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.
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.