetta, sauce, and cheese. Finally top with the chopped parsley and place the dish in the oven.
• Bake for 20 minutes until golden and puffed. If you want it more golden you can turn the broiler on and broil the souffle for 2 or 3 minutes.

Recipe Notes

1. Leftovers: Store carbonara mac and cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, but make sure it’s cooled completely before storing it in the fridge.
2. Freezing: Store it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can also store it in a baking dish covered tightly with aluminum foil. Bake, frozen and covered with foil at 350 F degrees for 1 hour.
3. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 486kcal (24%)Carbohydrates: 37g (12%)Protein: 24g (48%)Fat: 26g (40%)Saturated Fat: 14g (88%)Cholesterol: 130mg (43%)Sodium: 361mg (16%)Potassium: 267mg (8%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 5g (6%)Vitamin A: 719IU (14%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 491mg (49%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Course:Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine:Italian

Keyword:carbonara recipe, mac and cheese

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