Dinner is made easy with this 30-minute white sauce pasta recipe. It has perfectly cooked veggies and penne pasta all smothered in a creamy, rich béchamel sauce.
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❤️ You’ll Love This White Sauce Pasta Recipe
Taste & texture: The sauce is wonderfully flavorful and at the same time creamy (yet light) and comforting.
Vegetarian (yet versatile): As being vegetarian, I have added veggies like green and red peppers, broccoli, and corn in this pasta recipe. But if you eat meat then you make it you can add grilled chicken, chopped ham, shrimp, etc to add some protein.
Weeknight dinner: This makes an inexpensive yet cozy dinner and everyone including kids will love this. Have a side of garlic bread or your choice of more veggies on the side.
Leftovers make a great lunch. Most of the time I cook a double batch and pack it in kids' and adults' lunch boxes. This can be easily reheated in the microwave and I would pack it in a thermos lunch box for kids.
🧾 Ingredient Notes
You’ll need simple ingredients that you can easily find in your kitchen to make this creamy white sauce pasta recipe.
- Pasta: Here I have used penne pasta so the sauce can cling to the ridges of the penne surface and can hold some sauce in the hollow center. Other options are rigatoni, elbows, tortiglioni, or small shell pasta. I would avoid using spaghetti, angle hair kind of long pasta.
- Veggies: I have used red and green peppers, broccoli, and frozen sweet corn. Other options are green peas, mushrooms, and carrots.
- Butter: I prefer using unsalted butter so I can control the salt in my recipe. But if you have salted on hand then use that. Use real butter and not margarine.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic is highly recommended. But you can use ready minced garlic from a jar as well.
- Flour: You’ll need all purpose flour (aka maida in the Hindi language).
- Milk: I recommend using full-fat whole milk as it makes the best, rich, and most creamy white sauce.
- Oregano: Instead you can add Italian seasoning.
- Parmesan cheese: As being vegetarian, I have used vegetarian parmesan cheese and not real Parmigiano Reggiano.
👩🍳 How To Make White Sauce Pasta? (Stepwise)
Cook the pasta al dente, according to package instructions. Do not overcook the pasta. While the pasta is boiling cook veggies and make the béchamel sauce.
Cook Veggies:
1, 2) Heat the butter in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add veggies, salt, and dried oregano.
3, 4) Mix, cover with a lid, and cook until soft and tender yet hold the shape. Do not overcook the veggies to a mushy stage.
5) You may need to stir once or twice in between to make sure that it is not sticking to the pan.
6) Once cooked, remove it to a plate.
Make Pasta:
1) Wipe the pan with a paper towel if needed. In the same pan, add the remaining butter and garlic.
2) Let the garlic cook for 40-50 seconds or until the raw smell of garlic goes away. Don’t let the garlic brown or burn otherwise it starts to taste bitter.
3, 4) Add flour and cook for a minute or until the flour doesn’t smell raw. Make sure that the flour doesn’t change color to brown.
5, 6) Now slowly add milk and keep whisking with another hand to avoid lumps. Start with one cup of milk, whisk well until it is lump-free then add the remaining milk.
7) Add salt, pepper, and dried oregano.
8) Mix and let the mixture come to a simmer and then continue simmering until the sauce thickens and coat the spoon or spatula. It may take around 5 minutes. This time may vary. Keep stirring to avoid sticking to the bottom and sides of the pan.
9) Once the sauce is thick, add parmesan cheese.
10) Mix and continue cooking until the cheese is melted.
11) Add cooked pasta and cooked veggies.
12) Mix everything well, turn off the stove, and serve.
💭 Expert Tips
- Always add salt once the water comes to a boil. Salted water takes longer to come to a boil.
- Avoid browning or burning garlic, saute until garlic becomes fragrant and no more smell of raw garlic.
- Avoid browning flour, cook until flour doesn’t smell raw. The browned flour will make the white sauce a little tan in color.
- To avoid lumps in béchamel sauce, use cold or room-temperature milk. Plus, add milk a little at a time and continue whisking.
- Buy a block of parmesan cheese and grate it yourself right before making the pasta. Freshly grated cheese will melt nicely in the sauce compared to ready grated cheese that comes in a container.
🥣 Storage & Reheating béchamel sauce Pasta
- In the refrigerator, it stays good for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- In the freezer, it stays good for up to 3 months.
- To thaw, keep the pasta container in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a few hours until defrosted. It may look watery after thawing, but everything will come together after reheating.
- Reheat pasta in a pan on low-medium heat until the sauce becomes smooth and the pasta is warmed up throughout. If the sauce looks too thick then add a splash of water or milk and continue heating.
- If you’re reheating this pasta in a microwave then do it in 30 seconds intervals, stir, and do it again until warmed up. If needed add a splash of water or milk, stir and microwave for 15-20 seconds, check and microwave it again if needed.
📖 Variations For White Sauce Pasta
- Veggies: You can add your choice of other veggies like mushrooms, green peas, carrots, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, etc.
- Protein: If you eat meat then you can add grilled chicken, cooked shrimp, sausage, or ham.
- Make it healthy: Instead of using traditional pasta, you can use zucchini noodles. Or you can choose any healthy pasta variety like lentil pasta, chickpea pasta, brown rice pasta, etc.
- Cheese: I have used classic parmesan cheese (of course vegetarian). But you can use any other cheese like mozzarella, white cheddar, or a dollop of cream cheese.
- Herbs: Instead of dried oregano, you can use Italian seasoning. Or use fresh herbs like basil or parsley. These add a fresh flavor as well as a good aroma.
- Spices: You can increase the amount of black pepper or add some red chili flakes to add some heat to the pasta.
🍽 Serving Ideas
- This white sauce pasta tastes so good on its own that it doesn’t need any side.
- But some options are garlic bread, simple Italian salad, and roasted or sauteed veggies of your choice.
Check Out Other Pasta Recipes
- Pink sauce pasta
- Roasted red pepper pasta
- Cream corn pasta
- Parsley pesto (tossed with spaghetti)
- Masala pasta (Desi style)
Did you try this white sauce pasta recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.
📋 Recipe Card
White Sauce Pasta (Béchamel Sauce Pasta)
Ingredients
- 8 oz Dry Pasta penne (Little more than 2 cups)
For Veggies:
- 1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
- ½ cup Capsicum (Green bell pepper)
- ½ cup Red pepper
- ½ cup Broccoli
- ½ cup Sweet corn kernels
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon Dried oregano
For White Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons All purpose flour (Maida)
- 3 cups Milk Full-fat whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon Dried oregano
- ¼ - ½ cup Vegetarian parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta al dente, according to package instructions. Do not overcook the pasta. While the pasta is boiling cook veggies and make the béchamel sauce.
- To Cook Veggies, heat the butter in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add veggies, salt, and dried oregano.
- Mix, cover with a lid, and cook until soft and tender yet hold the shape. Do not overcook the veggies to a mushy stage.
- You may need to stir once or twice in between to make sure that it is not sticking to the pan.
- Once cooked, remove it to a plate.
- To make béchamel sauce pasta, wipe the pan with a paper towel if needed. In the same pan, add the remaining butter and garlic.
- Let the garlic cook for 40-50 seconds or until the raw smell of garlic goes away. Don’t let the garlic brown or burn otherwise it starts to taste bitter.
- Add flour and cook for a minute or until the flour doesn’t smell raw. Make sure that the flour doesn’t change color to brown.
- Now slowly add milk and keep whisking with another hand to avoid lumps. Start with one cup of milk, whisk well until it is lump-free then add the remaining milk.
- Add salt, pepper, and dried oregano.
- Mix and let the mixture come to a simmer and then continue simmering until the sauce thickens and coat the spoon or spatula. It may take around 5 minutes. This time may vary. Keep stirring to avoid sticking to the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Once the sauce is thick, add parmesan cheese. Mix and continue cooking until the cheese is melted.
- Add cooked pasta and cooked veggies. Mix everything well, turn off the stove, and serve.
Notes
- Always add salt once the water comes to a boil. Salted water takes longer to come to a boil.
- Avoid browning or burning garlic, saute until garlic becomes fragrant and no more smell of raw garlic.
- Avoid browning flour, cook until flour doesn’t smell raw. The browned flour will make the white sauce a little tan in color.
- To avoid lumps in béchamel sauce, use cold or room-temperature milk. Plus, add milk a little at a time and continue whisking.
- Buy a block of parmesan cheese and grate it yourself right before making the pasta. Freshly grated cheese will melt nicely in the sauce compared to ready grated cheese that comes in a container.
- Check out the Variation section above the recipe card to customize it as per your liking.
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