An easy to make pasta dish and packed with veggies, White Sauce Pasta, or Bechamel Sauce Pasta can be easily made at home from scratch and under 30 minutes. Make it for a lovely family meal using my easy recipe. It is apt for your lazy weekday dinners too and is loved by the kids.
Want to try your hands on some more nice and creamy Pasta recipes, then make these too in your kitchen – Garlicky Roasted Red Pepper Pasta, Masala Macaroni, Instant Pot Tuscan Chicken Pasta, and Garlic Shrimp Spaghetti Aglio E Olio.
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About This Recipe
The other day I stocked up on my grocery and when I was arranging it, my eyes fell on the packet of Pasta and I thought indulging in a creamy and saucy pasta would not be a bad idea, right?
As it was weekend, with son and husband being at home for lunch, I immediately gathered all the ingredients and planned to make an oh-so-creamy and delectable Bechamel Sauce Pasta, which happens to be my son’s favorite.
A bowl of this hot and lip-smacking White Sauce Pasta in my hand, with our favorite movie on the TV, it seemed like a perfect Saturday to spend with the family.
Penne pasta mixed along with a silky smooth and creamy white sauce base made of all-purpose flour, butter, full cream milk, and fresh cream, I am telling you this one is just magic if you like the buttery, saucy and creamy Pasta just like me.
I have also filled Béchamel Sauce Pasta with the goodness of vegetables such as Carrot, Broccoli, Mushroom, and Mixed Bell Peppers. Adding vegetables in it is also a great way to sneak in veggies in your kid’s everyday diet.
Fresh basil adds a great flavor to this Pasta. To make it even more flavourful, garnish it with some extra oregano seasoning and red chili flakes.
This White Sauce Pasta is a great one-pot recipe, except for boiling the pasta, which hardly takes any time. This recipe is such a big mess-free dinner, as you don’t have to use many utensils to make one meal!
You can even make a Baked version of this Béchamel Sauce Pasta by baking this Pasta for some time with extra cheese on top.
This Pasta is
- Creamy and delicious.
- A great way to include vegetables in your diet.
- Loved by kids.
- It can also be packed in your Lunch Box.
- Perfect for your weekday meals.
Ingredients
We think that Restaurant Style White Pasta is difficult to make from scratch and thus we often rely either on the store-bought Pasta Sauce or we just end up eating out.
But let me tell you, it is actually very easy to make and also with minimal ingredients that can easily be found in any supermarket.
To make this creamy Pasta you need,
Pasta – I have used Penne Pasta, but you can use any variation such as Spaghetti, Macaroni, Fusilli, Fettuccine, or any other pasta of your choice. You can even make Stuffed Ravioli using this sauce as the base.
Vegetables – This is my favorite ingredient! This Pasta is a great way to feed your kids all the important vegetables that are important in day to day life.
I have added onions, mushroom, mixed bell pepper, and carrot but you can go ahead and add more veggies such as broccoli, zucchini, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, baby corn, spinach, kale, etc.
To make the Non-Veg White Sauce Paste, you can add in Chicken or Shrimps along with the veggies. You can even skip the veggies and just use the Non-Veg protein.
Milk, Cream, Cheese, and All-Purpose Flour – For the creamy white sauce in this Pasta, you will need these 4 ingredients. They together will give the perfect creamy texture to the pasta.
Spices – Here, I have used Black Pepper, Oregano, and Red Chilli Flakes. You can even use the mixed Italian seasoning for the pasta.
You can adjust the amount of this seasonings as per your taste and preference. If you like it to be spicier, increase the quantity of red chili flakes.
Step By Step Recipe
Make sure to get the prep work done in advance. If the veggies are chopped and pasta cooked in advance, this recipe is a breeze to make. Keep in mind to reserve some water while cooking the pasta. It will be used to thin the sauce later. To start, heat butter in a pan.
Add minced garlic and onions and cook for a minute. Garlic adds a lovely flavor to the pasta, so don’t skip it.
Add carrots, mushroom, and bell peppers and saute for a minute. You can add or skip the veggies of your choice.
Now add flour and cook for a minute. All-purpose makes the best creamy sauce but you can try adding half whole wheat flour for a healthier version.
Add hot milk slowly and whisk continuously. This process is very important to get a creamy sauce so be careful while adding the milk.
Add salt, pepper, oregano, and chili flakes and cook the sauce on low heat until it starts to thicken. Keep stirring continuously.
Now add fresh cream and cheese and cook until cheese melts.
Add the cooked pasta along with some of the water in which it was cooked.
Simmer for a minute. Garnish with fresh basil and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both the Sauce for the Pasta is different!
While White Sauce is made with equal parts of butter and all-purpose flour with milk added, Alfredo Sauce is made with grated parmesan, butter, and some pasta water.
There is no flour added in Alfredo Sauce.
Yes, you can definitely mix red sauce and white sauce for the pasta, it is popularly called as Pink Sauce.
After the white sauce is ready, add ½ cup of red sauce in the pan and keep the remaining process the same to make pink sauce pasta.
White Sauce Pasta is usually rich because of the use of milk, cream, and cheese and therefore is a bit on the heavy side, whereas the Red Sauce Pasta is on the lighter side because the base is made of tomatoes.
But it is definitely a good way to include veggies in your diet, as you can load this pasta with the nutrition of different vegetables.
Yes, you will need a thin base if you are cooking the pasta in the sauce itself. It will take about 15 to 20 minutes for Pasta to cook in the sauce itself. But for better results, always cook the pasta and mix with the sauce.
I have used processed cheese (Amul Cheese) in this recipe. But you can definitely pump up the recipe and use Cheese varieties such as cheddar, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, emmental, parmesan, or even a mix of few.
Storage Suggestions
This Pasta stays good for about 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator. Just make sure you either store it in an airtight container or a ziplock bag.
It thickens while storing, so when you are ready to serve it again, add some warm milk and cook the dish until warm.
If you want to prep this dish beforehand, you can do it too. So whenever I have to serve it for parties or any other occasion, I cook the pasta, make the sauce and stir fry the veggies and store all these three in different containers.
When it’s the time to serve, I heat the sauce in a pan, add stir-fried veggies and cooked pasta, let it heat and then serve it fresh.
Serving Suggestions
For a comforting weekday dinner, pair this delectable, creamy, and smooth White Sauce Pasta along with Garlic Knots, and you’re done for the day.
Serve Bechamel Sauce Pasta with Bruschetta or Open Toasts on the side. You can serve it as a side dish with your Italian meal.
Variations
Vegan – To make a Vegan version of the same, you can use Almond Milk or Soy Milk instead of Milk and Cream. Also, substitute Butter with Olive Oil. Skip adding the cheese or use vegan cheese.
Gluten-Free – If you are looking for a gluten-free option, then you need to substitute a few ingredients in this White Sauce Pasta recipe.
Firstly use a gluten-free Pasta instead of Pasta made with whole wheat or all-purpose flour. Then for the sauce, instead of all-purpose flour, you can use in rice flour or any other gluten-free flour.
Pro Tips By Neha
Make sure you cook the Pasta Al dente. If it’s overcooked, it will be mushy, sticky, and won’t taste great when mixed with the sauce.
Serve it hot. This Pasta tends to thicken a bit when cooled down, so keep a little extra sauce in the Paste while cooking.
Load it with veggies of your choice. It is also a great way to use up the leftover veggies in the fridge.
Always reheat the pasta by adding a little milk, to maintain the creamy and saucy texture of the Bechamel Pasta. You can also reserve some water from cooking the pasta and use it to thin it down.
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Recipe Card
White Sauce Pasta Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups Penne Pasta
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup Onion (finely chopped)
- ¼ cup Carrots (sliced)
- ¼ cup Mushroom (sliced)
- ½ cup Mixed Bell Peppers (cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 1-½ tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 300 ml Full Cream Milk (hot)
- Salt (to taste)
- ½ tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- ½ tsp Dried Oregano
- ½ tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- ¼ cup Fresh Cream
- ¼ cup Processed Cheese (Shredded)
- Fresh Basil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add 2 tbsp salt to this.
- Add pasta and cook until it is Al Dente.
- Drain the pasta and run it under cold water.
- Reserve some of the water from cooking the pasta.
- Heat butter in a pan.
- Add minced garlic and onions and cook for minute.
- Add carrots, mushroom and bell peppers and saute for a minute.
- Now add flour and cook for a minute.
- Add hot milk slowly and whisk continuously.
- Add salt, pepper, oregano and chilli flakes and cook the sauce on low heat until it starts to thicken.
- Now add fresh cream and cheese and cook until the cheese melts.
- Add the cooked pasta along with some of the water in which it was cooked.
- Simmer for a minute.
- Garnish with fresh basil and serve hot.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!