Spinach and Mushroom Carbonara

Carbonara is one of those really gooey delicious dinners that tastes amazing until you realised how much fat you just consumed through cheese and cream. This recipe is a much lighter alternative!

Ingredients (per person)


60-80g pasta (weigh when dry) – I use wholewheat or spinach pasta but any pasta will do
1 egg yolk (save the whites and make macaroons! Or egg-white omelette!)
30-40g light, soft cheese – I usually go for the extra light Philadelphia
Approximately 200mls of vegetable stock
A good couple of handfuls of spinach leaves, chopped
50g mushrooms(ish), chopped 


Optional extras


1 or 2 rashers worth of chopped bacon if you need a meat fix
Salt & pepper to season and possibly some chilli flakes if you like your pasta with a bit of a kick

• Get the water on to boil for the pasta and heat a tbsp of oil (or a couple of sprays of low-cal oil if you’re being really good) in a large frying pan.
• Fry off the mushrooms (and bacon if you’re using it) until they are just cooked (i.e. no longer raw) and then add enough stock to cover. Allow to simmer gently.
• Get the pasta on once the water is boiling.
• Whisk the soft cheese and egg yolk together into a lumpy, weird-looking mixture. Don’t worry if you can’t make it smooth!
• When the pasta is nearly ready, add the spinach leaves to the frying pan. They will only need to go in for 1-2 minutes.
• Drain the pasta once it is cooked and scoop out everything from the frying pan using a draining spoon. Add in your egg/cheese combo and mix it all together over a very low heat.
• If the carbonara seems a little dry, add a bit more of the stock from the frying pan until it meets your personal requirements of moistness.
• Season, and scoff.