Trader Joe’s Spaghetti Carbonara Review

Trader Joe’s Frozen Spaghetti Carbonara is a dish that boldly claims to bring the taste of Italy to your kitchen. There’s something almost magical about how this bag, adorned with promises of authentic Italian cuisine, manages to transport us straight to the heart of Rome – or at least, to a parallel universe where Rome is a giant freezer filled with ready meals. As I pulled the bag from the freezer and opened it, a ritual that felt more like unwrapping a Christmas gift from a distant aunt rather than uncovering a culinary treasure, I couldn’t help but wonder: Will this be the bite of la dolce vita, or just another Tuesday night, eating pasta while questioning my life choices? Let’s dive into this product with so much promise…

First of all, I want to say that Trader Joe’s has really upped their game in the photography department, that image that is on the front of the bag is quite nice, unfortunately, it doesn’t look much like the final product.

What is Spaghetti Carbonara?

Spaghetti Carbonara is a classic Italian pasta dish known for its rich, creamy texture and simple yet flavorful ingredients. Its history, while not entirely clear, is as intriguing as its taste.

The dish hails from Rome and is a relatively recent addition to Italian cuisine, believed to have originated in the mid-20th century. The name “Carbonara” is derived from ‘carbonaro’ which means ‘charcoal burner’ in Italian, leading some to speculate that the dish was a popular meal among Italian charcoal workers. However, this origin story, like many in the world of culinary history, is a blend of fact and folklore.

Another theory suggests that Spaghetti Carbonara was a product of the American influence in Italy during World War II. As the story goes, American soldiers in Italy combined bacon and eggs – common ingredients in their rations – with Italian pasta, resulting in the creation of this iconic dish.

The traditional recipe is deceptively simple, yet requires a certain finesse to execute perfectly. It typically involves spaghetti, eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, pancetta or guanciale (Italian cured pork cheek), and black pepper. The creamy sauce is created not from cream, but from the eggs and cheese, which are whisked together and then cooked slightly by the heat of the pasta. The addition of pasta water helps to create a smooth, velvety sauce that clings to the spaghetti. The dish is then finished with a generous sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper, adding a warm, spicy note.

Over the years, Spaghetti Carbonara has undergone various interpretations. Cream, peas, and different types of bacon or ham are often added, especially in versions outside of Italy, much to the dismay of purists who champion the original Roman recipe.

Despite its murky origins and the many variations it has spawned, Spaghetti Carbonara remains a beloved dish both in Italy and around the world. It stands as a testament to the power of simple ingredients, coming together to create a dish that is much greater than the sum of its parts.

How to Make Trader Joe’s Frozen Spaghetti Carbonara

Trader Joe’s Lists two methods to make this dish and as much as I like popping things in the microwave, for something like this I like to use the stovetop method and I did this one in my nonstick wok.

Here are the instructions from the package. As always, the first one is usually what they prefer.

COOKING INSTRUCTION
COOK FROM FROZEN

STOVETOP: Place 2 Tbsp of water with the frozen contents of the bag in a skillet. Cover with a lid and heat on medium for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook thoroughly to 165 F with a food thermometer. Stir Gently and serve.

MICROWAVE (1200 WATT): Microwave cook times may vary depending on oven wattage. Place Frozen contents in a microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir gently and continue heating for about 3 more minutes or until cooked through to 165 F with a food thermometer. Let it stand for 1 minute in the microwave. Gently remove the cover and serve.

As you can see below, I opened the package and you can see the cool little nests of precooked pasta and the frozen sauce. I just dumped it and a little bit of water into my wok and turned up the heat and put a cover on the pan and waited about five minutes. I stirred it and you can see the sauce melting.

This is when I realized that this dish isn’t really Carbonara in the traditional sense of the word because real Carbonara doesn’t have a milky sauce, it’s made out of egg yolks. Then I looked at the ingredients and while there is egg in the ingredients, it is not the sauce. The sauce is made out of cream. This is not Carbonara.

Anyway, I continued to cook it per the instructions and it all came together and I plated some of it. The sauce sets up pretty quickly after you remove it from the heat so get it on a plate and don’t goof around. I noticed that although you could see some of the pancetta, it really doesn’t show up like it does on the bag picture but let’s plow ahead.

Ok, this plated up really nice and it smells awesome. The pasta is cooked perfectly and the sauce is nice and thick. The sauce has a nice cheesy bite to it and you can taste a little bit of the pancetta. The noodles, which I didn’t expect to cook right, ended up being perfect.

But, let us get one thing straight. This is more like an Alfredo than a Carbonara, to be honest. If you look at it in that context, Trader Joe’s fails miserably because this isn’t Carbonara. But as a pasta dish with a light cheesy cream sauce with some pancetta, it’s pretty darn good coming from a bag. It needs a sprinkling of parmesan, ground pepper and some parsley and you have a nice 2nd course. To that end, I am sure many people will love this so I am going to get it and 8 out of 10!

Not a bad deal for $4.29/16 Oz. Enough for two people if you make a side salad and some garlic bread!

Ingredients

PARTIALLY COOKED SPAGHETTI (WATER, DURUM WHEAT SEMOLINA, SALT. MAY CONTAIN SOY.), WATER, CREAM, UNCURED PANCETTA, NO NITRITES OR NITRATES ADDED* (PORK, SEA SALT, SALT), SKIM MILK POWDER, BUTTER (CREAM), HARD GRATING CHEESE (MILK, SALT, ANIMAL RENNET, EGG WHITE LYSOZYME), GRANA PADANO CHEESE (MILK, SALT, ANIMAL RENNET, EGG LYSOZYME), CORNSTARCH, PECORINO ROMANO CHEESE (PASTEURIZED SHEEP’S MILK, SALT, LACTIC ACID STARTER CULTURE, ANIMAL RENNET), EGG, SALT, NUTMEG, WHITE PEPPER., *EXCEPT FOR THOSE NATURALLY OCCURING IN SALT.

• CONTAINS MILK, EGG, WHEAT.
• MAY CONTAIN SOY.