No Fridge Carbonara

Mark Wilcox
2 min readMay 28, 2022

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Spaghetti Carbonara

I don’t like macaroni and cheese.

Neither does my wife.

Neither does our friend Alma.

Meanwhile, I absolutely love spaghetti and lasagna. Heck, I think pasta is one of my foundational food groups.

And it’s not like I don’t like cheese. I love cheese.

I just don’t like how the cheese congeals and sticks on the macaroni.

And initially, I didn’t think I’d like spaghetti carbonara because the first the time I tried to make it the cheese congealed on the pasta like it does on mac and cheese.

But in a cookbook, I came across a backpacking recipe for carbonara.

If you are not familiar with the dish it’s traditionally:

  • Spaghetti
  • Eggs
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Bacon

All mixed together.

But here’s the recipe I discovered:

  • Instant ramen but discard the flavor packet
  • Powdered eggs
  • Olive oil — you can use a small bottle or condiment packets
  • Parmesan Cheese — carry it in a Ziploc if backpacking
  • Pepper
  • Bacon bits or beef jerky though you can also leave it out

Use just enough water to wet the noodles and bring the water to a boil.

Then soak your noodles for 5 minutes

Now mix in 2 spoons of powdered eggs, a heaping pile of cheese, a teaspoon or so of olive oil, pepper, and your bacon bits.

I find this dish so easy to make and tasty, that I often make it for lunch at home.

I don’t have a good segue but if you want to learn about camping in bear country then check out my course.

I’m Mark Wilcox and I once backpacked 100 miles in 90 days. After 25 years in IT, I wanted more adventure in my life. I want to inspire you to add more adventure too.

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Mark Wilcox

I once backpacked 100 miles in 90 days. After 25 years in IT, I wanted more adventure in my life. I want to inspire you to add more adventure too.