Carbohydrates per serve: 8g (based on serving with konjac fettuccine). A vegan carbonara recipe may sound a little strange considering carbonara is traditionally very far from vegan, in fact it’s just about as far away from vegan as you can get. So I will start by saying this isn’t quite a carbonara as you know it but it’s pretty much as close as you’ll get without the cruelty. 

How do you Make Carbonara Vegan?

Firstly, for those who aren’t aware how a carbonara is traditionally made, let me fill you in. A carbonara sauce is rich and creamy and consists of parmesan, egg yolks and bacon or pancetta. Additional to these animal derived ingredients is usually garlic, spaghetti and salt and pepper. So with that in mind and wanting to keep a nice creamy sauce full of flavour and specifically flavours which remind you of a carbonara, I opted to make a vegan white sauce. I made this using dairy free margarine and soy milk (but any plant milk will work). Then to that I added garlic cloves, vegan parmesan and nutritional yeast for that familiar cheesy flavour, and of course salt and pepper.

But what about the bacon? Yes I could have made some sort of vegan bacon substitute using mushrooms or tempeh, but to be honest you can get some really good vegan bacon meat substitutes already which you don’t need to spend time making and a lot are readily available at the supermarket. So I went with NEXT! Bacon Style Strips. Just cut it up and fry until crispy and you’ve got that perfect bacon replica. A brand like Sunfed would also work well for the bacon, you basically want one which is going to crisp up quite nicely.

If you’re new to the vegan bacon scene, have a look at my review of Sunfed’s Boar Free Bacon and see if you think it’ll work in this recipe (personally I think it will).

Is this Vegan Carbonara Low Carb?

It can be! Or at least relatively low carb. Carbonara sauce is usually served with normal spaghetti or sometimes fettuccine which is really high in carbs. However there are a lot of low carb pasta options available now, I tend to opt for konjac. Either a konjac spaghetti or a carbonara will work fine in this recipe. Konjac spaghetti or fettuccine has almost no carbs so if you are wanting to eat lower carb it’s ideal. You also don’t need to cook it like you do pasta, just rinse then add to the carbonara sauce to heat. Easy!

Other ways to keep carbs down are in the plant milk you use and the vegan bacon. I used Vitasoy Soy Milk Protein Plus which is only 5.5g of carbs per cup. Some other brands of soy will be good too, just make sure you look at the nutritional info and avoid getting one with added sugar. Almond milks are usually lower in carbs too. I’d suggest staying away from oat or rice milk as they tend to have a higher carb count.

For the bacon, this will likely vary hugely between brands as they’re all made really differently with different ingredients. I used NEXT! Bacon Style Strips which worked out to be just 2g of carbs per serve. But again just make sure you check the nutritional info. 

How do I Make a Vegan Carbonara?

The good news is it’s actually quite easy and doesn’t take too long, although it does require a little bit of multi-tasking going between sauce stirring, bacon cooking and pasta cooking (although if you use konjac pasta that will save a step!)

Step One – Put margarine/butter into a medium sized pot on a low-medium heat. Add the peeled garlic cloves and heat until the margarine/butter is melted.

Step Two – Add the flour and whisk into the melted margarine/melted until combined, this is a roux which is going to be what helps the sauce thicken.

Step Three – Slowly pour in the milk, whisking as you go to get rid of any lumps. Turn the heat to medium and continue to cook for about 10 minutes until thickening, stirring regularly. 

Step Four – Meanwhile while the sauce is cooking, cut the vegan bacon into small pieces, about 1-2cm big. Put a frying pan on a medium-high heat with a small amount of cooking oil (the amount of oil will vary depending on the bacon you use and how much oil is already in it, you may not need to add any). Add the bacon pieces and cook until starting to brown and crisp up. 

Step Five – Once the sauce is just about at the consistency you want, add the nutritional yeast and parmesan and whisk through. Season with a bit of salt and a good amount of black pepper.

Step Six – Add the cooked bacon to the sauce and stir through.

Step Seven – Cook your chosen pasta according to the packet instructions. 

Step Eight – Remove the garlic cloves from the sauce, then carefully stir the cooked pasta into the sauce.

Step Nine – Serve on plates or in bowls with some crispy bacon pieces, a sprinkling of vegan parmesan and fresh parsley.

What Kitchen Tools will I Need?

Measuring Spoons

Measuring Cups

A Pot

A Good Whisk

Chopping Board

Knife

Frying Pan