Pasta carbonara is typically based on a rich sauce made with bacon or pancetta, butter, egg yolks and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, served on a bed of fettuccine. If you're watching your weight or looking for a healthy meal, don't choose pasta carbonara -- it's high in fat, sodium and calories.
Nutrition Information
The Center for Science in the Public Interest voted the Cheesecake Factory's Pasta Carbonara with Chicken one of the unhealthiest restaurant meals in America. The dish has nearly 2,500 calories -- many more calories than most people need to eat in an entire day -- and 85g of artery-clogging saturated fat. The Olive Garden's Chicken & Shrimp Carbonara is high in calories, sodium and fat, totaling 1,440 calories, 3,000mg of sodium, 88g of total fat and 38g of saturated fat.
Saturated Fat
Saturated fat, found mainly in animal products, is abundant in pasta carbonara. This pasta's typical ingredients -- butter, bacon, egg yolks and cheese -- are all rich sources of unhealthy saturated fat. This unhealthy fat raises harmful low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood, leading to increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Saturated fat should not exceed 7 percent of your total calories in a day. The saturated fat limit is 16g per day on a 2,000-calorie diet, and a restaurant pasta carbonara can be more than five times this limit.
Sodium
The Olive Garden's Chicken & Shrimp Carbonara contains 3,000mg of sodium, more than the entire recommended daily limit of 2,300mg for a healthy adult. The limit is 1,500mg per day for African-Americans, people over 50 and those with kidney disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. Excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure, which increases the risk for stroke, kidney disease, congestive heart failure and heart disease.
Healthier Pasta Carbonara
If you make your own pasta carbonara, experiment with making a healthier version that has less fat and sodium and more fiber. Replace pasta made from refined flour with whole-grain pasta. Cut the amount of Parmesan cheese in half. Use bacon bits instead of bacon strips or pancetta to get the flavor without all the fat. Use fewer egg yolks, and mix them with evaporated skim milk instead of butter to get a rich sauce with less fat and cholesterol.
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