Super simple and delicious Creamy Garlic Penne Pasta recipe packed with flavor. This dish is perfect by itself or you can add chicken too!
This is one of our favorite white sauce pastas because it’s SO simple and easy! Whenever I crave a white sauce recipe, I also love to make chicken alfredo, pasta carbonara, or cheesy garlic tortellini.
White Sauce Pasta
I LOVE pasta! I mean, who doesn’t?! Yes, it has carbs, but this girl needs it in her life because I cook with it ALL the time. In fact, now that I think about it, we usually have pasta at least once a week, whether it’s in salad form, or a main dish.
From Spaghetti to Fettuccine Alfredo, pasta is something the whole family loves, so we have it quite often. This next recipe is another one of those dishes you can add to the meal plan, because it’s simple and definitely delicious.
This Creamy Garlic Penne Pasta is a white sauce pasta that is great on it’s own, but could be even heartier if you add chicken or another favorite meat.
If you like pasta dishes I would definitely try this one out. It’s super cheesy and has just the right touch of garlic and other spices making it another “go-to” dinner recipe!
How to make white sauce:
One of the main reasons we love this dish is because it’s simple and quick! You can make it start to finish in about 20 minutes. That’s my kind of dinner recipe! Just follow these easy steps to make this creamy pasta sauce which can be added to any pasta.
Cook Pasta. Begin by cooking the pasta according to the package instructions (we used penne).
Make Sauce. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a medium sauce pan, add garlic and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Add flour and cook for an addition minute, stirring constantly. Add milk and broth, stirring constantly. Cook until sauce boils and thickens. Add parsley and parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until cheese has melted.
Combine. Mix in pasta and serve immediately.
Tip: If you want your pasta to be extra cheesy, add ½-1 cup of your favorite shredded cheese (we like to use shredded Mozzarella or Parmesan).
Change it up
Protein. There are so many things you can add to spruce up this delicious dish. Try adding meats such as grilled chicken, diced ham or shrimp.
Produce. You can also add produce such as halved cherry tomatoes, sliced sun dried tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, or mushrooms.
Spice. To add a little heat, sprinkle on some red chili flakes.
What to do with leftovers
Storing. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Reheating. We typically reheat this pasta in the microwave, but this can also be done in a pot on the stove. You may need to add a little more broth if it’s too thick when reheating.
Freezing. If you plan to freeze this dish, leave the pasta undercooked as the freezing process will make thoroughly cooked pasta mushy. Store the cooked dish in a freezer safe airtight container for months.
To reheat, thaw in the fridge and reheat on the stove top stirring constantly to keep the cream base from curdling.
Just another quick, easy dinner meal! We hope you love this easy pasta dish.
What to serve with Creamy Penne Pasta:
For more easy pasta recipes, check out:
- Spaghetti Carbonara
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- Cheesy Garlic Tortellini Pasta
- Easy Fettuccine
- Triple Cheddar Chicken Pasta
- Bowtie Pasta with Italian Sausage
White Sauce Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb penne pasta
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to packaged directions.
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan, add garlic.
- Cook for 1 minute over medium heat
- Add flour and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly.
- Add milk and broth, stirring constantly. Cook until sauce boils and thickens.
- Add parsley and parmesan cheese. Add desired salt and pepper. Continue stirring until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.
- Pour sauce over pasta and serve.
Video
Recipe adapted from HERE.
I made this tonight foR my three daughters. They loved it! So much Better with the chicken broth as compared to others with heavy Cream. A keeper for our home.
Yay!! Happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing that!
This looks DELICIOUS! I’m actually going to make this as a side with some bLackened salmon. HoweveR, I don’T have parmESan cheese, Only MOZZARELLA cheeSe, is that ok instead?
Sounds good! That will work 🙂 Enjoy!
Doesn’t give measurements for any ingredients in the article
It’s all in the recipe box in the post.
Yummy!!
Happy to hear that! Thank you!
What to do with leftover rotisserie chicken? Googling “Creamy White Sauce Pasta”, I came across this wonderful, tasty recipe. I had about eight ounces each of Cellentini and Rigatoni. Cooked the pasta according to the package. I heated the chicken with a 1/2 TSP of butter in a large pan. Removed the chicken and used the pan for the recipe. I drained the pasta and put it back in the pasta pan, added and mixed the chicken. I add and stirred the sauce when it was ready.
This recipe will be my go-to white sauce recipe! Thank you.
Sounds perfect! Thanks for sharing that!!
Thank you! Perfect! I added chicken before butter and garlic and broccoli at end. My picky son loved the sauce so much he drank the leftover sauce!
That’s what I love to hear! Thank you for letting me know!
this is my second time to try this recipe. My children loved my first attempt. This recipe is so simple and yet so delicious and easy to prepare.
Thanks a lot Ms. Lil.
Awe, thank you so much for saying that 🙂
I love cooking pasta and I would like to learn more cooking recipes.
I love cooking pasta as well! Hope you find some recipes to try!
Can I avoid chicken broth?
You will need liquid, so you will need to add equal part of your choice. I haven’t tried anything else, so not sure if you’d use water or milk.
I used veggie broth (not low sodium) and it turned out great! Kept the part of milk though. So 1 cup veg broth and 1 cup milk.
Great options!! Thank you!
This was easy to make. I loved it. I poured over my spinach and cheese tortellini. I have swallowing issues due to cancer, so I use a lot of gravy on just about anything I eat. Makes my food go down easier. So thanks for this yummy recipe.
You are so welcome! I am sorry about your health. Happy you liked this!
This was a perfect quick weeknight meal! Delicious!!
If I could I would give this pasta 10 stars. So easy to make and the whole family loves it. Highly recommend this recipe.
My family and very picky kids loved this!
This is one of the best while sauce recipe I have made! It’s super easy to make and it’s very flavorful! Never buying the white sauce from store again.
So simple and tasty! Added a bunch of vegetables and added it slowly to assure I had a good spaghetti-sauce-veggies ratio.
Thank you!
Perfect!! Thank you for sharing that!
Can you use almond milk?
I personally have not used it, but I am sure you could 🙂
Loved this recipe! Substituted the milk for heavy cream and added sausage. Plates were wiped clean.
Sausage is a great option! Thank you for trying it & letting me know!
This looks good and super simple. What if you don’t have chicken broth? Could I use a cream of chicken instead or would that turn out weird?
It really is! I haven’t tried that before. I would check to see online what good substitutes for the broth would be.
As a mother of seven it’s hard to please everyone at the same time when it comes to meals but this was a crowd pleaser and so easy. Thank you.
Yay!! Happy to hear that! Thank you!!
Awesome!!!
I am so glad you think so 🙂 Thank you so much!
It is really yummy, however I used cheddar instead of Parmesan cheese and it was delicious
That is a great option!! Thank you for sharing that!!