Warming up carbonara – how to do it (4 methods)

Carbonara tastes best when freshly prepared, but if you have leftovers, you don’t have to throw them away straight away.

There are various methods to restore the dish to its former glory.

What is the best way to reheat carbonara? The best way to reheat spaghetti carbonara is to use it as a “pasta frittata”. To do this, fry it in a pan for about 10 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Alternatively, you can also heat carbonara in the microwave or in a bain-marie.

In this article, you will find out how to reheat carbonara in a pan, microwave, bain-marie, oven and saucepan.

Warming up carbonara: all methods at a glance

There are various methods for heating up carbonara sauce with and without pasta.

You can:

1. Fry the spaghetti carbonara in the pan
2. Reheating carbonara in the microwave
3. Reheat the carbonara in a bain-marie
4. Reheat the carbonara in a saucepan
5. Reheating carbonara in the oven

Although carbonara tastes best fresh, with the right approach you can easily recycle it.

In this table you can see how well the quality is maintained depending on the method and how long the preparation takes:

Method	Preparation time	Quality after warming up
1. in the pan	10 minutes	outstanding
2. in the microwave	5 minutes	good
3. in a water bath	15 minutes	very good
4. in the pot	10 minutes	very good
5. in the oven	20 minutes	good

I would now like to discuss each method in more detail.

The best way to heat up carbonara (fry in a pan)

The art of an original carbonara is to achieve a creamy consistency without the help of cream or milk.

Instead, you rely solely on the egg it contains. The trick is to add it at the right time and at the right temperature so that it doesn’t set.

This information also explains why reheated carbonara cannot have the same quality: Reheating causes the egg to solidify and the once perfect, creamy consistency is lost.

Now you can try to trick the dish by adding liquid (milk, water or cream) to give it its old creaminess.

Or you can accept the loss and decide to conjure up a new dish from the leftovers instead.

We are talking about ‘pasta frittata’.

With this method, the pasta from the previous day is simply fried in a pan with butter until brown.

This makes the pasta nice and crispy and brings out the flavor of the bacon.

Deep-frying carbonara in the pan – here’s how

1. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat.
2. Add the spaghetti carbonara to the pan.
3. Stir the pasta constantly.
4. Fry until the pasta is golden brown and the bacon is crispy.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Reheating carbonara in the microwave (quickest method)

The quickest way to heat up pasta with carbonara is in the microwave. To do this, heat it up for 1 minute at 600 watts, stir it and then heat it up for a further 4 minutes at 360 watts. You can then leave the pasta to cool briefly and serve.

The disadvantage of heating in the microwave is that the dish dries out a little. To counteract this, you can add a little milk, water or cream in between.

Reheating carbonara in the microwave – here’s how

1. Place the carbonara in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Cover with a microwave cover.
3. Microwave for one minute at 600 watts.
4. Remove from the microwave and stir.
5. Heat for a further 4 minutes at 360 watts.
6. Leave to cool for 1 minute.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Reheat the carbonara in a bain-marie (best quality)

You can heat carbonara with or without pasta in a bain-marie. To do this, empty it into a bowl and place it in a pan filled with water. Then bring the water to the boil and reduce the heat. The carbonara must be stirred constantly to ensure it is evenly warm.

Heating in a water bath is the gentlest method of all, but it is quite slow.

Reheating carbonara in a bain-marie – here’s how

1. Pour the carbonara into a bowl.
2. Place the bowl in a pan of water.
3. Bring the water to the boil and stir the carbonara from time to time.
4. As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat.
5. If necessary, add a little liquid (milk, cream or water).
6. Serve as soon as the carbonara is evenly heated.

Reheat the carbonara in a saucepan

The version with the pot is particularly suitable if you want to heat up carbonara sauce without pasta.

Carbonara can easily be reheated in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring constantly. The sauce will be warm after about 10 minutes.

Reheating carbonara in a saucepan – here’s how

1. Place the carbonara with or without pasta in a pan with a little olive oil.
2. Warm up over a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
3. Stir constantly so that the sauce is evenly warm.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Reheating carbonara in the oven

Reheating in the oven is possible, but does not produce the best results and also uses a lot of electricity. It can be worthwhile for large quantities of pasta with carbonara.

Reheating carbonara in the oven – here’s how

1. Preheat the oven to 160 °C
2. Spread out the pasta with carbonara on a baking tray or in an oven dish
3. Drizzle with a little water or cream
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 5 to 7 minutes
5. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve

Can carbonara be reheated a second time?

Carbonara should be reheated a maximum of one day later. It should not be reheated a second time because the egg it contains can cause stomach problems.

How can you keep carbonara warm?

Carbonara is difficult to keep warm because the creamy consistency is lost. The heat causes the egg to set, which is why a good portion of spaghetti carbonara is prepared and served fresh.