I’ve been experimenting a bit more lately with pumpkin than I usually do. Since we can’t exactly bake a sweet potato and pumpkin casserole for the dinner table, I wanted to come up with some not-so-traditional dishes using pumpkin that all of us can get behind! This pumpkin carbonara is an AWESOME meal, and everyone will definitely be wanting a second helping after they get their first bite.
While I do love the sweet aspects of pumpkin (check out these Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies, or these Pumpkin Pie Blondies), I really love the savory aspects also. The crispy pancetta is the perfect addition to this dish. It really ties together that slightly sweet flavor of the pumpkin sauce by bringing elements of earthy, savory, and richness. The parmesan cheese really helps thicken the sauce, but also brings a bit of umami to help with the dish altogether. The pumpkin and sage as also a classic combination – just not usually thought of in a dish like this.
I truly hope you get the chance to wow your family with this one like I did with mine. They couldn’t believe that the noodles were very low carb – as you will see in the recipe, dry frying them is the way that I always do it now. Without taking some of the moisture out of the keto pasta noodles, you’re left with a very strange consistency and sometimes a bad flavor. When you dry fry the noodles, some of the texture problems seem to disappear and the flavor is definitely not fishy tasting at all. Enjoy!
Yields 3 servings of Keto Pumpkin Carbonara
The Preparation
- 75 grams shirataki noodles
- 5 ounces pancetta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 large egg yolk
- salt and pepper, to taste
The Execution
1. Rinse off the shirataki noodles under hot water for 2-3 minutes. Then dry them off completely with paper towels. Put aside.
2. Chop pancetta and place into a hot pan to sear on the outside.
3. In the meantime, place butter into a small pot and let brown. Once it starts to brown, mix the sage into the butter.
4. Once the sage is mixed in, add your pumpkin puree and mix together well.
5. By this point, the pancetta should be browning up nicely. Once it’s crispy on the outside, remove from the pan and save the fat.
6. Add heavy cream to the pumpkin puree sauce and mix together well until everything is combined.
7. Add pancetta fat into the sauce and mix again until well combined. Let the sauce simmer on medium heat.
8. Turn the pan that had the pancetta in to high and add the shirataki noodles. Dry fry them for at least 5 minutes until a good amount of steam has come out of them.
9. Add parmesan cheese to the pumpkin sauce and mix together well. Turn the heat to low.
10. Continue to stir the sauce until you can scrape a spatula through the sauce and it takes a moment to come back together.
11. Add noodles and pancetta into the sauce and toss well. Add 2 egg yolks and mix into the sauce.
12. Serve with extra parmesan and pancetta to taste.
This makes a total of 3 servings of Keto Pumpkin Carbonara. Each serving comes out to be 471 calories, 46.1g fats, 2.3g net carbs, and 11.3g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 75 gram shirataki noodles | 5 | 0 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 5 ounce pancetta | 734 | 75.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 |
| 2 tablespoon butter | 203 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 1/2 teaspoon dried sage | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 3 tablespoon pumpkin puree | 16 | 0.1 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 0.5 |
| 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream | 202 | 21.5 | 1.6 | 0 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
| 1/3 cup parmesan cheese | 142 | 9.4 | 1.4 | 0 | 1.4 | 12.7 |
| 2 large egg yolk | 109 | 9 | 1.2 | 0 | 1.2 | 5.4 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 1413 | 138.3 | 10.4 | 3.7 | 6.8 | 34 |
| Per Serving (/3) | 471 | 46.1 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 11.3 |
Keto Pumpkin Carbonara
Ingredients
- 75 gram shirataki noodles
- 5 ounce pancetta
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- 3 tablespoon pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
- 2 large egg yolk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the shirataki noodles under hot water for 2–3 minutes. Pat completely dry using paper towels. Set aside.
- Chop the pancetta and place in a hot pan to sear on the outside.
- In the meantime, place butter in a small pot and let brown. Once just beginning to brown, add the sage and stir.
- Add the pumpkin puree and mix together well.
- By this point, the pancetta should be browning up nicely. Once it's crispy on the outside, remove from the pan. Reserve the fat.
- Add the heavy cream to the pumpkin puree sauce and mix together until well incorporated.
- Add the pancetta fat to the sauce and mix again until well combined. Let the sauce simmer over medium heat.
- Turn the pan used for the pancetta up to high heat and add in the shirataki noodles. Dry-fry them for at least 5 minutes, or until a good amount of steam has come out of them.
- Add the parmesan cheese to the pumpkin sauce and mix together well. Turn the heat down to low.
- Continue stirring the sauce until it separates easily and takes a moment to come back together.
- Add the noodles and pancetta to the sauce and toss well. Stir the egg yolks into the sauce and season to taste.
- Serve with extra parmesan and enjoy!
