White Sauce Pasta Recipe (Béchamel Sauce Pasta)

This White Sauce Pasta is an easy weeknight meal that’s ready under 30 minutes. You will love this rich, creamy & saucy White Pasta, perfectly seasoned with Italian herbs & topped with red chili flakes. It is lighter and not heavy and is a satisfying comfort food. White Sauce Pasta is simply cooked pasta mixed with a silky smooth & decadent white sauce made of milk, butter and flour.

White Sauce also known as Bechamel Sauce has its origin from the Italian & French Cuisines. In classic culinary terms, this is what is known as a mother sauce. It is the base for many other sauces and it offers a great deal of flexibility to your repertoire of recipes.

Once you have learned how to make it well, the options are really endless. Whether you are using it for pasta or as a base for macaroni and cheese, the end is always a delightfully rich, smooth consistency that you coaxed out of a simple sauce of flour, butter and milk.

About White Sauce Pasta

One of the many amazing ways to incorporate white sauce into a really delicious meal is to make White Sauce Pasta. This dish offers a well-rounded meal that is satisfying and a great way to incorporate vegetables into a pasta that will please your family. It is customizable by changing the vegetables or even the pasta used.

The backbone of this recipe is the sauce, so getting it right is really the key. It is thickened with a mixture of butter and flour in equal amounts which is called roux, in French. The method is rather simple, but must be followed properly for a smooth, velvety sauce.

The flexibility that bechamel sauce offers makes it a perfect candidate for adjusting it to your liking. It really is a blank slate for a wide range of seasonings. Fresh or dried herbs like thyme, oregano and basil bring a not just fresh flavor, but also a fantastic aroma. Use a variety of veggies like carrots, peas, corn, bell peppers to enhance the nutrition & for a beautiful color.

In this post I share my family favorite White Sauce Pasta which I have been making it for many years. It is toddlers and kids’ friendly too.

More Pasta recipes
Masala pasta
Chicken pasta
Scrambled egg pasta
Pasta soup
Red sauce pasta

Ingredients

• 1 cup (100 grams) pasta (penne or macaroni)
• 1½ cup milk (full fat or plant milk)
• 2 tablespoons butter + ½ tablespoon oil or butter (to sauté veggies)
• ¼ cup heavy cream or 2 to 3 tablespoons cheese (optional, parmesan, cream cheese, mozzarella or cheddar)
• 1½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (crushed or ground, adjust to taste)
• 2 garlic cloves grated (optional, can use 1 teaspoon to tablespoon as per preference)
• ½ teaspoon oregano (or dried mix Italian herbs)
• salt as needed
• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes (optional, adjust to taste)

You also need 1 cup mixed vegetables – ¼ cup each of carrots, peas, sweet corn and bell peppers. I use a mix of green and red bell peppers.

How to Make White Sauce Pasta (Stepwise photos)

Boil Pasta

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add pasta and ¼ teaspoon salt.

2. Cook on a medium high flame till al dente. Check the instructions on the pasta package for the correct cook time. Check them a minute earlier than mentioned on the package. They must be tender, firm and chewy but not mushy. Mine takes about 9 mins.

3. Reserve about ¼ cup pasta cooked stock.

4. Drain the pasta to a colander. Cover and keep aside.

5. Pour ½ tbsp oil or butter to a pan. Add the vegetables and sauté them on a medium high heat until slightly tender yet crunchy. This takes me about 5 to 6 mins. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Make White Sauce Pasta

6. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add minced garlic (optional) and fry for 30 to 40 seconds on a medium heat.

7. Stir in all-purpose flour.

8. Saute well until the flour loses the raw smell, for about a minute. Don’t brown the flour. Since this is a small quantity, the roux can become dry and clumpy. It’s just fine. Turn off the stove/heat and slowly pour ½ cup milk while you stir to incorporate the milk into the roux.

9. Keep whisking till it looks creamy & uniform to prevent forming lumps. Pour the rest of the milk and stir well.

10. Turn on the heat and cook on a medium-low until the white sauce becomes thick. Keep stirring/whisking & scrape the sides for a uniform sauce through out.

11. Pour the heavy cream or cheese and mix well.

12. The white sauce is done perfectly when it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Alternately you can draw a finger/line through the coated spoon. The sauce should wipe clean and leave a space, meaning it is thick enough.

13. Add the vegetables and the cooked pasta & mix well.

14. Add pepper, oregano (or mixed Italian herbs) and chili flakes. You can also add a pinch of ground nutmeg if you want. If the sauce looks too thick (as it cools down), add 2 tbsps of the reserved stock so the sauce loosens a bit.

Garnish white sauce pasta with red chilli flakes and crushed black pepper. Serve it hot or warm as the sauce thickens more when it cools down.

Pro Tips

• If you are using cold milk, it is essential to take off the heat before adding it to the hot pan. Pouring cold milk to the hot pan/roux can cause splatters. Alternately you may stir in warm milk to avoid that.
• Originally white sauce does not have garlic but this recipe uses it to infuse a garlicky flavor. If you are making it for kids, you may omit it or start with just 1 teaspoon. A lot of kids don’t like garlic and especially when used in larger quantities. But for grown-ups you can use up to 1 tablespoon, that’s what I have used this time.
• I have used penne but fusilli and macaroni are other best options. Other options are those with plenty of surface area and texture. I avoid using long pasta like spaghetti.

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Recipe Card

This recipe was first published in December 2016, Updated & republished in February 2021.

White Sauce Pasta Recipe (Bechamel Sauce Pasta)

This white sauce pasta is an easy weeknight meal that’s ready under 30 minutes. You will love this rich, creamy & saucy pasta, perfectly seasoned with Italian herbs!!

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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes minutes

Cook Time25 minutes minutes

Total Time35 minutes minutes

Servings2

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

• ▢ 1 cup (100 grams) pasta (penne or macaroni)
• ▢ 4 cups water to boil pasta
• ▢ 1½ cup milk (full fat or plant milk, refer notes)
• ▢ 1½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter + ½ tablespoon to sauté veggies
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper (crushed or ground, adjust to taste)
• ▢ 2 large garlic cloves (minced, optional, use 1 tsp to tbsp as per your preference)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon oregano (or dried mix Italian herbs)
• ▢ salt as needed
• ▢ ½ teaspoon red chilli flakes (optional, adjust to taste)
• ▢ ¼ cup heavy cream (optional, or 3 tablespoons parmesan, cream cheese, mozzarella or cheddar)

Optional (1 cup mix veggies)

• ▢ ¼ cup carrots (fine chopped)
• ▢ ¼ cup corn kernels
• ▢ ¼ cup green peas
• ▢ ¼ cup bell peppers (fine chopped)

Instructions

How to Make White Sauce Pasta

• ▢
  Bring water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add salt and pasta. Cook till al dente on a medium high flame. Read instructions on package for timings.
• ▢
  Reserve ¼ cup pasta stock and drain the pasta to a colander. Cover and keep aside.
• ▢
  Pour ½ tbsp butter to a pan and saute vegetables until slightly tender yet crunchy, for 5 to 6 mins. Remove to a plate and set aside.
• ▢
  Melt 2 tablespoons butter on a medium heat and fry garlic for 30 to 40 seconds. Stir in all-purpose flour and saute well until the flour loses the raw smell, for about a minute.
• ▢
  Turn off the heat/stove and slowly whisk in ½ cup milk into the roux. Keep whisking till it looks creamy & uniform to prevent forming lumps.
• ▢
  Pour the rest of the milk and whisk/stir well. Turn on the stove, cook on a medium-low stirring often, scraping the sides, until the white sauce becomes thick.
• ▢
  Stir in the heavy cream or cheese. The white sauce is done perfectly when it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Alternately you can draw a finger/line through the coated spoon. The sauce should wipe clean and leave a space, meaning it is thick enough.
• ▢
  Stir in the vegetables, cooked pasta, pepper, oregano (or mixed Italian herbs) and chili flakes. If the sauce looks too thick (as it cools down), add 2 tbsps of the reserved stock so the sauce loosens a bit.
• ▢
  Garnish white sauce pasta with red chilli flakes and crushed black pepper. Serve it hot or warm as the sauce thickens more when it cools down.

Notes

• Cold milk and hot roux/pan can results in splatters. So It is essential to take the pan off the heat before adding milk to avoid splatters. Alternately you can use warm milk to avoid that.
• To make plant-based white sauce, soak about 12 to 15 cashews for 30 mins in warm water. Blend them with just 1/4 cup water to a super smooth paste. Mix with 1.25 cup water and make it 1.5 cups as needed in the recipe.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts

White Sauce Pasta Recipe (Bechamel Sauce Pasta)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 486 Calories from Fat 243

% Daily Value*

Fat 27g42%

Saturated Fat 14g88%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 64mg21%

Sodium 333mg14%

Potassium 527mg15%

Carbohydrates 46g15%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 13g14%

Protein 16g32%

Vitamin A 4359IU87%

Vitamin C 33mg40%

Calcium 354mg35%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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